Also, in the case of tattoos, especially, if you are interested in looking fashionable (or not looking unfashionable, more to the point!), you need to ensure that the design you choose for your tattoo isn't a passing trend.
Stretching ear lobes to wear large gauge jewlery?
- Thread starter Marniem
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Also, in the case of tattoos, especially, if you are interested in looking fashionable (or not looking unfashionable, more to the point!), you need to ensure that the design you choose for your tattoo isn't a passing trend.
Not sure whether or not you've made a decision yet as to stretching your ears, but I recently took mine out after stretching for three years. I took them out about two weeks ago, and they're closing nicely. The largest I had them was 0 gauge, and I had stainless steel eyelets in them, single flare. I've had my ears pierced since I was a few months old, so by the time I wanted to start stretching (I was 21), it was easy to go from a regular gauge of 18/20 (what normal lobe piercings are) to a 12 gauge. After that, I started buying larger hoops, plugs, spirals, etc.
I stretched slowly, waiting about 8 weeks before switching gauges, or just listened to my body and knew not to push it too far, to avoid blow outs, i.e., when you push the stretcher in too quickly and the back of your ear looks "blown out". Those are difficult to care for and hard to heal, and cause scar tissue to develop. I also wanted to get my money's worth out of my stretchers. I only used glass or surgical grade stainless steel, which are not porous and do not harbor bacteria. However, the pieces are expensive.
I had been at 0 gauge for a year when I finally decided to take them out before Christmas. My boyfriend asked me to
and I wanted to wear earrings that my family had given me as gifts, such as a pair of 14k gold and emerald "huggie" style hoops I got for my 16th birthday that I'm wearing now 
BF also said he'd take me to Tiffany for my birthday this year and let me pick out a pair of hoops 
I also have a pair of diamond studs that I've been wanting to wear.
The best advice I can give is that if you're not viewing stretching your ears as permanent, then to not go any larger than 0 gauge. Most stretchers say that's the "point of no return". So far my holes are closing up nicely, but I don't expect them to look like they used to, pre-stretching. Care for your ears with every stretch. When you do a new stretch, make sure you use lube such as A & D lotion, and always wash your freshly stretched ears with warm water and antibacterial soap. Also, once your stretch has healed, take out your jewelry once a week and clean it in warm water and antibacterial soap, in addition to thoroughly cleaning around your lobes in the shower daily.
A good jewelry site is Glasswear Studios - glass is good for stretching, in my opinion. This company makes beautiful glass jewelry.
Hope this helps
I stretched slowly, waiting about 8 weeks before switching gauges, or just listened to my body and knew not to push it too far, to avoid blow outs, i.e., when you push the stretcher in too quickly and the back of your ear looks "blown out". Those are difficult to care for and hard to heal, and cause scar tissue to develop. I also wanted to get my money's worth out of my stretchers. I only used glass or surgical grade stainless steel, which are not porous and do not harbor bacteria. However, the pieces are expensive.
I had been at 0 gauge for a year when I finally decided to take them out before Christmas. My boyfriend asked me to
and I wanted to wear earrings that my family had given me as gifts, such as a pair of 14k gold and emerald "huggie" style hoops I got for my 16th birthday that I'm wearing now BF also said he'd take me to Tiffany for my birthday this year and let me pick out a pair of hoops I also have a pair of diamond studs that I've been wanting to wear.The best advice I can give is that if you're not viewing stretching your ears as permanent, then to not go any larger than 0 gauge. Most stretchers say that's the "point of no return". So far my holes are closing up nicely, but I don't expect them to look like they used to, pre-stretching. Care for your ears with every stretch. When you do a new stretch, make sure you use lube such as A & D lotion, and always wash your freshly stretched ears with warm water and antibacterial soap. Also, once your stretch has healed, take out your jewelry once a week and clean it in warm water and antibacterial soap, in addition to thoroughly cleaning around your lobes in the shower daily.
A good jewelry site is Glasswear Studios - glass is good for stretching, in my opinion. This company makes beautiful glass jewelry.
Hope this helps
To each his own, but I fail to see how making huge holes in your ears is a "life bettering" experience.
I have "regular" pierced ears and it has not made my life "better" in any way. Sure, I get to wear cute jewelry, but that's not a significant nor important "bettering" of my life. It just means I get to wear pierced earrings is all.
I agree with the posters who state that anyone considering doing this, needs to understand and accept whatever consequences come from it.
I have "regular" pierced ears and it has not made my life "better" in any way. Sure, I get to wear cute jewelry, but that's not a significant nor important "bettering" of my life. It just means I get to wear pierced earrings is all.
I agree with the posters who state that anyone considering doing this, needs to understand and accept whatever consequences come from it.
So I just got my ears pierced with an 8 gauge needle, then I was later told that my ears may never completely heal up completely because the piercing was too big to start with. I think that sucks...So I was hoping some one could tell me if this is true or not. Also, does anyone know if I just took out the jewelry, would my ears just heal up totally? Or maybe I could just put in 18 gauge jewelry and my ears will heal to that size? Please, someone give me hope.
Oh dear! I'm sorry this happened to you.
If I were you, I'd go and see my doctor. Perhaps if you remove the jewellery and bandage the earlobes (to support them and hold the sides of the holes together), they will start to heal?
Personally, I wouldn't worry about trying to get them to partially heal, I'd just let them heal up, totally (if possible) and then start again, in a few months, with a regular 18 gauge hole.
Frankly, I think it was very remiss of the piercer not to warn you.
Hopefully, someone who knows more about the subject will help you soon.
Good luck!
ETA: I see you started a separate thread about this, I hope the advice you received helped you.
I had mine stretched to 5/8" and took them out almost 2 years ago and I still have tiny holes.
I have long hair so it covers is but i'll probably end up getting them fixed one day because i've got them quoted and it was around 1k.
I guess i'm a lifer though, I have a half sleeve and a chest piece tattoo so having holes in my ear are not a big deal. I just want to wear smaller jewelry now.
If you're going to do it though, do it SLOWLY. Do NOT skip sizes and wait a few weeks before you downsize.
I have long hair so it covers is but i'll probably end up getting them fixed one day because i've got them quoted and it was around 1k.
I guess i'm a lifer though, I have a half sleeve and a chest piece tattoo so having holes in my ear are not a big deal. I just want to wear smaller jewelry now.
If you're going to do it though, do it SLOWLY. Do NOT skip sizes and wait a few weeks before you downsize.
I think it really depends on how large you gauge them. Mine are gauged to 6 and that's realy not too large. I work at one of the largest banks in the world and they've never said a word to me about it.
To give you an idea this is how big they are:
I wanted to go this size cause it's pretty much the minimum size in order to slip in stone, bone, wood plugs. I plan on getting some Jade, Hematite, or some cobalt blue plugs to mix things up a bit. Also, if I decide to take these out, they'll close up with no problems.
The worst part was going from 18 to 12. It took like...3 hours each ear to work it through and it hurt a decent amount. 12 to 10 was like 10 minutes. 10 to 8 took about 5 minutes and 8 to 6 literally just slipped right in. Process took about a year (and 3 tapers) as I left each gauge in for a few months and made sure there was no infection. Use a salt water mix for care...fyi.
Good luck!
To give you an idea this is how big they are:
I wanted to go this size cause it's pretty much the minimum size in order to slip in stone, bone, wood plugs. I plan on getting some Jade, Hematite, or some cobalt blue plugs to mix things up a bit. Also, if I decide to take these out, they'll close up with no problems.
The worst part was going from 18 to 12. It took like...3 hours each ear to work it through and it hurt a decent amount. 12 to 10 was like 10 minutes. 10 to 8 took about 5 minutes and 8 to 6 literally just slipped right in. Process took about a year (and 3 tapers) as I left each gauge in for a few months and made sure there was no infection. Use a salt water mix for care...fyi.
Good luck!
I only guaged one ear, and one hole, the second hole on my left ear, and it's at about a 12 now. Nothing huge, and, it was really easy to go from a 20 to a 14 immedietly, I put in a tounge bar and it just slipped right in. It hurt a bit for about a day, but, nothing huge, and, it's still able to wear normal earrings. I don't think I'd go bigger than a 12, I just don't like the look of it on myself, and, I don't want to wait forever for it to go back to a regular size if I were to guage it bigger.
^^^ I don't know if you were talking to me 
.
But right now I've seemed to mis-placed the name of the surgeon my friend Sammy went to.
I would recommend shopping around to a few different surgeons, your dermetologist might have a few recs.
I would also find a very, very good piercing shop in your area and go in a talk with them, I'm sure some of them might have a rec or two.
Make sure you're prepared for the "you should have known better" speeches. The majority of society holds this belief and I would almost bet you the price of your surgery that you will find some that think it was a dumb mistake, hell you may have some that "bump" up their prices just because of this. That's probably why I would try and find a surgeon in your area that has possibly done this before and has the professionalism to check any feelings or opinions at the door.
The area I live in, I would say $1,000-$2,000 is the average price I've heard for this kind of procedure.
I don't see my friend Sammy very often anymore, but the next time I see him, I'll ask and if I find out I'll pm ya.
.But right now I've seemed to mis-placed the name of the surgeon my friend Sammy went to.
I would recommend shopping around to a few different surgeons, your dermetologist might have a few recs.
I would also find a very, very good piercing shop in your area and go in a talk with them, I'm sure some of them might have a rec or two.
Make sure you're prepared for the "you should have known better" speeches. The majority of society holds this belief and I would almost bet you the price of your surgery that you will find some that think it was a dumb mistake, hell you may have some that "bump" up their prices just because of this. That's probably why I would try and find a surgeon in your area that has possibly done this before and has the professionalism to check any feelings or opinions at the door.
The area I live in, I would say $1,000-$2,000 is the average price I've heard for this kind of procedure.
I don't see my friend Sammy very often anymore, but the next time I see him, I'll ask and if I find out I'll pm ya.
Hi.
I have thought of stretching my ears a couple of times but have been put off by possibly not being able to wear "normal" earrings, which I love. So I have done the multiple earring route. To address this, can you buy "normal" earrings - say diamond studs - with thicker posts?
If the earrings don't have thicker posts, what do normal earrings look like in stretched holes (if it possible)... Could someone who has stretched their ears post some pics please.
thanks.
Ciao, Lisian
I have thought of stretching my ears a couple of times but have been put off by possibly not being able to wear "normal" earrings, which I love. So I have done the multiple earring route. To address this, can you buy "normal" earrings - say diamond studs - with thicker posts?
If the earrings don't have thicker posts, what do normal earrings look like in stretched holes (if it possible)... Could someone who has stretched their ears post some pics please.
thanks.
Ciao, Lisian
Since I don't know anything about your life related to work, social environment, etc. I wouldn't be able to give you a 'real' opinion since our life conditions probably differ. I'm in my mid-20's and tattoos and piercings aren't a big deal for me, but the stretching of earlobes requires a different mindset.
A good friend of mine had them stretched and now, a couple of years later she tried to go back to a normal size and a more conservative look because she is into a different social and professional scene, and the stretched out ear looks trashy. Disgusting. Simply unprofessional. She definitely cannot wear normal earrings and her beautiful, flawless, porcelain skin now has an overall grotesque frame.
So she will undergo a special surgery that will cut the skin and reattach the stretched out part. The cost of the surgery is around $15,000 in New Jersey and has a 2 months (or 2 weeks - I don't remember all the details) recovery time.
Realize that what might look good on you NOW, probably will NOT within 10-20 years. If money is no object and paying for a surgery down the line doesn't deter you, then go ahead and stretch 'em but those cute normal earrings (think of your hoops, danglies, pearl studs) will never look the same. I say don't!
A good friend of mine had them stretched and now, a couple of years later she tried to go back to a normal size and a more conservative look because she is into a different social and professional scene, and the stretched out ear looks trashy. Disgusting. Simply unprofessional. She definitely cannot wear normal earrings and her beautiful, flawless, porcelain skin now has an overall grotesque frame.
So she will undergo a special surgery that will cut the skin and reattach the stretched out part. The cost of the surgery is around $15,000 in New Jersey and has a 2 months (or 2 weeks - I don't remember all the details) recovery time.
Realize that what might look good on you NOW, probably will NOT within 10-20 years. If money is no object and paying for a surgery down the line doesn't deter you, then go ahead and stretch 'em but those cute normal earrings (think of your hoops, danglies, pearl studs) will never look the same. I say don't!
I have. I started in Grade 12 when I was going through a phase lol. That was four years ago now. I had to take them out for work about 2 years ago and they came back to regular size just fine. I think I went to about 10gauge which is only about the size of a pen or pencil. I am not at the regular size of a 20gauge which you are pierced with.
I stretched my ears myself. I just slowly went to a larger size. It can be painful, So be patient because you dont want to stretch to fast.
I stretched my ears myself. I just slowly went to a larger size. It can be painful, So be patient because you dont want to stretch to fast.