Stretch an Ear Lobe Piercing
Earlobe stretching is something that not only makes your ears bigger to accommodate big jewelry; it is also a meaningful journey with your ears. You can see how far your skin can stretch and push your ears to the limit. Some people refer to this as "gauging" your ears, and even though this isn't the correct term, it is very commonly used for beginners. This describes the way to do it yourself, which for many people, has much less pain than having someone else do it for you.
Contents
Steps
Stretching the Piercing
- Get an ear piercing. If you don't have it already, get your earlobes pierced. Gun piercings aren't that great, especially if you get them done by an unprofessional at the mall. Go to a piercer and get your lobes pierced with a needle. You should wait at least five months before beginning a stretch, to let your ear fully heal.
- Getting a piercing at a professional body piercer with a needle is the safest way, and they can pierce your ear at a bigger size than if you got it done with a gun.
- Find out what size your earlobe piercings are. Most standard piercings start at 16g or 14g, but can be done bigger by request. Years of wearing long, dangly earrings and tugging on your piercings may make your piercings bigger! Professional body piercers can measure your ears to see what size they are.
- Decide on a stopping point. From personal experience, it's hard to decide on a stopping point. Stretching is addicting, and you may decide on a larger size later on. But for now, get a rough idea of where you want to stop. This way, you can go to the store and buy just what you need.
- In order, these are the sizes for stretched piercings. The smallest is a 20 gauge, and they increase in size as the chart continues.
- 20 gauge- .8mm
- 18 gauge- 1mm
- 16 gauge- 1.2mm
- 14 gauge- 1.6 mm
- 12 gauge- 2mm
- 10 gauge- 2.5mm
- 8 gauge- 3.2mm
- 6 gauge- 4mm
- 4 gauge- 5mm
- 2 gauge- 6mm
- 1 gauge - 7mm
- 0 gauge- 8mm
- 9mm
- 00 gauge- 10mm
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}- 11mm
- ½ inch- 12.7mm
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}- 14mm
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}- 16mm
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}- 18mm
- ¾ inch- 19mm
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}- 22mm
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}- 24mm
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}- 25mm
- 1 and 1/16 inch- 28mm
- 1 and 1/8 inch- 30mm
- 1 and ¼ inch- 32mm
- 1 and 3/8 inch- 35mm
- 1 and ½ inch- 38mm
- 1 and 5/8 inch- 41mm
- 1 and ¾ inch- 44mm
- 1 and 7/8 inch- 47mm
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}- 50mm
- Sizes can get bigger after {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}, but it is most commonly the biggest size.
- Buy tapers and earrings. A taper is a long stick used to stretch your ear from a small size to a bigger one, but for the first few stretches (before a 10 or 8 gauge, depending on your elasticity), you might be able just to put in the earring. Tapers are not jewelry, however, and should only be used as tools to stretch to the next size, and follow up with your tunnel/plug. There are other methods of stretching such as "dead stretching" and "taping". Dead stretching involves just waiting until your piercing naturally is loose enough to move to the next size without using a taper. Taping is where PTFE tape is wrapped around your current earrings then oiled and put back in the ear, a few wraps of tape every 3-4 days will move the piercing up to the next size fairly rapidly. Although, taping is bad. There are no tapes that are not toxic to the body.
- When you first stretch a piercing, hoops and horseshoe earrings are much easier to wear than plugs because they allow for movement and swelling. Treat a stretched piercing as a new piercing.
- Lubricants also make a stretch easier. While you're out getting a new taper, get some Jojoba Oil, Emu Oil, Vitamin E or another lube. Neosporin and Vaseline are not good lubes. If you read the back, it says not to use on a cut or open wound (like freshly stretched ears).
- Stretch your ears. Find a time when you have the bathroom to yourself and push the taper in. When it finally gets in, let your ear rest and put the earring in. Don't forget to lube the taper and both sides of your ear. Some people say a hot shower beforehand helps to make your ear a bit stretchy and massage it to get the blood flowing.
- When stretching, one stretch should start by pushing the taper in from the front, then the next stretch you should push the taper in from the back, then front, then back, and so on. This helps to keep scar tissue from forming and keeps stretching easier.
- Keep it clean! Go get some Pressurized Sterile Saline like Neil Med's Wound Wash. Do not make your own solution. Use ear care solution from the piercer for cleaning away crusties, or little bits of sand-like tissue that comes out of your ears. This is when it's easier to use a hoop earring.
- Prepare for the next stretch. Here is a chart to determine how long you should wait in between stretches:
- 16g to 14g - 1 month
- 14g to 12g - 1 month
- 12g to 10g - 1.5 months
- 10g to 8g - 2 months
- 8g to 6g - 3 months
- 6g to 4g - 3 month
- 4g to 2g - 3 months
- 2g to 0g - 4 months
- 0g to 00g - 4 months
- Using Teflon tape and packing it onto your earrings can make it bigger between stretches and makes stretching easier, but is more likely to harbor bacteria that can cause infection. Taping is not a good idea.
- Know when to stop. If you stretch improperly and get a blowout or thin lobes, downsize, and do daily oil massages to thicken lobes. With blowouts, downsize and put a single flared plug in from the opposite side to "roll" it back in.
Gauge Size Chart
Doc:Gauge Size Chart
Tips
- Also stay away from showering with wooden plugs. Doing so will cause the wood to warp and expand open from the shower steam. Opening little harbors for bacteria to hang out in and mad mess your ears up.
- Don't skip gauges when stretching. This can cause an ear blowout, or other unwanted effects to your piercing, including infection and splitting of the skin. Go up one size at a time from 18g to 16g, and then 14g, 12g, 10g, 8g, 6g, 4g, 2g, 1g 0g, 00g, etc.
- Weights are not a good way to stretch as this places more pressure on the bottom of the piercing and can lead to breaking the piercing.
- Try to stay away from stretching with Silicone Plugs. (i.e., flesh tones.)
- Consider taking some vitamins and/or herbal immune boosters while you're stretching. Vitamins C, E, B-Complex, antioxidants, and Echinacea can help the skin heal faster and in turn reduce the risk of infection.
- Only stretch with surgical steel, titanium or glass. Wood and other organics should only be used in healed piercings. Do NOT stretch with acrylic, it harbors bacteria and can cause infection. Acrylic jewelry should only be worn in healed piercings.
- Make sure you search the web for people's accounts on lobe stretching. One good place is bme another is [1]
- Even though they are easier to get in because they give in and are rubber, They will most definitely rip your ears.
- Clean your ears! They're just like a fresh piercing! You need to clean them at least once (preferably twice) a day for as long as they're healing! Neil Med's Wound Wash is a really good investment. Don't mix your own solution. Don't use hydrogen peroxide to clean them. It's cytotoxic (cell killing) meaning it kills ALL the cells, both good and bad. No Neosporin/other ointment creams. It can prevent air from getting to your ear and slows the healing process.
- Check your school/work restrictions before stretching, be sure it is appropriate in your school/work environment.
Warnings
- If you get a blowout, you should downsize your ears, and not continue stretching as this will result in either tearing your ear lobe or a massive scar tissue.
- You should not have blood or any pain during a stretch. If you do, stop the stretch, put your old earrings in, and continue the sea salt soaks. Wait a couple of weeks or so.
