Stretching FAQ

[System_Star]

Originally Posted by Vonnie

I got a tear at 3.2mm, so I'm being ultra careful with how often and how much I stretch so aye, worked better for me

I think I'm going to stick at 8mm though.

Go bigger! One of my ears is proving difficult, but the other one is stretching no bother. I need to buy another stretching kit for the 6mm up.

I'll get to 20mm yet.

[karbon14]

i want to go to 20.........

[Vonnie]

Originally Posted by System_Star

Go bigger! One of my ears is proving difficult, but the other one is stretching no bother. I need to buy another stretching kit for the 6mm up.

I'll get to 20mm yet.

I managed to get a 7mm bullet, and stretched my right ear 6>7>8 but it just wasn't for healing, oozed pus for 3 weeks solid, so I'm sticking at 6mm for now

[fallen_nemesis]

Originally Posted by Vonnie

I managed to get a 7mm bullet, and stretched my right ear 6>7>8 but it just wasn't for healing, oozed pus for 3 weeks solid, so I'm sticking at 6mm for now

that happened to me going from 5 - 6 . Was absolutely mank cos I got both stretched at the same time, so I couldn't sleep on either side. :/

I ended up losing one in my sleep and the few hours it was out seemed to dry my ear up After that I took them out for a while each day and it sorted itself in a few days.

[Elmo]

my right ear isnt enjoying being at 8mm either, but i'm determined! it doesnt look as utterly mingin as it was the other day, the swelling has gone down and it's not sore, so just gotta stop it oozing now *sigh* on with the salt soaks!

[fallen_nemesis]

Originally Posted by bikuki

It really does depend on the person - some people can shrink back down to normal from over an inch, and others (like myself) are still above 1.6 after having them only at 5mm.

The usual concensus is 'If you're not happy to be stuck with it, don't risk it'

Also, the only real difference between weight stretching and plug stretching is that the stretch will go downwards (if you know what I mean) with weights, so the skin under the hole will become progressively thinner. Also, the hole may not end up even.
The main problem with plug stretching is that people don't do it properly. You should NEVER be forcing a plug in to the extent that your ear will tear (bleed) or become raw - your ear is simply not ready to stretch then, and may need an intermediate size.
Teflon tape is excellent, as you can stretch very gradually (one or two winds a day) so will far lessen your chances of tearing your ear.

that's still quite a bit though vicki if you don't have ears that stretch well. One wind of plumbers/PVC tape is equivilant to 1/2 a mm, so 1 or 2 a day is probably still gonna be pretty rough on your ear.

I'm having to do one every few weeks - a month I think

[karbon14]

its nowhere near .5mm thick, maybe .25....

[fallen_nemesis]

dude in Nirvana the young guy said it was .50mm cos I reckoned it wasn't as thick as that, ah well.

...does he even work there anymore/ not seen him in the shop for ages.

[fefe]

I stared off with average pierced lobes.Was started off stretching at 2mm this was at tribe in cockburn street.I was given wee clear plastic tubes to keep the holes open.I lost one in the shower a couple weeks later,so because it was a bank holiday Monday all i could find open was tribal in the cowgate.

I went up to 4mm there and had proper wee metal plugs put in.Much prefer these to the tube things,means i dont have to worry about them falling out although i was at the point after having the 4mm that i could pull them right the way through my ears and sometimes i would wake up with them stuck inside my ears.

Yesterday i went up to 6mm.Was a whole lot more painful than i thought it would be,Was told that both ears had a tear in them.Bled for ages(in topshop..nice) but ive been cleaning them with salt water and they are fine and dandy.Im pretty much leaving them to their own devices.

I was gonna just leave it at 6mm but im now fancying the 8mm in a while...
but the piercer woman told me that 6 is about a big as il get due to my first ear piercing(when i was 8)being done very close to the bottom of the ears.

Bit disappointed but might try the hole above it.

has anybody got any experience of this?

[Vonnie]

Did you go straight from 4mm-6mm? I'm not surprised they tore if you did, 2mm is a huge jump when your holes are relatively small. Realistically you should be waiting 4 weeks between stretches but if you're serious about going to 8mm then I'd leave it an extra 2 weeks then get a 7mm bullet from Nirvana and go to 7mm first.

[Witch]

2mm can be a bit much for certain people, totally depends on yourself though..

i went 1mm at a time for a while then 2mm hurt like hell until 7mm.. then my ears stretched no bother .. 10mm .. im there and i love it.. wasnt going this far at first but i liked the plugs

[fefe]

hey

i was told at both tribe and Tribal that a 2mm jump would be okay.I assumed that because they knew what they would be doing that i would be okay.
my ears are okay now but to be honest im scared to go up to 8mm because it was so painful and pissy.

i wanted to pay somebody to do it because i thought i would get the best service as it were,

my ears feel very tender still.

so you think that a 1mm jump next time is better?

cheetrs for the advice by the way!

[Vonnie]

I'd definately only jump 1mm at a time, and you can do it yourself fairly easily with some lube. I did mine in the shower using baby massage gel - the heat of the shower makes your ear a bit more pliable and the massage gel acts as lube.

[Witch]

depends on you to be honest, i went from 9-11mm due to the plugs i wanted, their 10 but flared at the ends... it didnt cause me any bother at all.. and i paid for all my plugs/stretches and i felt much better about it

[Vonnie]

I think when you're at that kind of size then 2mm is fair enough, but below 6mm I'd go 1mm at a time max.