Hey, another noobie.

[Tug]

Ok, so I want to stretch my ears to a 4 or 2. And I have read most of the posts in the beginner section. And I do know the basics. But I just want to confirm a couple things from you guys.

So I got my ears pierced 3 weeks ago today. And that bad thing was that it was done with a gun. I didn't know it was bad until a week after I got it done.

I was planning on waiting 4 weeks to start stretching. And I had a friend who directly went to 8, and has great ears now.

Yesterday I just took out the piercings for the first time. And my left ear seems to be perfectly healed. No pink stuff or scar tissue, or anything. I don't even feel it anymore. But my right ear still has some pink inside. Then I put them back in obviously.

So yea, what you guy recommend I do?

[corazon_de_oro]

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but the minimum you should really wait to stretch a piercing is 4 months. I got my lobes pierced before I started stretching and I waited 6 months, which is the ideal amount of time to wait. I'm glad I did; I tried after 5 months but it was kind of painful so I stopped. Plus being pierced with a gun can cause a lot of scar tissue so you'll really want to wait. Your piercing may be healed after 8 weeks or so but it takes extra time for the fistula/hole to get strong/loose enough to stretch.
DO NOT do directly to 8G, and do not take the advice of anyone who did that. If he has "great ears," he's really lucky. Go one size at a time and wait about 6-8 weeks between sizes. Stretching should never hurt. A slight sting is normal sometimes, but there should never be actual pain.

[Tug]

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but the minimum you should really wait to stretch a piercing is 4 months. I got my lobes pierced before I started stretching and I waited 6 months, which is the ideal amount of time to wait. I'm glad I did; I tried after 5 months but it was kind of painful so I stopped. Plus being pierced with a gun can cause a lot of scar tissue so you'll really want to wait. Your piercing may be healed after 8 weeks or so but it takes extra time for the fistula/hole to get strong/loose enough to stretch.
DO NOT do directly to 8G, and do not take the advice of anyone who did that. If he has "great ears," he's really lucky. Go one size at a time and wait about 6-8 weeks between sizes. Stretching should never hurt. A slight sting is normal sometimes, but there should never be actual pain.

What are the consequences for stretching too early like next week? And lets say, going a 10.

[magalo le matelot]

and I waited 6 months, which is the ideal amount of time to wait.

The ideal amount of time to wait is determined by your body's capacity to heal, not by a number.

[corazon_de_oro]

I guess "ideal" was a bad choice of words but it is what's recommended by the APP and most people who know what they're doing when it comes to stretching. It's a good estimate and works for most people, though. 4 months or so is okay for some people, but it definitely wasn't okay for me and I don't feel that any piercing could possibly be ready to stretch before 4 months. To be hones, skin is skin. One person might be ready to stretch after 5 months but another person may have to wait 7 months. But no one is so drastically different that they're going to be able to stretch safely after two weeks or something.

Most people argue with me when I say it's necessary to wait that long but it's mostly people who've had their lobes pierced for years and have never had to wait to start stretching. You have to wait quite a bit longer than the healing time of the piercing.

[Hardware]

What are the consequences for stretching too early like next week? And lets say, going a 10.

Your ears are not ready for that. You really need to make sure they are healed completely and that your ears have gotten used to being pierced in general. Piercing guns cause 'blunt force trauma', basically imagine a straw piercing into an orange... that's how your ears got pierced. So relax and give yourself extra time, ear stretching is not a contest. Your friend might have an 8G now, but you can be smarter by doing it right the first time. If I were you I would be doing vitamin e oil massages to break down scar tissue and prepare your ears for stretching before you actually attempt it.

As someone who sees built up scar tissue, blowout, torn lobes and all sorts of disturbing shit everyday as part of her job, I say 'Trust me'.
Ultimately doing it right the first time means that you won't have complications to deal with later. Ear stretching is a form of patience. Humor us, buy some 16G rings and some 14G rings first. Once your ears are healed, try seeing which one slides in easily.

[Tug]

What are the consequences for stretching too early like next week? And lets say, going a 10.

If I were you I would be doing vitamin e oil massages to break down scar tissue and prepare your ears for stretching before you actually attempt it.

Should I take out my earrings and just rub it? Or just keep them in?

[corazon_de_oro]

What are the consequences for stretching too early like next week? And lets say, going a 10.

Well first of all, it's going to hurt. You're not only stretching too early, you're skipping about three or four sizes. Why would you prefer to do that instead of being patient and having healthy lobes? If you would've done some research you could've gotten pierced at 10G or 8G by a professional, but please don't skip directly to that size. You might get lucky and avoid a blowout or tear but luck is all it is... you'll also build up quite a bit of scar tissue if you keep stretching like that.

[Hardware]

Should I take out my earrings and just rub it? Or just keep them in?

You should do it with the earrings out, the massaging is the most beneficial part of it all. The piercings should be completely healed though, and since everyone heals at a different pace it is hard for me to judge if it is wise for you to leave your earrings out for any amount of time quite yet.
You said earlier that one was healed but the other still needed more time. I would personally wait until both are healed and begin the massaging then. It just makes a bit more sense to me personally to do both at the same time.

[Tug]

Wow thx, everyone. Real good info. I plan to wait 3 more weeks for my ears to heal. And start stretching at 14g. Wait, and etc. And if your lucky, I'll take pictures and post it up later on.