A tiny size change caused my ears to bleed ><

[hellokittycore]

Alright so, hi
I made an account just now because I'm seriously confused and this seemed like a good place to ask for help.

I got my ears pierced when I was 10, I am 15 now, and I wanted to start stretching my ears because I really like the way it looks.

My parents aren't too keen on ear stretching, and I wanted to start out small so I simply wrapped tape around a regular earring (it was duct tape, I did research on this before I did it and couldn't find anything negative about it :/ If duct tape isn't good you can go ahead and tell me now then xD)

It stung a little, and was sore, but after about 10 minutes it stopped hurting completely unless I messed with it/moved it around/took it out/ etc.

So that night I took the earring out to clean it, and there was a good bit of blood around the hole. I knew this wasn't good so I cleaned it and took the tape off before putting my earring back in. (So I basically downsized back to a normal earring size .-.)

Arrrg, I am so confused. It was a tiny size change and my ears have been pierced for years. Are my ears just determined not to be stretched? Should I try again in 1-2 months? Should I just use tapers? DX

Maybe this doesn't matter, but I HAVE re-pierced my ears several times over the years at home (well, not really re-pierced but I had to force the earring through a nearly non-existent hole many times because my ears like to close up all the time. I never wear earrings the way i should ^^;)

[corazon_de_oro]

Any tape besides plumber's tape (also called threading tape or teflon tape) or bondage tape is horrible for your ears. Duct tape is incredibly porous and also has adhesive that can irritate your ears.

I would suggest wearing your normal earrings constantly for a couple months just to get them used to always having something in there. If you're wearing "normal" earrings you're at a 20G now, so your next size will be 18G. Tapers are uncommon at that size, but you should be able to find some barbells, labrets, or rings. If you have any pain or resistance putting in the next size, stop and wait longer. Do the same thing with 16G. 14G is when you'll really start to be able to find tapers and plugs, but remember that tapers aren't meant to be worn as jewelry. For each size you'll need one taper and a pair of single-flare or no-flare plugs. Leave about 6-8 weeks between sizes, or until you can stretch with no pain even if it takes longer.

Good luck!

[hellokittycore]

Thank you for your help
I didn't know duct tape was bad, like I said I looked it up and could not find anything negative.
I have quite a bit of money saved up, I may go out soon and buy everything I will need xD