4g Stretch Help. *urgent*

Share your ear stretching experiences.
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by kaitlynelizabeth » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:15 pm

So, I stretched to a 4g two nights ago, using acrylic pinchers. Pinchers are all I have used since a 12 or 14, and I've never had any problems with them. 2 weeks prior was when I made my 6g stretch. It hurt like hell but I had no issues with the healing process. I understand 2 weeks is not a great gap between, but I looked at my ears and inspected them beforehand. This is the first stretch I ever did that wasn't in the car after purchasing new jewelry. I used a hot cloth to massage my lobes, then antibacterial soap, which I also lubed up the pinchers with. Starting with my left ear, I massaged my lobe while circularly working in the taper, and once I thought I had it I realized I didn't. I then repeated the cloth/soap process and tried again, this time working it in. I then repeated everything on my right ear, with the first attempt being a success. I experience the usual (for me) burning/stinging for the next hour or two, and went to bed. Since then, they haven't been sore except to the touch, but last night I remember discomfort when trying to sleep (I sleep on my left side, but am careful at least while conscious to elevate my new stretches) last night, and upon waking up this morning I found my left earlobe swollen, hard to the touch, and my piercing was crusty on the front and the back. I used a q-tip to remove the crusties, then put peroxide on the front (then read somewhere this is bad so I swabbed it off as best I could) and then I came downstairs and did a salt soak. It wasn't sea salt, but I saw table salt can be substituted so that's what I did.

Basically I'm really concerned, I've NEVER had a problem with my ears before and it's freaking me out. Note, I understand my fault with the 2 week waiting period, but my right ear has no issues so I don't think that's the main reason. I don't know what caused it completely, but I'm looking for some guidance as to what I should do. I plan to continue the salt soaks everyday, but is there anything else I should do? I really don't want to downsize yet, and also given that I can't move the jewelry because it's still trying to heal around it. If you've had a similar experience please share what you did about all this. Thanks!

*Symptoms- Swollen, hard earlobe, crust, noted some blood in the crust.
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by ViolentJayne » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:26 pm

your not going to like Me for saying this but TIME is what you need . you are going way to fast - your ear had not had time to recover and strengthen .. they need to be more than healed they need to have time to strengthen . if you dont want to down size please at least wait 8 weeks or more before your next stretch .

I experience the usual (for me) burning/stinging for the next hour or two

that is the first sign that you messed up . you should never have any pain stinging burning resistance and your ears shouldnt hurt at all .

It should feel no different than changing plugs to another pair of the same size . They may feel slightly tight , but if your ears were ready for the next stretch they would be freely moving withing about 24 hours .


you just need to slow down . ear " stretching " is a misleading term it suggests that you really have to force the ear to stretch .. when in actuality your ear just loosens on its own when its ready
Last edited by ViolentJayne on Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by corazon_de_oro » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:27 pm

You need to downsize. I know you've said you never had problems, but pain is a problem with all stretches. Stretching should never hurt and if it does, you're going too fast. Also, pinchers shouldn't be in fresh stretches and neither should acrylic... you'll need a pair of single-flare or no-flare plugs in glass, steel, or titanium for each size.

Downsize to 6G or even 8G and the swelling should go down. You need to take the pressure off your ears or they'll stay swollen for a long time. Don't use antibacterial soap or anything drying on them because that will just irritate them more. Stick with the sea salt soaks but make sure there's no more salt in them than 1/4 teaspoon per one cup of water.
I'm Lindsay.
I have 1/2" lobes and 11 piercings: left helix x2, both conches, both nostrils, septum, navel, and VCH.
My lobes are small but I know a lot about stretching and how to do it safely, so message me if you have any questions!
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by kaitlynelizabeth » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:41 pm

Definitely not arguing with either of you, I'm just honestly totally confused by what's happening. I've always used pinchers, and I never changed them out for plugs. (Recently I've learned this is frowned upon, I didn't research as much as I should have but that's moot at the point.) They've always been plastic/acrylic except for my 16's, which were steel I believe.

With the pain, I have *always* experienced a slight pain when stretching. This prolonged burning/stinging I also had when I stretched to a 6, a) since it's the first full mm stretch and b) it's normal for me to experience discomfort. As I mentioned (I think I did) this is the first time I've ever stretched before exceeding a four week period. I was extremely ancy and wanted to just do it, so I did. I don't plan to stretch for 6-8 weeks again, starting once these issues go away. I just went upstairs to try and switch the pinchers for the no-flare plugs, and even the non-problem piercing wouldn't give very much. I could barely rotate the sore one (jewelry was twisted, I wasn't messing with it.) That being said I couldn't even downsize if I wanted to without causing more pain and adding distress on the piercing...Is there anything else in conjunction with the soaks I can do to alleviate whatever's happening? Or just let it do its thing?
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by corazon_de_oro » Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:29 pm

If you've always had pain, you haven't waited long enough between any sizes. Four weeks is really not that long at all. You need to wait until you can put in the next size without pain or resistance. It's not normal for anyone to have discomfort when stretching, and if they do they're going too fast. You CAN stretch without pain if you slow down. I know you've always done things this way but if you haven't had problems until now it's just luck.

Will the pinchers not come out or what? That's pretty common if you're having swelling... try doing a sea salt soak and then downsizing. Your ears will thank you in the long run, trust me.
I'm Lindsay.
I have 1/2" lobes and 11 piercings: left helix x2, both conches, both nostrils, septum, navel, and VCH.
My lobes are small but I know a lot about stretching and how to do it safely, so message me if you have any questions!
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by kaitlynelizabeth » Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:12 pm

It's always been a slight feeling of the tear, but I don't see how you can't experience pain...you're forcing something through a space that's smaller than the object...regardless, I haven't experienced more intense pain until these full mm jumps. I did a salt soak a few hours ago and the swelling went down considerably, I plan to do about 3 everyday to continue to help it and keep it clean and whatnot.

As for the stuck jewelry, yeah. I'm not even bothing with the problem ear, and the normal one just hurts as well (as in sore to the touch, norm). It's definitely going down though in the swollen ear. I also think the little hard 'ball' in my earlobe's size has decreased as well.
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by corazon_de_oro » Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:39 pm

Well, ideally your ears should loosen up enough on their own between stretches to accommodate the next size, so there's no "forcing" involved. That's how stretching can be painless. :) And when I say painless I don't mean a little sting, I mean literally no pain, like you're just putting in a slightly tight pair of plugs.

I hope they heal well for you but I would still downsize if you can... it will help take the pressure off your ears because you can still get a blowout days after a stretch, especially if you're wearing pinchers which can move around a lot.
I'm Lindsay.
I have 1/2" lobes and 11 piercings: left helix x2, both conches, both nostrils, septum, navel, and VCH.
My lobes are small but I know a lot about stretching and how to do it safely, so message me if you have any questions!
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by kaitlynelizabeth » Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:49 pm

Hrmms. I really think I should invest in some sort of oil for massaging, which would you predominantly recommend? And I sincerely hope so, I always hate the pain. After these heal for a minimum of eight weeks I do plan on continuing until a 00, as that's my goal. Is this to say the 2mm jumps won't hurt? I've heard they do, looking on here vs other sites I've seen confuses me, I've noted 99% of posts on various other sites mention pain regardless, and my friends who stretch also experienced pain, and they were the ones who did it properly. Is there something I can do to help alleviate it in the future?

And trust me, I would very much like to downsize, but I have a bad feeling about touching the jewelry at all. Bad voodoo! :lol:
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by corazon_de_oro » Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:29 pm

You can use jojoba oil, emu oil, vitamin E oil, bio oil, and vegan versions of emu oil (I used a brand called Naked and I loved it because it smelled amazing). I've used them all and emu oil probably made my lobes feel the best, plus it's nice and thin so it's good lube for stretching. Just make sure you're not doing oil massages if your ears aren't healed, because the rubbing can irritate them.

The reason most people have pain with stretching is because, sadly, most people stretch the wrong way, haha. Pain is a signal that your ears aren't ready to stretch so if you have pain, stop and wait longer. I have never had any pain with stretching except when I stupidly rushed my 6G stretch (and when I say rushed I mean I waited 8 weeks but it still hurt and I forced it in anyway)... Other than that all my stretches have been painless; sometimes it's taken 8 weeks, sometimes it's taken 12 weeks or more. I never really count time between sizes anymore though; I like stopping for a while at each size just to get used to the way my ears look and see if I want to go bigger. But anyway, the point is, wait until you can put the next size in without pain.

About the 2mm jumps... I personally believe that in-between sizes are essential. I never would have been able to make the 2G-0G jump without 1G jewelry, which is available at bodyartforms.com and other places. 0G-00G can be a 2mm jump because 00G is either 9mm or 10mm, but make sure you get 9mm jewelry first and it won't be such a big jump. :)
I'm Lindsay.
I have 1/2" lobes and 11 piercings: left helix x2, both conches, both nostrils, septum, navel, and VCH.
My lobes are small but I know a lot about stretching and how to do it safely, so message me if you have any questions!
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by ViolentJayne » Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:52 pm

I have never had any pain with any stretch either - Im only at a 4/2 ga but the 8to6 ga which is the first MM stretch didnt not hurt in the slightest and I waited a lil over 3 months maybe 4 .. your ear actually relaxes an then a gap will form . when you can slightly tug your lobe and see light thru the gap while your plug is in then its usually a good sign that you are ready to stretch - with no pain and no resistance . going from 6 to 4 should feel no different than changing out a green pair of 6 ga for a blue pair of 6 ga - no differance at all

I think stretching is a misleading term because it implys that you really have to stretch something like stretching out a to tight pair of jeans .. when thats really not the case ...your ears can actually stretch on there own .. I used to have 14 ga lobes but I wore heavy dangly earring thru the same whole while the 14 were in.. after a few years I noticed a big gap and I started wearing 2 sets of 14 ga cbrs in each hole ( not a good idea but at the time I hadnt intended to stretch and didnt even realize I was ... so after a few years of that I decided to research a little about stretching... so I got a 8 ga taper and it slid right in with no pain at all . How is it possible to go from a 14 to 8 ga with no pain ? well its because I waited so long probably 4 years but still they stretched on their own ...( i not recommending to do what I did , just trying to explain how ears loosen on their own without force


you only tear your ear if you rush

if you wait the correct time frame you arent tearing any tissue and you are not going to have any liquid or crusties
4ga lobes ,14ga 2nd hole lobes. 14ga tounge
full sleeve and 7 other Tattoos

SHE'S ALWAYS NICE
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WHEN WE DONT HAVE A CLUE
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FROM YOU
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