Please help me, Scar Tissue + Stretching advice needed!

[domdigi]

I've got quite a problem with my lobe and I'd appreciate your help!

I first pierced my ear at home around 10 months ago with a sharpened earring (not the best idea I know) but it felt lke a good one at the time. I think the earring was 1.6mm, so I left it atleast 2 months to heal and then decided I was ready to stretch. I bought an acrilic 2mm taper and stretched up. Around 4 days later the o-rings started to go inside my lobe so I went back to the shop and they said it was because I was ready to stretch up. So I stretched to a 2.5mm and left it for 6 weeks and it all healed lovely. I stretched to a 3mm left it a month and felt no pain and it was all going well. When I stretched up to a 4mm was the first time I experienced pain while stretching but it wasn't too bad so I forced it in anyway. I left it around 3 weeks and decided I was ready for a 5mm.

When I tried stretching up my ear went bright red and was really painfull so I put my 4mm back in a decided i'd leave it for a few more weeks. But for the next couple days it was really painfull and sore so I downsized gradually and within a week I took everything out and thought I'd let it heal over.

After around 4 months of nothing in my ear I've decided I want to start stetching again but I have a lump of (scar tissue?) inside my ear. I can still but a regular ear ring in (1.6mm) and it doesn't hurt atall. I've tried to put my 2mm taper in but it's really painfull so I don't think i'm ready to stretch up. I'm massarging my lobe twice daily with Jojoba Oil.

I'm wondering weather I should wear a regular earring and take it out whilst applying the jojoba or weather to leave my ear naked completely for a while. I don't know weather I've damaged the inside of my ear because from what I've read on the forum my ear should've closed over completely during the 4 months that I left it naked? I think it shrunk to around 1mm but now i've had a normal earring in for around a week I think the hole is back up to around 1.6mm as I can take the earring in and out without any discomfort. Also, even if the scar tissue is broken down by the Jojoba will this make it harder to stretch when I do end up stretching? Should I be doing hot water + salt soaks or does that not help with scaring?

Sorry this post is really long i'd just really appreciate all the help I can get, I can upload photos of my lobe if I need to because you can see the scaring on the back of my ear. It's like a vertical lump and it's quite solid inside my ear.

Thanks alot,

Dominic (:

[KAISERROLLS]

Heres my two cents. You stretched way to fast and that initial stretch you did, and then the second one where you went to the piercer. Those two were the ones that probably built you up the most scar tissue, but then you stretched it out, and now that you downsized it completely, it puckered up, because its all thats left.

I would recommend vitamin E oil over jojoba oil at this point, because it is more effective at reducing scar tissue at this stage. (Im a burn survivor with many scars, I know what im tlaking about on this one.)

Stay at this size for at least a few more months, is also my recommendation.
Hope I helped

[domdigi]

Thanks for your help, is it definately more benificial to use vitamin e oil over jojoba? c: + should I keep jewelry in too keep the piercing from closing over or should I just take everything out of it completely? D;

[KAISERROLLS]

Keep the downsized on in for now dont, let it close up just yet unless the swelling continues.

Jojoba oil is beneficial to your lobes no doubt about it. But after having many scars and being doctor recommended vitamin E oil, i would sugest that you buy some and alternate between the Jojoba and E every time.

[powpowrawr]

I agree with all the other advice given but this is just a suggestion. You can let your ear heal all the way and just dermal punch it out to a 10g or whatever you prefer. It's probably not recommended but in your case doing that will punch out that scarred tissue. and you can start fresh with no scarred tissue and what not. But I'd say if you go with that idea you should really take things slow and wait and let it heal and then stretch when your ears feel ready. Hope it helps.