Getting started: My method

[ast.riske]

Before I hop up on my soapbox, I want to make a little disclaimer on what I am about to say.

First: this is for people who are thinking of stretching or people who have just started stretching. If you are well into stretching and looking for ways to solve problems you have, this post is not for you.

Second: just because something I say is aimed at a certain group of people, I believe that much of what I do can apply to anyone trying to stretch safely.

So, let me properly hop on my soapbox and get started. I have enjoyed my ear stretching journey this far. There is a reason. I did a lot of research before I even got pierced, let alone started stretching. So, let's start with the basics. What do you need to stretch your ears?

Healed, pierced ears.

Yes, if you are going to stretch your ears, they must be pierced and healed. If you were just pierced a month ago, please read this and then go heal for another 4-5 months, then come back and read this again before you stretch.

While I'm at it, be sure you KNOW WHAT GAUGE YOU WERE PIERCED AT. I've heard all kinds of odd things before. "I don't know what gauge I'm at. I was pierced and I can wear the jewelry my piercer gave me." Better yet, "I was pierced with a gun at a mall. Gunned piercings don't have a gauge."

Every piece of jewelry has a gauge. Most standard piercings are 20 or 18 gauge. Translation, the post is right at, or slightly under 1mm in diameter. This is important to know. Your body will quiz you on it later.

Other materials:

ONE taper gauged at your current size at one end and the NEXT size at the other end

A roll of PTFE Tape

A set of calipers (Inexpensive ones will do, digital ones are better.)

Vitamin E, Emu or Jojoba oil (Virgin or later pressing Olive oil will suffice if you absolutely don't have access to either of the others. I'll discuss this more later.)

Captive Bead/Ball Rings (CBRs) or single flare (or no flare) plugs at your next size

Sterile nitrile or latex gloves (optional)

Patience

Stretching is not rocket science. It is a bit of biology, but nothing too ridiculous. The process goes something like this:

Stretch 1 even gauge. WAIT. Stretch 1 more even gauge. WAIT. Stretch yet another even gauge. WAIT.

That is the simplest version of stretching, but I'll cover more later.

So, you're ready to do your first stretch. Awesome. You have your taper in hand and your jewelry STERILE and ready.

Before you do anything, let's look at the jewelry you've chosen. It should be glass, steel or titanium. If it isn't, please go back to the store and pick something up that is. Important items of note:

Glass is a great material to stretch with. I have yet to meet anyone who has a glass allergy. It's non-porous and pretty sturdy at larger sizes. Glasswear Studios makes all kinds of plugs in all kinds of sizes, including half sizes. I can't recommend this highly enough.

Steel is also good, but be aware of your sensitivities and try to avoid high-nickel-content steel. I really like the stuff that BodyCircle makes because it is all made from standard, low-nickel surgical-grade steel (316LVM ASTM F-138 for you geeks) I know that Industrial Strength is also very good for quality and they are here in my home town! : )

Titanium is great for people with strong nickel sensitivities. Much like Niobium, it is considered an inert metal. It can be polished to a high shine, is lightweight, strong and looks great as jewelry. The most common grade used is standard medical grade. (Ti-6AI-4V)

Companies using high grade materials take great pride in it. Look for the grade codes on their sites and products. You'll see it.

So, you have appropriate jewelry? Great!

To sterilize your jewelry, if you don't have access to an autoclave, boil it for 5 minutes on the stove. Anything that can survive that heat deserves to live in my opinion. Make sure your jewelry is cool so you don't burn yourself.

Be sure your hands are clean. Surgical clean. Scrub them like your health depended on it. It does. If you don't have a nitrile or latex sensitivity, consider putting on sterile gloves to put a buffer between you and you. The less you actually touch things, the better off you are.

Wash your ears. Don't scrub. Scrubbing will irritate the skin and make it hard or impossible to stretch. Just wash them with a mild antibacterial soap. Just keep thinking "clean."

Pick up your taper, roll the narrowest 1/3 to 1/2 in your chosen oil. Put the end in your fistula and carefully slide the taper through. If you get 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through without any notable resistance, you should be good to finish. If you have any strong resistance or pain, stop. Take the taper out. Put in your old jewelry and wait longer.

Once you get the taper 90% through, so the widest end is the only part left to go through, take your new jewelry and butt it up against the wide end of the taper, and finish pushing the taper through. You just stretched your piercing. Congrats.

Repeat this process with the other ear. Once you have your new jewelry in, secure it in place with the ball (for CBRs) or with the o-ring(s) for plugs. At this point, you're done.

If you experience any significant pain or bleeding, downsize immediately, or remove your jewelry altogether. You can always try again later, but these are the only ears you get. Treat them with respect.

Aftercare:

Time is the best aftercare. I typically wait 1-2 months for each millimeter I will be stretching. Longer at smaller sizes due to the percentage of the diameter you will be stretching. Wait no less than 1-2 months between stretches, even at the smallest sizes like 16g or 14g.

Think of it this way, all stretches starting from 18g to 2g should be given a good 1-2 months to heal at the bare minimum. The stretch from 2g-0g should be done NO SOONER than 2-4 months after you stretched to 2g.

Let's talk about the 2g-0g stretch for a moment. Don't do it directly. Just about everyone I've ever known who has tried to taper from 2g-0g has had a complication because it is a BIG stretch. There are companies out there which make 1g plugs. You can wait the same 1-2 months before going to 1g from 2g. Then wait the same for 1g to 0g. Your ears will thank you.

If you feel some discomfort (which can happen) a good go-to remedy is the Sea Salt Solution (SSS) soak. The best mixture (by consensus of pros and biologists alike) is about 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized salt (like sea salt or kosher salt) per 1 cup of water. Heat the water to the point where it is too warm for you to comfortably put your finger in and leave it. Let the water cool until it is at a temperature your ears can stand without any pain. This will encourage bloodflow and loosen any crusties, ear cheese, dust and gunk you might have on your ear. Plus it just feels really nice. : )

Here's where some of the other fun stuff comes in.

Once you ears have been healing for 1-2 weeks, start taking out your jewelry for a while each day and letting your ears rest. This will encourage bloodflow and minimize scarring. I usually rest my ears while I am in the shower, 1-2 hours while I am at work and then again in the evening.

At 2 weeks to a month, start moisturizing. After you shower and wash your ears, before you put your jewelry back in, moisturize. I personally use unscented, uncolored, allergy-free lubriderm lotion on my piercings and my tattoo.

At a month or so, begin massages, as long as your are healed up. If you are still having any bleeding or pain, DO NOT RUB YOUR EARS. Otherwise, take a drop or two of your chosen oil per ear and massage your lobes. Put enough pressure to feel the rubbing, but don't crush the skin. If it hurts you're doing it wrong.

At that same point, if you have been resting your ears, you may be able to start sleeping with your jewelry out. I have seen amazing results by simply doing this alone. Lobe thickening and general lobe health seem to improve drastically over the course of just a few months. Even if your lobes are happy and healthy, there is no reason not to treat them with extra care. Just think of how great your ears will look when so many other people will have thin lobes, blowouts, infections and all other sorts of nastiness.

Now, some talk about PTFE tape. This is also known as plumber's tape or Teflon tape. If you are having a particularly difficult time with a stretch, for instance, 8g-6g, then you can make very small stretches by wrapping your plug with PTFE tape.

The way you do this is put a couple wraps of PTFE tape on your plug, oil the newly wrapped plug well and put it in your ear. Once you've let your ear relax for a few days at the new, slightly larger size, pull the plug out and add a couple more wraps, oil and replace. Measure your progress with calipers to ensure you don't overshoot your next size. When you reach the appropriate size, use your taper, ending in your new size, to guide your new jewelry into your freshly stretched lobe. At this point, treat your stretch as a fresh stretch, following the timeline above.

Finally, let's talk about oils. Each person has their own preference. I am personally oil agnostic. Vitamin E oil is good for nourishing your skin and is recommended by dermatologists for the skin as being safe and healthy. Jojoba oil is most like your skin's own sebum. Your body will respond well to Jojoba oil and it will help to keep your skin moist and healthy. Emu oil is also a safe, and healthy oil for your skin. Lots of places are starting to sell it like crazy, but I've only ever hear testimony.

If you are having trouble picking up these other oils, you can also use olive oil. Get the cheap stuff.

Here's why:

Olive oil is made from pressing olives. No surprise. Each pressing of the olives is graded based on sequence. The very first pressing of the olives is the oil used for Extra Virgin olive oil. This is the most expensive of the olive oils. It also has the most floating solids and fats which will degrade over time, and will clog your pores.

The cheapest olive oil you can buy is the last pressing. It's usually just called "olive oil," without specification. This has fewer solids and is generally kind of flavorless. Not so great for cooking, but definitely better for your skin. If you are going to use olive oil, use this kind. It's usually pretty light in color and should be really easy to see through.

There are a ton of other products on the market for stretching. The one I hear about most, though, is Holey Butt'r. This is kind of a mix of various different oils and nutrients for your skin. Many people swear by it. It's also rather pricey compared to the oils listed above. I know Jayne (on this forum) carries a vitamin e stick, which is about the same consistency as Holey Butt'r. It's your body, you pick your poison. Just remember, the better you treat your body, the better it will treat you.

I think that just about covers the basics of what I do when I stretch. Be patient and vigilant. If you take care and treat your ears well they will be big, plump and beautiful. If you see problems, address them sooner rather than later. When in doubt, downsize. You can always restretch.

[SAmTiNN21]

great post!! so just wondering.. when was the first time you slept with no plugs at ur 2 g? i was at 4 g for a month in a half and was always scared to leave them out for more then a hour..

[ast.riske]

I just got to 2g very recently, so never. Lol

My ears are pretty elastic, so once I get up to a size and heal for a bit, I can go for quite a while with my plugs out. I spent a good two hours today with my plugs out while I was at work. It was pretty easy to get them back in. That said, I also waited until I could dead stretch to my new size. I used a taper just to guide the plugs in for the first time.

Anyway, I know that's kind of a non-answer, but my 4g I could sleep naked after about 3 weeks. I would say, if you're nervous, try taking your plugs out for a little longer each day and see how much your ears tighten up. If you find that your ears are pretty stable for a few hours, you're probably safe to sleep naked. Otherwise, give yourself some more time. ; )

[corazon_de_oro]

Wow, you slept without jewelry at 4G? I'm at 00G (9mm) and I still haven't even tried. Maybe I should.

[ast.riske]

Give it a go-round. Once remodeling starts your ears should be solid for 8 hours or so. : ) my ears are fairly slow to downsize.

[corazon_de_oro]

I'll probably give it a little bit; I'm trying to get my ears to loosen up so I can wear my double-flared 9mm stuff and 00G plugs that are 10mm. But after that I really hope I can sleep naked! I'm always paranoid about losing my jewelry in my sleep.

[ast.riske]

I haven't had much trouble resting my lobes and still having the loosen over time. Generally, once you've started remodeling at your new size, it should loosen little by little anyway. Sleeping naked should help increase the production of newly modeled tissue, which will just build a healthier fistula, making the stretching easier. Mind you, I am no doctor and we both know your ears and mine are different. Either way, good luck! : )

[RADCAZ]

I Sleep Without My Tunnels All The Time, I've found It's Just The Week After You Stretch Up That You're Ears Might Start Closing After A Few Hours Of Freedom. ;P

[ViolentJayne]

great post ! ... now while every one is on the subject of sleeping naked .. it gets me wondering if its ok to sleep naked at 4 ga would it be ok for me to wear a smaller gauge jewelry for a few hours a day ? ( i usually shower with out jewelry but havent slept without yet ) see what Im wondering is I have these really awesome heart hoops which I thought were 6 ga but actually are more like 5 ga .. any way I really miss them since I moved up to 4 ga .. if I were to wear them on occasion for say 8 hours then put My 4 ga back in would that be OK ? do you guys think My ears would shrink up over that short of a time frame ? ... it is sounding like its pretty possible from what Im seeing about sleeping

[ast.riske]

I don't think it would be a problem. I have a pair of 6g rings I really like that I wore at 4g. In another couple weeks I'll probably feel comfortable wearing them again. I'd say give it a try. : )