Starting from scratch in a few days, just a few questions.

[FatStratCat]

So after playing with the idea for a while and reading up on this forum, I think I am going to go ahead an give ear stetching a shot in the next few days while I am on vacation. I'm literally starting from scratch (my ears aren't even pierced yet lol) so I was wondering how long after the initial piercing I need to wait before putting plugs in and maybe what materials would be safest and what would be definate nos. Other than that I think I have read most of the other basic information but would appreciate anything anyone wants to add. And I'm going to guess everyone here strongly recommends going to a profesional so I'm not even going to ask, I'm kind of hoping my girlfriend knows a good place close by (especially since her 0g/00g (cant remember) came out really nice)

[StrickyCub]

After the initial piercing, you want to wait about 5-6 months before stretching. This gives your fistula time to heal, thicken and strengthen, otherwise you risk blowouts, tears and cat butt.

The best materials to wear in a fresh stretch are glass, titanium and surgical implant grade steel.

Remember to not skip sizes and not go too fast. You can wait between 4-8 weeks between sizes, but generally the longer you wait the better.

[ninjapirate]

Follow what strickyclub said, I only waited about 12 weeks from when I first got my ears pierced, and believe me you want to wait for a while. All my friends are having way less trouble than me because their lobes have been pierced for a long time. So yes, the first step is definitely waiting.

Also, don't stretch with acrylic things, because it's so porous in fresh stretches it can bond to your ears or some crazy thing like that...

Anyways, you can learn a lot by just poking around on this forum.

[FatStratCat]

So I know everyone here is against skipping sizes in plugs but would it be a bad idea to get them pierced at 14/12g instead of the standard 16g? That is of course if they offer that as an option since I've heard some places do some places dont.

[caadam]

^ That's fine!
I've seen people who have gotten pierced larger, but 14/12g is a great size to start at, I think.

[corazon_de_oro]

Yes, I would highly recommend that! I got pierced at 10G and I'm glad I did, I even wish I would've gone for 8G. It still allows you to wear plugs and other pretty jewelry while you're waiting to stretch so you don't get too impatient.
Just make sure the piercer will put in plugs/tunnels/straight barbells instead of rings... all my piercer had in stock was rings and they just moved around way too much. But after I changed them to single-flare plugs they healed wonderfully.

[StrickyCub]

Totally agreed. Getting pierced at a larger size is a great idea, I think you can even go as high as 4g at some piercers.
It's a good way to get started, because then you don't feel "small" compared to starting with an 18g piercing and going up bit by bit. You're also more likely to wait the full 5-6 months, and after about a month you can safely change jewellery in your size so you don't get bored.

[Deano]

Yes, it's perfectly safe to pierce larger. I was pierced at 8g and I've been fine. That waqs almost a year ago now, and I'm just now at 4g. I really feel that starting at the larger side really helped keep me patient.

[FatStratCat]

Thanks for all the info everyone. Today I finally got both ears pierced straight to 14g, and now its just a matter of propper care and waiting for them to heal before I start stretching. I have to say the pain wasn't so bad, but the sound was just awful.