Okay so I probably messed up.. (new to stretching)

[nujabes02]

I got my ears pierced in January at Piercing Pagoda in the mall.
I recently decided to stretch my ears out, so I asked my friend with plugswhat size to buy so he could help me. I went and bout acrylic plugs(they look like spikes) at Spencers. They only had 12g. My friend got alcohol and vasoline and the plug went in easily enough. It hurt at first but now it feels painless.

My question is, if everything seems fine can I keep these plugs in for awhile, or should I just take them out and go back to ear rings? Also, I can only afford the acrylic plugs :/ how can i take care of them as to not cause infection? Thanks

[WindowLicker]

Well first off you've skipped a few sizes which screwed your ears up. It may not look or feel like it but you've just caused your ears to have a bunch of scar tissue. Never use alcohol when stretching. The jewerly you've got in are tapers. They're intended to be used only as tools for stretching, not to be worn so get a pair of normal plugs and tapers at 18g. You should wait a minimum of 5-6 months after the piercing to stretch. Remember for future reference, just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean you're ready or that you're doing it right. I know it's kinda too late now, but never pierce at a place at the mall. Because they just use a gun instead of a needle they're causing a lot of trauma to your ears which is also adding more scar tissue inside your ears.

[nujabes02]

Well first off you've skipped a few sizes which screwed your ears up. It may not look or feel like it but you've just caused your ears to have a bunch of scar tissue. Never use alcohol when stretching. The jewerly you've got in are tapers. They're intended to be used only as tools for stretching, not to be worn so get a pair of normal plugs and tapers at 18g. You should wait a minimum of 5-6 months after the piercing to stretch. Remember for future reference, just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean you're ready or that you're doing it right. I know it's kinda too late now, but never pierce at a place at the mall. Because they just use a gun instead of a needle they're causing a lot of trauma to your ears which is also adding more scar tissue inside your ears.

Alright thanks for the info. When I went to buy the plugs none of the stores had anything smaller than 12g. After reading this and other things online, I think I will just let it stay in there for a long time, and if it hurts or anything take it out.
When I stretch my other ear out, I will do it how you said.

[Deano]

Why bother asking for the advice of the experienced if you're just going to keep the stupid 12g in anyway? Why waste your time or ours? It doesn't make sense. Not one bit.

[nujabes02]

Why bother asking for the advice of the experienced if you're just going to keep the stupid 12g in anyway? Why waste your time or ours? It doesn't make sense. Not one bit.

I guess you missed the part where I said I was going to follow his instructions for my other ear..

[shannonb50]

he definitely just told you what was up.

try researching about stretching before you spur of the moment decide to go to spencers and settle with a 12g...which, like i said and everyone else has said, is a stupid as hell idea.
...and again, if you RESEARCHED stretching you would know jumping all the way up to a 12g is horrible.

[Deano]

Umm....I have no idea if I'm losing my mind or what, but did my last post get deleted?

[shannonb50]

Umm....I have no idea if I'm losing my mind or what, but did my last post get deleted?

what the hell?! it definitely did...cuz the quote went away too from you in my post.
hmm, alright then.

[Deano]

OK...LOL. Wondering if it was because I linked to BAF? Well, whatever. If that's the case, then there are a number of other posts that should be deleted as well, because I know I'm not the first to link to products found on BAF.

Anyway, Nujabes, what I said was that it doesn't matter whether or not you said that you were going to do it with your OTHER ear. You claimed that you read on here as well as other places how to properly stretch, yet you still skipped 3 sizes for your first stretch. Not only that, but you started stretching about 3 months before you should have. If you want to screw up your ears, you go right ahead, but it makes no sense to purposely ruin your ear when you can just as easily salvage it by downsizing back to your original size, letting it HEAL PROPERLY and stretching up size by size.

The second part was about your comment that you can only afford acrylic stuffs. I find that difficult to believe when Spencer's and Hot Topic both sell acrylic taper/plug packs for $10 or higher, depending on gauge, and Bodyartforms sells all steel taper and plug kits for between $7 and $9 for 14g all the way down to 0g and acrylic taper/steel plug kits for $5 for 8g down to 00g. Just go to their site and on the left side of the page, click Tapers & stretching, and it will bring up all the stuff they have. The fourth and fifth items down in the middle column are the ones I'm talking about.

[WindowLicker]

Alright thanks for the info. When I went to buy the plugs none of the stores had anything smaller than 12g. After reading this and other things online, I think I will just let it stay in there for a long time, and if it hurts or anything take it out.
When I stretch my other ear out, I will do it how you said.

As Deano said, you should look online. If you've read all this stuff then why would you decide to just keep it in? All of us experienced stretchers will tell you that skipping to 12g is an awful idea, leaving it in is just as bad and even more stupid, and we'll all agree that it's not supposed to hurt, so why would it make any difference if your ear hurts or not. Why would you willingly screw up your one ear and then decide to take our advice with your other? Ultimately it's your decision, but we're telling you you will screw up your ears if you continue the way you're doing it. Between just Deano and I alone we've got about 2 years worth of stretching knowledge. Trust us, we know what we're talking about.