Earstretching.net

So, I'm sitting here at work and my ears are red, swollen, and throbbing.

Last night, I went from my 7/8 steel flares to some 15/16 solid acrylic plugs wrapped in black electrical tape. I wrapped them in electrical tape because my ears hate acrylic, but I guess they hate the tape just as much.

They went in pretty easy, minimal effort.However, I woke up this morning and my ears are now very swollen, red and very irritated.

So my question is: Do I take them out completely and let them be or should I swap my steel flares back in????

At your size you'll be okay to leave them out to heal without them shrinking. Get a good pair of single-flare or no-flare plugs/tunnels to put in.

If you want to use tape in the future, get some plumber's tape (or threading tape, whatever you call it). It sticks to itself so it doesn't need adhesive like electrical tape, and it's safe for your skin. Plus it's usually only like 95 cents.

When you are ready to stretch again, instead of using acrylic, which is not recommended in general, choose a material that is safe for your skin. Don't wrap your new plugs especially not with electrical tape. When you stretch up to the next size, wrapoing the plugs overstretches your fistula and can cause other issues like tearing and blowouts.

Best of luck.