Earstretching.net

I got my ears pierced at Ardenes (I know, bad start) with a gun a week ago. So I've got 18G holes right now. Because it was Ardenes, the studs look like shit. I have some 16G ones that would look way better, but I obviously don't want to mess the piercing up. The piercing seems to be healing nicely, no scar tissue or anything.

I plan to go to about a 6G, so I want to start stretching when its time, but I wanted to know when I could go to the 16G and keep it there until it would be adequate time to go bigger.

Thanks for any help.

4-8 weeks is the time you have to wait between each stretchs, but after being pierced you have to wait a couple of months. (3-6)

Sometimes the studs they pierce you with are 16G... they're usually quite a bit thicker than the fashion ones you buy.
If the studs are definitely 18G, you should wait about 4-6 months before going to 16G, or just when you can do it with no pain or resistance. After that, 6+ weeks is a good amount of time to wait between stretches.

Just wait until you can put the 16g in without any pain or resistance really. I definately wouldn't advise changing jewelry til about 4-6 weeks though. I had to change after 8 days because the post on the earring was to small... Took it out for about 1 minute and slid the new one through, already started to close up. Fortunately for me I'm at a 16g now because after the swelling went down, my 18g earrings were loose. Listen to your body!!!