When is it safe to change jewelry?

[evanking]

Hi everyone! I'm a noob to piercings so I need some help. I'm getting both of my lobes pierced at a 10g tomorrow afternoon and I'm just curious how long I should wait before to safely change the jewelry. Not change sizes and begin stretching, but just switch from the initial jewelry they put in to different ones in the same size. Thanks for the help in advance.

[corazon_de_oro]

Do you know what type of jewelry you're getting pierced with? If they're rings, you'll probably have to change them pretty early. I got pierced at 10G with captive bead rings and they moved around way too much and made healing really super difficult. But I changed them to glass plugs after 4 or 5 weeks and it was smooth sailing from there. If the jewelry you're pierced with isn't causing you any problems, wait about 8-12 weeks before you change them, and probably 12+ before you start changing them on a regular basis. Those numbers aren't exact because everyone heals at different rates, though. Then make sure you wait at least 5-6 months before doing your first stretch.

[Deano]

I was pierced at 8g with horseshoes, and changed to single flare eyelets at 5 weeks. I had the same problem as corazon, my barbells were moving and causing some pretty nasty pain.

[Drrob]

Hi,
I was initially pierced with a 4mm / 6 Gauge needle, however I supplied my own titanium tunnels to my piercer and these were fine, I changed them out after 8 weeks to single flared titanium tunnels.
I cannot comment on BCR's or Captive rings being I have never wore them but I would guess that the pain maybe caused by the increased weight at the bottom.
Good luck on what ever you choose and welcome to the forum.

Regards
Dr Rob.

[evanking]

Well, I got it all done yesterday. I ended up doing an 8g instead of the 10g since he had eyelets only in 8. I will leave those in for a while, I was just concerned about having horseshoes, because my friend got pierced a while back and was having huge problems with the horseshoes they put in.

Oh and another note, the piercer said he does stretching for free as long I buy the jewelry from him. Would you guys recommend doing it through him or just doing it myself?

[corazon_de_oro]

That's how my piercer was, she only had CBRs in 10G and eyelets in 8G... I was too scared to get 8G but looking back I really wish I would've! Anyway, I'd strongly recommend just doing the stretching yourself because the process really requires you to listen to your own body. A piercer can't feel your pain so they're going to just shove it in whether you're ready or not (haha), while if you're doing it yourself you'll know to stop if it hurts or has too much resistance. Also, make sure you wait at least 5-6 months after the initial piercing to do your first stretch.

[evanking]

Ok, so here's an update. I've had my lobes for a few days now (since Saturday). Right now I have single flare SSS eyelets in the piercings. When I woke up this morning both of them had retracted into my piercing with the flare end. I popped them back out and they are fine now, but as you can imagine it wasn't the most pleasant process. I'm worried that this might happen again and impede the healing process. Is there anything I can do to prevent them from retracting into my lobes again or should i switch to a no flare SSS or glass plug?