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Stretching my ears for a gauge
Zombiemambo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Posts
If you do decide to stretch, assume its going to be permanent. Especially if you're stretching up to anything over 4 gauge (typically that's considered to be the point of no return where even if you take the jewelry out you ears will no longer shrink back down to a normal earring size hole.)
If you still want to stretch, know that it takes a long tie to stretch a piercing. If you do not already have pierced ears, get the initial piercing from a body piercer at a tattoo shop or something. Evils of piercing guns and stuff aside, a body piercer will know how to place the piercing to better facilitate stretching than a cart in the mall. They'll usually pierce an ear at about 14 gauge. After a few months of healing that, you would get a 12 gauge taper and jewelry. Let that heal a few months, then go to 10 gauge. Heal a few months, 8 gauge. Then keep going like that until you get to the desired size. If you get impatient and skip sizes or stretch up too early - well, the best case scenario would be your ears start to look like cat butt holes when your jewelry is out; worst case would be a tear or a blow out.
I'm a student for the next 4 years at least, and my current employer won't care. I also don't plan on making them so big that they won't close up.
I will say that my right ear which I stopped at 4g has since closed entirely (can't pass anything through the residual hole impression, can't even tell it's there unless within a foot or so), and my left ear which got up to 0g looks like a regular pierced ear with nothing in it. Not sure how well they would have closed if I had let them heal entirely and left them for a long period of time, though. Shortly after getting as far as I did I removed all my piercings so they were never fully healed while stretched.
The most difficult part was the beginning. I had no intention of paying for the expensive tapers so it was a lot of homemade junk. Including a metal fork tine, a q-tip shaft with teflon plumbing tape wrapped around it, and eventually plastic kid's Crayola watercolor paintbrush handles. Slather appropriately ended tapered item in Neosporin and go. Clean with Dial soap. Never had any infections with any of my piercings.
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This makes sense. And just to add (as someone who's never tried this, but spent a few years studying tissue regeneration): Take what people say about shrinking with a grain of salt, depending on your age. Something that would shrink back when you're 25 definitely might not once you're 35+. For a 20-yr old almost anything will probably heal. You said you'll be in school, so probably you're young enough not to care.
I guess when you're picking a size, make sure you think about how permanent you want this to be before you progress. How quickly they shrink back may not only be a factor of size or age, but also how long you keep them in. The people I know who had them for years (smaller than hers, of course) but don't wear them anymore still have holes they can put their pinky through.
1. How long do I need to wait before I can first take the piercing out, and
2. do I take the piercing out when I'm cleaning my ears?
Honestly, why not call the shop you had them done at and ask them? They're the real professionals. I wouldn't muck about when it's pertaining to your body.
I plan to, I just haven't had the chance yet.
1.) Eternity, unless you mean take it out to stretch up a piercing can start to close in as little as a few hours even if it's been in for years. If you mean for stretching purposes, a good long while. It needs to be fully healed and no longer inflamed.
2.) No, use an anti-biotic soap and rotate the piercing a little to get the crusties off of it. Do not use rubbing alcohol.
Ooh, excellent. Thanks for the tip!
If, because of work or some unforeseen circumstance, I have to remove them, how long do I have to wait? Should I wait for them to completely heal? And how would I take care of them if they're removed?
As a guy there's a greater stigma. I don't know any higher level professional women with them but I think that'll be different in a decade. I know a lot of women who do okay for themselves with plugs though.
The rate at which they're gonna shrink is going to change person to person. You shouldn't still have them in if you're within a few months of serious job interview just given that you'll have a hard time estimating healing rate until you've removed them and found out.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH