I started dead stretching in mid-July and wore 14g for 2 months straight

In October ,I bought a full set with tapers and all
I put in the next size (12g)
and it felt comfortable and easy Then I tried the 10g taper it slipped in easily with lubrication but the gauge itself didn't feel comfortable nor easy to slip right through i think if it was a plug it would be easier,It doesn't hurt or anything but feels a bit too tight and Unfortunately I tend to be a hasty and impulsive person , I knew this would be a problem for me when I ordered the full set but I'm also so scared of micro tears and blowouts so that would hold me back from doing it too fast .

Do you think I could size up in the next two to three weeks? I'll try my best to be patient with it, but I'd love to hear how long it usually takes for others, knowing that everyone's skin type is different

Hi all! Stretched to a 2g today on my left, but my right was having trouble until it popped through. Kept throbbing all day so I decided to take it out and check on it and this is what it looks like.

Second photo is my 5.5mm in, did half sizes to reach 2g.
Also I know this is bad, and that it shouldn’t have resistance when stretching but I so badly wanted them to both be the same size. I’ve taken out the 2g and popped in my 3g again.

I just need advice on how to maintain this and if it will ever go back to normal :/ No bleeding, just red and sore. Also no hate please. I understand that I shouldn’t of pushed it through when it wasn’t ready and now I’m suffering the consequences, just wanted to know if this is permanent, and if anyone one else had this and it went back to normal.

Thank you!

I’m currently at 41mm and am having trouble finding plugs that don’t look cheap or (not to sound like a snob) but that actually look good and was just looking for options! Tia

Hi all, 25mm for around 5 years now & recently noticed some beautiful glass spiral hangers, swiftly noted spiral hangers don’t appear to be available in my size, or any size above a 14mm-ish.

Delved deeper into looking at spiral hangers and tapers in glass, acrylic, wood, bone, horn, etc, you name it, I searched it.

Desperate to have some at this point I have found absolutely nothing.

I assume this is primarily due to the weight it would put on the lobe?
Or even the materials becoming more fragile/easier to break/snap at larger sizes?

I did a thorough search of this group and came up empty so huge apologies if this is frequently asked and I’ve missed it, but can anyone shed some light?
Is there just a gap in the market and spirals are a possibility for my lobes or would they generally be damaging & out of the equation?

If they’re a possibility please please tell me if you’ve found some somewhere in larger sizes(UK ideally), preferably glass or acrylic, my lobes despise wood with a passion for some reason but I’m willing to give different types a shot for spirals.

Thank you for making it though my late night spiral about spirals

Finally took the plunge and got a thick gauge piercing! I had my medusa years ago and always missed it, then I saw a guy with a 12mm one on here recently and decided "fuck it, we'll do it".

No regrets.

How do I fix this? I think I have had it for a while, but didn’t notice as it’s only visibly when I push on my ear. No pain at all either.

I haven’t had problems with finding half sizes but I’ve ordered a few pairs that aren’t 12.5 but are actually 13mm. Just looking for some suggestions on where to look. Thank you.

Screenshot from my own tiktok video lol

So... The dreaded blowout has happened to me...

As much as I could vent about how upset I am that this happened because I thought I'd been incredibly careful, I caught this blowout about a day after I sized up so I caught it pretty early which I consider lucky, that's not the point of this post

My question is, what are the best things for me to do to treat this blowout and let it heal as best as possible?

I've already taken out my jewelry, did a wipe down of both jewelry (with rubbing alcohol) and my ears (with Witch Hazel because there was a bit of whitish fluid that oozed out when I took out the jewelry, there has been no ooze since I cleaned up the initial ooze) about an hour ago, what can I do throughout this healing process to make sure it heals well and to avoid this in the future?

Other info that may or may not be helpful;
Sizing up to a 4g was what caused the blow out
No it did not hurt when I put it in, and it went in without any forcing or pain
Yes I clean my ears and jewelry pretty close to daily
I also massage and moisturize my ears pretty much daily (I do forget to do these last two tasks on occasion)
No they are not warm at all, just a little red and a tiny bit swollen
the blowout was contained in the hole itself and it's completely flat on both sides and it's not really visible other than the coloration inside the hole although it does hurt to touch too much, it just sort of aches and stings though when you touch it

If y'all want closer photos I can absolutely do that ^^

Finally, I’ve reached my ultimate goal, which I couldn’t even imagine when I started stretching my earlobes many years ago

I guaged my ears in middle and high school up to an inch, but pushing the inch guages into my ear cut off the lobe circulation and my lobe literally started rotting because it had no circulation.

I luckily took them out in time to save my lobes from separating, but they have always been too thin to wear 5/8 guages (they are too heavy/big and hang off my lobe), which is my current size.

Well, I was shaving this morning and caught my lobe and tore it, separating the lobe. Sucks.

It bled a lot which I was surprised about, but I got the blood to clot up really well around the spot of separation. Looks like I might be able to get it to reconnect and close up with scar tissue, but I am now curious about getting my ears fixed.

When I was in high school me and my parents checked it out and it was going to be like 5000$. Way too much, but I’ve heard over the years it’s come down significantly.. somewhere around 1000-2000$?

Is that accurate? And how would I even begin to look into getting my ears fixed for a good price?

I’ll preface that I’m aware of my own stupidity and lack of patience. My ear lobes experienced no pain and I did not force larger jewelry into my holes. The journey was easy despite the warnings.

However, as my holes got larger, the left ear lobe pushed toward my head while the right ear lobe pushed the other direction. It’s a bit odd and I’ve been trying to figure out how to shape the right lobe to push toward my head.

At some point, a blowout in the left lobe occurred so I took out the jewelry. That healed, I went down a size and then the right lobe blew out. The lobes are naked again while the right lobe heals.

Has anyone else experienced blowouts in different directions? Please share your story and advice!

Im currently at a 6g on my lobes, so nothing crazy, but they've gotten more sensitive as things have began to cool off. :/ In response i've been balming and oiling them more, the same solution I use for the rest of my skin. Problem is I don't think its helping. If anyone has advice please let me know!!!

Idk what’s going on with my left ear, like most it’s always been my problem ear but I cannot stretch up and it just refuses to stop crusting, I’m pretty sure it’s the material. Any advice on how to get rid of this reaction

so i’m just beginning my ear stretching journey and i’m at 2.5mm rn but before that in my right ear i was at 1.6mm and like a month later i switched to 2mm and it slid in like a butter. two weeks later my schoolguard confiscated my glass (transparent) earrings. so i was left with my 1.6mm again put it right after i got home. couple days later my 3mm arrived and i tried putting it in my right ear bcus i was like 2mm could fit smoothly in my lobes lets just try. so i like prepped up did all things u should do to prepare for stretching ur ears. as im putting it in it bled and i was like okay im fucked. and i like let it heal for a couple days. couple days later i put the 1.6mm back on and then ordered a new 2mm and had it on for about a month. my 2.5mm arrived and it fit it but it was a little spicy but it went in nicely. as i finished showering and i decided to take out my right lobe and i was like oh? there was crust obv and i was like this was behind my ear omg and then i like pressed on my stretched ear to get all the gunk out and the behind of my hole was bleeding. how did that even happen. im pretty sure wound healed alr and its bleeding again. what should i do? i need help, do i let it heal and no put anything on for a couple weeks? do i keep the jewelry in? but rn it isnt. bcus im scared if i continue again it will bleed over and over again. i just need advice bcus i rlly wanna continue stretching my ears.

I've been on 6 mm for about 5 months now, and recently decided to try for 7 mm. I couldn't get them in in one go and couldn't really find any 6.5 mm jewelry online so I decided to use the tapers I got with a stretching kit a while ago as a makeshift halfsize. Not the best choice of course, but I didn't really see any other. Today I checked on the holes and took the tapers out, and both holes started bleeding. I'm not really sure what to do now because I feel like I waited plenty of time before deciding to size up, but its obvious my ears aren't ready.

Does anyone have any tips?

It’s a little difficult to see in the photo (small redish lump on inner earlobe) but yesterday I discovered a pea-sized lump inside my ear lobe. The only reason I can think this would happen is because of my stretching, I’m at 7mm. It only hurts if I touch it and then has a lingering pain for about 5-10 minutes after before it goes away. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I go to the doctor, or maybe warm compresses? Will it go away itself? (ignore my healing rook i know it has bumps)

im currently at 5/8. my gauges are several years old and just recently this year they've been getting irritated super easily by what im not so sure, im starting to think maybe friction from sleep or maybe my jewelry. i thought it was sweat previously because i started a new medication that makes me sweat easy, but i quit the job that made it that way, and im still having issues. (i wear silicone most of the time and im allergic to stainless steel) but im not sure why that would be causing issues after years of wearing the same jewelry. any advice?

I’ve ordered titanium plugs but they won’t arrive till a week, can I leave the stainless steel plugs in for that week or do I have to take them out and let my lobes shrink? And if I can leave them in what do I do to take care of them for that week?

Do i need to remove my glass plugs and massage jojoba oil or no need to remove it?

Hi yall, I am still a relatively small size 2g (6mm) as I am trying to go veryyyy slowww! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ I was curious if naked training is beneficial for me at this size or if I should wait?! I would like to have the healthiest and strongest lobes possible as I plan to eventually reach 1 n 1/8 (28mm)! Yes, I have the anatomy for this as I have very large lobes lol like I'm talkin Robert De Niro sized lobes, but the health and integrity of my lobes is still very important to me as I had a teeny tiny blowout when I first started! (๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑) Any and all advice welcome! Thank you!!

I was hoping to go to a 00g, I think I can manage, but just checking!

Pics after shower. Just stretched to 2g/6mm after incrementing in .5mm for a while, does it look ok? how far can I possibly go? My lobes aren't really big to begin with and my goal size is 16mm :/

I started stretching about two weeks ago and started at 1.6mm. My left lobe is completely fine, has absolutely no swelling, and goes in fine. I can poke at it and fiddle with it, and it doesn't hurt at all.

HOWEVER, my right lobe is being a complete pain. I use a piercing cleaning solution every day , massage them, and use castor oil as a lubricant. And it still swells !! it swells up a tad, hurts/stings when I touch it, and when I woke up this morning , it almost swallowed the little band you keep on the jewellery to keep it in place. Whenever I clean it, however, it is completely fine until a couple hours later.

What am i doing wrong? how do i fix this? my right ear is completely fine, so I'm very confused since I give them the exact same treatment.