Members Advice On Ear Stretching

Right, first of all, what is it?

Well, stretching a piercing can be used on some but not all piercings, Ears, lips and nose piercings are the most popular to stretch and ears are the most popular out of those three. Some piercings just shouldn't be stretched; Genital and nipple piercings spring to mind! When stretching a piercing there are a couple different ways. You can either do it by adding more normal earrings and tugging on them. ...
...it looks kinda strange and you could just pull through your lobe. The other option is to use tapers, such as the metal spike in the photo. Not only do these look better but also they let you stretch in gradual steps. These metal tapers come in various sizes, the minimum is 2mm and although there is no maximum, most shops only stock up to 20mm stretchers. These are slowly pushed through your piercing over a period of a couple weeks. Once you have ... more

Right, first of all, what is it?

Well, stretching a piercing can be used on some but not all piercings, Ears, lips and nose piercings are the most popular to stretch and ears are the most popular out of those three. Some piercings just shouldn't be stretched; Genital and nipple piercings spring to mind! When stretching a piercing there are a couple different ways. You can either do it by adding more normal earrings and tugging on them. This is rarely used now or the obvious reason that it looks kinda strange and you could just pull through your lobe. The other option is to use tapers, such as the metal spike in the photo. Not only do these look better but also they let you stretch in gradual steps. These metal tapers come in various sizes, the minimum is 2mm and although there is no maximum, most shops only stock up to 20mm stretchers. These are slowly pushed through your piercing over a period of a couple weeks. Once you have reached the end of one, you can choose what to put in the piercing. Tapers aren't always plain spikes. You can get them in different colours and shapes, such as a blue spiral. These work the same way.

Tunnels and plugs are pretty much your only option. A tunnel is a cylinder of plastic or metal, which has two bigger cylinders at either end. You unscrew one of the larger, push the tunnel through and then screw the end back on. This lets you look though the ear, although anything under 5mm in size usually isn't possible to see through. The other option is the plug. These are solid plastic, sometimes plain and sometimes with a design on. The plug is simply pushed through the piercing. You can buy hollow plugs which are designed to hide "illegal substances" from parents, cops, whoever.

Now that's sorted, what was my experience?

Well i was first introduced to ear stretching a couple of years ago although i didn't start until around 8 or 9 months ago. I first bought a 1mm bar. This wasn't meant as a stretcher but i thought it was. Because i was used to wearing a small stud which was around half a millimetre in size, i found it a bit painful to push the bar through. Once it was in, i was very proud of my new "stretched" piercing. That was until an ex-girlfriend told me it was crap and shown me her 3mm stretcher. I was determined to do this properly now. I bought a stretcher than went up to 3mm. I had this in my pocket for the day and by the evening i had forgotten about it. I met a few mates and ended up going for a drink on the beach. As usual, i had a bit too much and pushed the 3mm stretcher right through! The one thing i remember about it was my mate telling me my ear would smell of "dead people"! The next day i looked in the mirror to see blood had leaked through the sides of the stretcher. I very slowly pulled it out to see blood and puss leak through! I cleaned it all off slid it back in and took much better care of it. I washed it day and night and after a week or two i bought a new stretcher. This time it was 5mm. Once again i forgot about it until, stupidly, i went out drinking again. I remember pushing it though as i left a chip shop (After shouting everything's on me and spending way too much money!) It went right through and i carried on drinking. The next day, i felt very sore. I looked in the mirror and it had swollen. As soon as i started to slide it out, puss poured out before the blood started leaking. This was when i felt terrified. But i cleaned it all and carried that routine until it was better.

Right. Sorted. Well not quite.

I haven't got my tunnel yet. I went to the shop and bought what i was told was a 5mm tunnel. I came home measured it, and it was 6mm. For obvious reasons they won't take it back and I'm not wasting £6. I decided to use a paintbrush to stretch it bigger. I grabbed an old warhammer one and shoved it in. More blood, more puss and a slightly bigger hole. This simply won't work. I sat down with ice, salt water, a mirror, the tunnel and some kitchen roll. 2 or 3 painful hours later i had forced it through. I left it in for a few days before i tool it out to clean it. Amazingly, there was very little blood or puss and since then i have had no problems with my left ear piercing.

Since then?

I have pierced my own right ear and also stretched it to 6mm. This time with a 6mm stretcher i borrowed off a mate. I didn't drink this time and although there was a little pain at the time, it went a lot better.
Everyday, i take out the tunnels when i have a shower. Once i have had the shower i wash the tunnels under the tap, dry them and put them in. This is a must to avoid a build up of whitish puss stuff. Dead skin cells that smell like dead bodies! They are both fine and i will keep them in for a good few years, until i start to feel a bit of a fool.

One thing i must say.

The reason i had so much puss in my left ear may be because of when i first got it pierced. Something went wrong and i had a huge cyst next to the piercing. This went down over time but it didn't fully go away. I think that might of leaked when i stretched the ear because now it is not noticeable and extremely small.

So do i recommend it?

Well, yes. I do. I would recommend doing it slower than me and in a very different way. Make sure it is kept clean and you are not supposed to see any blood throughout the stretching. Use salt water to wash it and don't let it get dirty. Basically, treat it as a fresh piercing. The pain is minimal so don't let that stop you. Just use common sense and get started. The least it will do is give you a conversation starter and it looks pretty damn cool as well.

If you want any more information then go to your local piercing or tattoo parlour and ask them about it. I find them very helpful and they were always interested in helping.

If anyone has any questions then feel free to leave a message in my guestbook.

Thank you for taking the time to read.
Happy stretching!
Joe March 2008 

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