(This is a GUIDE TO STRETCHING- if you're looking for specific advice, just skip to the heading that interests you, no need to read the whole damn thing)
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(...however I suggest you do. Cause knowledge is... you know.)
HEY.
Alright, you. Yes, YOU. Sitting there, with an infected, oozing earlobe, or a blowout, or a taper half-way through your bleeding ear because you just HAD to go from a size 12 to a size 4 in one day. Tsk tsk. You should have known better, especially after reading through the countless horror stories abundant on BMEzine, after hearing from several friends that you should slow down or just give up completely.
HA! Like you listen! You're going to stretch your ears, god damn it, and you're going to do it when you want to and how you want to! It's in the first amendment! Freedom of... of stretch!
Well then. If you're like me (and you are, if any of the above describes you in the least), you'll be wanting some actual advice right about now. Like, what could or could not happen after you make that leap from a 12 to a 4, or how to know when you really, really need to slow down. Let me tell you, if I had just had a simple guide before I started stretching, my ears would hate me a lot less, and I would have been spared a lot of unnecessary pain and gross, disgusting ear excrement.
So. I created this guide with the hopes that anyone, whether they be at a 2 ga or a 20 ga, could benefit, and have a convenient place to go for advice, encouragement, and hell, common sense. Read on, and enjoy, you hip young individual you. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes, and if you're already deep in a pit of earlobe despair, gain some optimism and realize that yes, there is hope. ...Maybe.
Before You Even START Stretching:
-KNOW WHAT SIZE YOU ARE. Chance are that you are a 20 or an 18 (the size of piercing gun thingies), so please, for the love of god, do NOT go out and get a 10 ga taper. Start with a 16, or even a 14, but nothing lower.
-SIZING- piercings are sized in gauges. The bigger the number the smaller the piercing, and vice versa. Also, gauges can be found in even numbers only- 20, 18, 16, etc. So don't go looking for a 15 ga. You won't find one.
-RESEARCH. If you don't know anything about stretching, find out. Go on wikipedia, read articles here on BMEzine, google 'earlobe stretching'. Just don't go into this with nothing in your brain about it. Knowledge is power kids!
Getting Started:
-MATERIALS- You will need a tapered earring (a taper or a pincer) that is NON-ORGANIC (wait to shove those nifty zebra-bone spirals in your ears until you've fully healed- organic materials allow bacteria and germies to thrive within your ears, causing infection), some rubbing alcohol (to clean the jewelry but NOT YOUR EARS), cotton balls (or tissue, whatever), and hand soap for lubricating the jewelry and cleaning your ears (yes you can use hand soap, as long as it's not too flowery and frilly).
-Yeah, you all know that you need a clean area to stretch your lobes- clean hands, clean jewelry, clean blah blah blah. But it's true. At the very least, don't stretch your ears after eating pizza in the food court at the mall- be smart.
-Go SLOW. If you decide to skip a size (yes it's do-able, if your ears are 100% healed and happy), don't just shove it through. This will cause blood, and blood = VERY VERY BAD. It may take you 30 seconds or it may take you an hour, but as long as you don't force it, the time it takes you won't matter in the long run.
Difficulties:
-Oh god. Oh GOD. You were stretching and you heard a pop or a rip or some other nasty sound. Yes sir, that would most probably be a blowout, or a tear. This can be FIXED. Breathe.
-BLOWOUT- When you blowout, your ear, because of all that pressure you've put on it (you silly person you), has forced the inside of the hole out into the open, causing a nasty lip thing on the front or back of your ear. Depending on the size you are currently at and the magnitude of the blowout, there are a number of things you can do. Go here for helpful help- wiki.bmezine
-TEAR- Not as bad as a blowout under any circumstances, a tear is still no good for your ear. Anytime you're stretching and see blood, STOP and take the jewelry out. I know, I know you don't want to, but if you don't that little tear will turn into a blowout, and you DON'T want that. Run some cool water over your ear, dab at the blood, and yes, downsize. Do you want a blowout? Didn't think so. Suck it up and push that smaller jewelry back through, and wait for your earlobe to heal.
-MINOR- your ear all swollen, huh? Or red, or full of pus, or crusty and icky? Well what did you expect? This is pretty normal kids. When you stretch, you're creating tiny midget cuts in your piercing, so of course your ear's going to fight back a bit. Just keep it clean, wipe off the crusties, and cross your fingers. All of this mess should go away within a week (and if it doesn't... think about downsizing. But I know you won't).
After Care:
-SSS!!!!! If you haven't discovered the Sea Salt Soak, you have been sorely missing out. This stuff is all you need to use, and all you'll want to use once you start. You can buy it at the store (I don't, however, so I don't know what you would look for) or you can simply make it yourself. MIX one cup of warm water with 1/8 a tablespoon of non-iodized sea salt. More salt does not equal better. Soak your earlobe for 5- 10 minutes (but no longer) and hooray! You've got healthy earlobes!
-But... HOW DO I SOAK MY EARLOBE??? A handy trick- get a small cup (like a shot glass) and fill it about a 1/3 of the way with the SSS. Then hold the cup level and tilt your head sideways so that your ear is in the cup, creating a suction between the side of your head and the glass. Then tip your head upright and TADA! You're good to go. Keep a towel handy though, and don't try talking- it breaks the suction.
-TRY NOT to mess with your ear for a day or two after stretching. Playing with the jewelry is good as it helps your ear stretch, but let it chill for 24 hours at least before you do. This gives it time to start healing.
-MASSAGE your ear. After you do your SSS, massage around your piercing to get the blood flowing. Piercings fuck up the circulation in your ear, and it's up to you to help it flow nice and happily. Don't massage too hard, just enough to get the blood pumpin'.
Difficulties... With PARENTS:
-So you went and stretched behind your parents back. They're way conservative, against anything but a standard piercing, and would flip a shit if they discovered your ear. Well, hate to break it to you, but they will find out. And since I know you're going to go all defensive when they do... here is a mini-guide to dealing with them in a mature(ish) and cool-headed(ish) manner. (the following are two extreme cases- just read and take in the advice, huh?)
-GOLDEN CHILDREN- you've never done anything in your life to make your parents mad. And chances are when your parents figure out what you're doing, they won't want to believe that it's a big deal. They may act like it is... but your goal here is nonchalance. You've been good to them your whole life, and if you try hard they will most likely believe anything you feed them. SO. What I personally did (yes, golden child at your service) was let my parents find out on their own, and never make any adamant attempts to hide it. And when asked about my irregularly large piercings, I simply explained to them that I liked the look of bigger jewelry better, and that it was completely temporary and would shrink back to normal when I took them out. Which is somewhat true. The key is to tell them this like you're giving a report of the weather, and never, I repeat NEVER get defensive. If you act like it's no big deal, it won't be.
-HARD ASS REBELS- alright. You've been pulling crazy shit like this on your parents your whole life, or at least for a while. They really should expect this from you, and you can use this to your advantage, young grasshopper. Try your best to hide this from them until you're at a fairly decent gauge (say 4), but god, let them know before you get to a 00. Eventually, start putting your hair up or whatever so that they'll notice your most recent mod, and once they do, smile and be decent to them for once. Try something like "Oh, you noticed!" or "Yes, do you like them?" But here's the thing- chances are your parents don't know much about stretching, so play it off as big jewelry, not big holes. If they get angry, stay calm. MATURITY, my friend. Say that it will go back when you need it to, and explain that it is something you've wanted to do for a long time (even if it isn't) and that you've done a lot of research on it (even if you haven't). Show them you know what you' re doing, and that it's something you really enjoy. And if you've done something worse (like gotten a tattoo or pierced your own nape), refer them to this, and I assure you they will forget all about your stretched lobe.
Common Sense-
-LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. If you just stretched to a 10 and really, really want to get to an 8 NOW, stop and ask yourself if you're willing to deal with the consequent pain and infection. You probably are, as I was. But if you start pushing that taper through and your ear feels like it's about to bust, STOP. Really. It's not worth it, you know it, and in a few days you can try again. Don't be stupid, and your ears will love you for it.
-DON'T dead stretch. Aka don't think you can go shoving a blunt 4 ga plug into your 6 ga hole. Use tapers or pincers, and wait a few days before you slip those ear tunnels in. Dead Stretching can (and often does) result in tearing, so be nice to your ears and use tapered jewelry.
-AVOID double-flared jewelry until your ears have healed. They look cool, but the thing is that the part of the jewelry that is flared (the part on the outside of your ear) is bigger than the gauge you are currently at. So... unless you look forward to ripping that cool-looking piece of metal out of your ear later, hold off on the double-flared stuff til you've healed.
And....
-HAVE FUN! I know, cliché, but really. Stretching is a sign of free thinking, independence, and control over your own body. Take pride in your stretch.
-Most importantly, DO IT RIGHT. Bunches of people will be admiring/grossing out over your knew large piercings, so take care of them so they're not oozing and puffy when you show them off. Be an example to people thinking of following in your suit, and be knowledgeable so you can answer the multiple questions you will receive. But hey, if you've made it this far, you are knowledgeable! At least somewhat, anyway. HOORAY!
Hope you enjoyed and... -shudder- learned something! If you have any questions about anything I did or didn't cover, email me. I'm quite friendly and sympathetic to stupid people who fuck up their ears!
Good luck =)