And be damn sexy while doing it! :'] Naw, I know some people don't like 'em, but a 10 really isn't that big, just looks like a lil' black circle. I love my mods, haters gonna' hate! <3 :]
I'm a bit confused. I think you have your sizes wrong. Going from 10g to 12g is actually going smaller. I was pierced with 12g, then stretched to 10g. Then 8g, 6g, and so on until you hit 0g. Then it gets a little confusing again, but you don't need to worry about that now. As for your issue, I'd say go to a piercer. I had/have all my stretching done by my piercer. If you find a good, reputable piercer, that's the route to take. Don't do it yourself.
Maybe it's different where you are? Here the sizes go up? I was going by mm, like, 10mm XD? And just adding, the ear isn't sore, just tough! Arg,
The cone you refer to, I assume you mean a taper. What you should do is push the taper in as far as you feel comfortable doing so, then putting an o-ring on right behind it to hold it in place. It obviously won't be in all the way but that's okay. Then just through out the day just push it in more and keep sliding the o-ring up to keep it in place. Use a lubricant too.
See, I wasn't sure if that would be considered too forceful? People tell me not to use lube on it, or leave it half way, but it makes sense. Not too many people I know have stretchers so it's hard to get an opinion, Thanks! I'll be a bit concerned if it manages to push the little "O's" out, and unfortunately im dreadful at keeping them, I tend to lose more piercings everyday, sigh.
Do not do this. If your ear isn't ready to stretch, it isn't ready to stretch. Some people seem to think that by gradually forcing it in that their ear is ready. If you're meeting a lot of resistance, then just put the small sized plugs back in and wait a few weeks. I sat at a 6ga for 9+ months before moving up to 4ga simply because I felt my ears weren't ready. Also, they are not called stretchers, they are tapers. You should never wear them as jewelry or for extended periods of time. Use 1 to stretch your ear and then put in a single flare or no flare plug. The taper shouldn't be in for more than a minute.
I call them stretchers because it's the common name where I live, I know the actual name, i'm just used to the slang/like it and people usually understand. ANYWAY, :] This is what I mean about mixed reviews, I know how to wear them and there are plugs in my ear. I'm just trying to see if there is a safe way around my ear toughness, if not, im happy to leave it. No need to sound so patronizing!
i had my ears to 1 1/4'' for a few years. ive had them out for two years (which everyone is right they will NEVER go back to normall. Ive had them out for a few years and they still are 1/2 and will never go smaller) if you ever had a blow out on your ear it will always be harder to stretch that one. also, the act is stretching. the jelwery is plugs, gauges are on cars.
Have you tried taping up? Use ptfe/plumbers/bondage tape (it's non adhesive; do not use anything that has adhesive on it, the ones I listed are like $1) and wrap 1-2 wraps around a single flare or no flare plug once or twice a week. Make sure you oil it very well; the tape can be extremely drying. The ptfe tape I use will actually turn clear when I know it's oiled enough.
Ahh, see. But it's okay to keep going? The blow in my ear was actually due to falling asleep by accident, the angle I was shifting about on stressed the ear and stretcher (TAPER, for everyone getting butthurt! :'] Wah! ) And as for the tape thing, no, I've never heard of this. I just figured stretching them the standard way would be fine, so I haven't looked into alternatives. Interesting.
Once you hit about 2ga it's the preferred way for most professionals. It's a much more gradual stretch so you won't be as likely to blow out your ear. If you have a blow out you should downsize and let it heal. Leaving your ears naked is preferred, but you can just downsize. Let it heal then stretch slowly back up. And again, you shouldn't have been wearing the taper. I'm a little offended that you feel the need to call me butthurt over using correct terminology and trying to help you. Maybe next time you should just keep stretching wrong and not ask for advice.
Taping isn't really necessary until larger sizes (like, after 00g). The point of tapers isn't to gradually shove them through your ear. You get pierced, let them completely heal. Then go to the piercer, he/she slides a taper through and you're bumped up to the next size. Wait, let them completely heal. Repeat. Doing this yourself (unless you are a professional piercer) is unsafe and unsanitary, and leaving tapers in your ears is not smart at all.
I was kidding around, the thread was feeling a little serious! A rose by any other name. . . :'] Naw, I do appreciate the help, look, you've opened my eyes to a new way of stretching! Crack a lil' smile for meh. And I made a mistake, I thought wearing it was fine because it's all one size at the end of it, I didn't however mean to sleep with it in. And I did downsize and let it heal, it's been a few weeks, im posting this because I was going to attempt it again
This thread is making me headdesk. While the one end of the taper is the new size, it can put uneven pressure on your fistula, causing an uneven stretch, amongst other issues. You should stretch them yourself. You can feel if there's pain, too much resistance, etc. Your ears are attached to you. Your piercer can't feel if it's too much. How the eff is it unsanitary? Unlike piercing, you shouldn't be leaving any wound of any type. OP-check out bodyartforms.com. They are basically one of the best body jewelry sites on the internet. They're based in Texas and I normally receive my orders within 3-5 days with standard shipping. They also have a messageboard/forum that I highly suggest you join. They will be able to give you way, way better advice than you have been receiving on here. For the sake of your ears, please at least read this and this.
I went from 18g (regular piercing) to 7/16 in about 2 months. If you do it properly you won't have a problem. I did 18 > 16 > 14 > 8 > 6 > 4 > 2 > 0 > 00 > then I dead stretched (no taper just put the plugs in) to 7/16. Now you said it refuses to stretch anymore, I recommend not trying to stretch it anymore. One ear is typically more stretchy than the other (for me its my left ear). Push the taper till it just barely starts to hurt then leave it there for an hour or so and push again until it just barely starts to hurt and stop again. Do that until the taper is through and you should be good.
I have 30mm ears and I will tell you this, patience is what keeps ears healthy and happy. You should be waiting about 3-4 between stretches AT LEAST and only wear glass and metal in healing (less then 3-4 weeks after a stretch) ears. Ears that wont stretch are either irritated from wearing the wrong jewellery or have scaring or a blowout. If your ear has a blowout take your plug out immediately and buy some non iodised salt and dissolve it in warm water, soak your ear in it for 10 minutes a day until the irritation goes away. NEVER wear tapers as jewellery, the uneven weight destroys the fistula of your ear and cause stretched lobes that poke out at retarded angles, it also snags on everything and irritates your ears. Plus it looks your wearing a fucking dildo in your ear hole, just dont do it. If you cant smoothly and painlessly slide the taper through then don't shove it through or leave it hanging there. Never use acrylic tapers or stretch with silicone, it destroys the fuck out of your ears! If it doesnt at the time of stretching then it will show up as late as 6 months down the line, trust me! Its not worth it to stretch your ears too fast, i would rather have healthy 6mm ears then have ugly, nasty, thin 2 inch ears from stretching to fast, if your ears look like this: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpf7in6EIF1r0aqf5o1_500.jpg or this http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5h1cdYSZw1r0aqf5o1_500.jpg then you have severely damaged your ears and should of done some research before you jumped on the band wagon like every one else. Please do some research about how to properly stretch your ears and act on what you read otherwise your ears will make you look ugly as shit because they are all gross looking like 80% of the god damn hipsters I see who stretch because its "cool" and because they have done so much damage to their ears they cant shrink back so they look ugly forever unless they want to pay out the ass for surgery. You should really do some research and get learned before you delve into the world of body modification, its not something you can do half assed, no matter how small the mod may be. Hope you can help your ears and happy stretching.
I'll take this somewhere else haha, I didn't want to start arguments over the 'correct terms' for piercings or if I should be doing it myself or not, oh lawwwd the internets! Just wanted to know if anyone else experienced a tough ear )': Boohoo. Thanks everyone who posted, :] It's cool.