This is something of a slang term that has become popular over the last few years. People that use it are usually referring to jewelry for stretched ears. Truth be told, there are more people searching the internet for the term"ear gauges" then "ear plugs" when looking to purchase jewelry for stretched ears.
Initially you should purchase both tapers and long term ear stretching jewelry in the gauges you will be stretching to.
Make sure you really like what you are buying as ideally they will be worn for at least a month before you gauge up to the next size. Keep in mind that while gauging up you will need a lubricant of some kind. Jojoba oil is a great choice. Vitamin E oil will also do the trick you can break open a standard Vitamin E capsule and use the oil if you can't find the real thing.
In a pinch you can use Vaseline or a generic petroleum jelly, but it's really not the best choice. The very best time to stretch your ears is when you have just stepped out of a hot shower. It is at this point that your earlobe skin is at its softest and most pliable. You will also be beginning with nice, clean hands, something that is also very important. Begin by massaging a small amount of lubricant onto your ear and then slowly insert the taper, small end first, into your ear piercing.
At this point pay attention to how you feel as stretching should not be painful! If you feel pain you should stop immediately as pain is sign that your piercing is not ready to be stretched. However, some minor discomfort and light resistance is normal so just be patient.
Next, align your long term jewelry with the larger end of the taper as if it were an extension of it. Push the taper through your ear along with the jewelry and then move on to your other ear. As you move on to larger sizes you can try a different method, one that is known as taping. This involves adding small layers of tape such as PTFE, Teflon or bondage tape around a piece of ear jewelry and reinserting it into your ear. By gradually increasing the number of tape layers over the course of the next few days the gauge of the plug can be increased.
This can be a very comfortable way to gauge up to larger sizes over 0g. Thankfully, there is not a lot involved in the aftercare of a fresh ear stretch. If you have stretched your ear properly there should be no tears or damage to your ear and therefore no need to treat them as if they were fresh piercings. The most important thing however is that you not do anything that will slow down the basic healing process.
Do not use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide near your freshly stretched ears. You can occasionally gently massage a very small amount oil or Holey Butt'r or Gauge Gear around the area to help stimulate blood flow to the area and speed healing, but not until two or three days after the stretch.
There should never be any bleeding or significant pain. A little tingling or a small amount of soreness is normal, but if anything more significant than that occurs remove the ear jewelry and downsize back to your previous size. Be sure to wait until the ear is completely healed before trying again. If all seems to be going well with your new ear gauging then after weeks you can begin changing your ear jewelry if you like and why wouldn't you, with so many great options to choose from?
Be gentle and have patience. One of the most common causes of injury from an item is to wear the wrong item while sleeping. Apart from the obvious spikes on some jewellery that can cause injury, Some tunnels and plugs can be forced into the ear by lying on them while sleeping. I have one friend who woke up with blood running down his neck because the steel tunnels he was wearing while asleep had actually been forced into his ear.. The lip had sunk into his hole and cut his ear, it was hard for him to remove the tunnel..
It was a painful lesson. We advise removing jewellery while sleeping to avoid injury. The only items we recommend for wearing while sleeping are the 'soft' silicon tunnels.
If you have had some bleeding then treat as you would any wound. Clean the ear regularly, use a salt bathe as described above. Make your own decisions regarding your health. Ideally after bleeding wear a sterilised surgical steel item until your ear is healed. If you have bled on an organic item, remove it Be sensible, don't wear a dirty item in a wounded ear! Blow outs happen when people stretch too fast, or try to insert a big plug in a small hole!
The pressure on the inside of the piercing is too much and the hole deforms itself by kinda twisting inside out. Some tissue pops out of the back of the hole.
This can permanently deform the ear, and it looks rough. You don't want this to happen! Stretch slowly. Don't force plugs or expanders in. If it does happen, take the plugs out straight away. Hope that the tissue is re-absorbed. Remove double flared plugs from your ears every day. We have heard stories of people leaving double flared plugs in their ears for weeks and then having trouble removing them, because the ear has shrunk around the plug. Be sensible.
Remove them often. Choose sensibly the plugs and tunnels to wear while sleeping. The only items we can safely recommend for wearing while asleep are the soft silicon plugs and tunnels. All other items carry a degree of risk. Some items have spikes which could cause injury while sleeping. Some flared items can slip deeper into the ear than intended while leaning on them while asleep.
Getting a piece stuck in the ear can be a painful experience you wont want to repeat. Organic tunnels especially in the larger sizes can be fairly fragile and might break is squashed by a head during the night.. Be sensible Sometimes people encounter an ear that just wont stretch.
This can be down to a number of reasons.. Scar tissue is much harder to stretch, but it will if you take your time. When ears are hard to stretch there is a much bigger risk of bleeding and infection, so be even more careful. Just go even slower, wear an expander that you don't mind wearing for a while, it can be a tedious affair to get past this point So you've used an expander or taper, and you've gradually moved it further into the ear over a few days, and now you want to put those tunnels you bought in.
Once you can push the taper straight through your ear, and out the other side, you're ready to put those plugs in. The best way to insert flesh plugs into a new stretch is to 'butt them up' against the end of the taper, then push the plug against the taper, through the ear. The taper will hold the hole open, making it a lot easier to get the plug or tunnel in.
Once the taper falls out the other side, the plugs should follow through. This is by far the easiest way to insert flesh tunnels after a fresh stretch. If you just take the taper out and try inserting the plug on its own.. Of course, once you've had the plugs in for a while, removing them and inserting others is a doddle. Bear in mind that double flared plugs see below require the hole to be loose, as the ends of double flared plugs are 0. For this reason, double flared plugs are not recommended for use after a fresh stretch.
Wait a couple of weeks before using them, and there shouldnt be a problem getting them in. A little bit of olive oil on the plug or tunnel will really help if the holes are still tight. Double flared plugs are then very easy to wear, comfortable and hassle free. Ear stretching kits are just sets of tapers ranging across the sizes. If you buy a 'kit' it will contain stretchers taking you from say 1mm to 10mm, this process, done properly will take months.
We think 'kits' encourage people to stretch too quickly. We advise people to go up a couple of millimeters a time, then let your ear rest at a size before continuing..
We sell expanders, tapers and stretching crescents for every size individually, have a look round the shop. Not if you're doing it properly. A slight discomfort maybe but no more. There's a kind of 'warm glow' around the lobes to let you know that you are doing it properly.
Actual pain means something is wrong.. Read the problems section. The answer to this depends on lots of factors. Generally though, holes of up to about 6mm or 8mm, and even sometimes as large as 10mm and 12mm, will shrink back down to normal piecing size.
Given enough time I do know someone who had stretches of 20mm, which shrunk back to almost nothing. He had very elastic ears. The factors that affect this are; 1. How quickly you stretched up How long you rest between each stretch Your skin elasticity So, unfortunately, there is no definite answer, everybody's ears react differently to stretching.
Ear stretching is a permanent body modification and as such should be taken seriously. Some Body modders would say if you're already thinking about shrinking your holes, don't bother stretching in the first place. In any case, don't rely on the fact that the holes will disappear.. These pictures are the cross section of the basic shapes used in ear stretching jewellery together with a description. A taper or expander has this basic shape, though they can also be curved.
You can move the expander in gradually, thus making the hole bigger. O-rings can be used to hold the taper in place. The size stated is the maximum diameter of the taper. Wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap. Remove any o-rings from your tapers or jewellery, then proceed to wash your lobes, taper and jewellery with the same soap. Leaving your jewellery in boiling water is also an option but just make sure they have cooled before inserting.
Why do my tapers have o-rings? Good question. Anyhow, we leave them on as spares for your tunnels or plugs. Massage your lobes with jojoba oil for 5 minutes. Doing so not only lubricates the lobe ready for stretching, but it also stimulates blood flow further. Lubricate the taper and jewellery with jojoba oil. Ensure you lubricate the entire length of the taper and wearable area of the jewellery. Slowly insert the taper small end first into the front of the lobe.
Remember not to push the taper all the way through, stop once you get to the flat, thickest part of the taper. Butt up your single flare jewellery to the taper. These two surfaces should match perfectly so there should be no lip in the transition.
This photo shows a slightly misaligned tunnel and taper, try your best to align by gripping both together with a finger and thumb. Once butted up, carefully push on the taper with the jewellery simultaneously removing the taper and inserting the jewellery.
Replacing the taper for your single flare jewellery should be one smooth, controlled action. Repeat the process for the other lobe if you are stretching both. The same taper can be reused, whilst you will need two sets of tunnels or plugs. Be sure to wipe off any excess oil and secure the o-ring onto the back of the tunnel or plug. We sell ear stretching kits from 1. When stretching past 10mm 00g we highly recommend you put down the tapers and pick up the tape. Ear stretching blowouts increase dramatically when stretching past 10mm 00g with tapers.
Dead stretching or taping then become your safest options to stretch up. Dead stretching is considered to be the unrivaled stretching technique amongst the diehard body modifiers. And to be fair, for good reason. Dead stretching is dead straight forward, there is not much to do and therefore not much can go wrong.
But again, the process has been misunderstood. Dead stretching requires patience and plenty of it. Whilst tapers are great to safely assist with the transition of larger gauge piece of jewellery, dead stretching should only be used when your current jewellery is getting loose.
The industry standard for dead stretching is going up in 1mm increments and as always, never skipping sizes. Over time the weight of the jewellery will slightly stretch your lobes and then the next size can be inserted with ease. The problem here is that smaller gauge jewellery is very light and this process could take a long time, even with 1mm increments.
This means you can stretch up more easily, and more importantly, make the process even safer. Pick your next size single flare plug. You can use our measuring card if you are unsure of the size but digital calipers work best! Remove the o-ring from your plug, then proceed to wash your lobes and jewellery with the same soap. Lubricate the plug with jojoba oil. Ensure you lubricate the entire wearable area of the plug.
Slowly insert the plug into the lobe from the front. As this plug is only 0. Be sure to wipe off any excess oil and secure the o-ring onto the back of the plug. We'll ship your order out the same day if ordered before 3pm Mon - Fri, next day delivery available! Stretch right the first time with SIBJ.
When plugs get bigger, so do the jumps between sizes. This is where the taping method comes into its own and bridges these gaps. Simply put, the taping method involves wrapping tape around your current jewellery to gradually increase its diameter. This method can be fiddly at first, but once you have mastered the art of wrapping the results are a cheap, super gradual and safe method of stretching up in the larger gauge sizes.
Which tape do I use? Get out of your garage and put down that roll of electrical tape! Most household tapes are not suitable for the taping method.
Strong sticky tape that can harbour bacteria wrapped around freshly stretched lobes, not a good idea! We only recommend using bondage tape when it comes to the taping method - no joke. Quality bondage tape is made from non-porous PVC that does not contain any phthalates, paraffins, or latex.
Most importantly bondage tape is self-amalgamating which means it contains no adhesives and only sticks to itself, not your lobes! Traditional bondage tape comes in large, wide rolls that can only be purchased from sex shops. Luckily SIBJ has developed their own ear stretching tape that is thinner, cheaper and does not require an embarrassing trip into town. Select your current gauge size single flare tunnel plug and remove any o-rings.
Then proceed to wash your lobes and jewellery with the same soap. Start wrapping the tape around the wearable area of the jewellery. A single wrap increases the diameter of your jewellery by just 0. On your first wrap, you will need a slight overlap to ensure the tape can stick to itself and hold its position.
Trim any excess tape hanging off the jewellery using a sharp blade or scissors. We have achieved perfect results using a single edge razor blade - just be careful! Lather the tape with jojoba oil and gently insert as normal into the lobe. As the increase in diameter is so minimal there should be little to no resistance.
If you struggle to insert then stop, remove the new wraps and wait a little longer. Taping is super gradual so you shouldn't have any issues. Yep, you just sized up. Easy, huh!? Re-oil your tape twice a day and stick with your usual cleaning regime. We recommend removing and replacing your old wraps with fresh wraps each time you clean your jewellery. The process can be repeated every days adding 1 extra wrap each time. TOP TIP: It may help to keep a note on your phone of how many wraps you are currently on to avoid overstretching when you rewrap.
First time stretching and worked wonders with helping me get to the size I wanted! Will order again if I run out! Hannah G.
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