Taping is where you take a plug and wrap it with small layers of tape every few days and it slowly gauges your ear up a fraction of a size at a time. Taper- a straight, bullet-like (should be about 2'' long) tool used to stretch ears. Tapers are not meant to be worn as jewelry so please don't wear them as such, they can result in torn/uneven earlobes which are not good looking.
Proper jewelry- From 16g to 12g you may not be able to find plugs so i suggest jewelry like captive bead rings, pinchers (stainless steel or titanium) or shaktis. Shaktis are weights so they'll make stretching easier, pinchers and captive bead rings also add some weight to help with stretching. From 10g< you should be able to find plugs, eyelets and larger/heavier weights. Warning, heavy weights are not meant for long-term wear so after 6g i suggest you only wear weights for 8-12 hours max as weights can also cause uneven lobes.
Gauge- a unit of measurement that measures the thickness of jewelry. You're stretching ears, not gauging them. The bigger the # for a gauge, the thinner the jewelry so from smallest to largest: 20g, 18g, 16g, 14g, 12g, 10g, 8g, 6g, 4g, 2g, 0g and 00g. Generally after 00g you start using fractions of an inch (i.e. 7/16'') or millimeters (i.e. 11mm). But millimeters are easier to use.
Waiting time:
If your ears are not pierced, you need to let them fully heal and give them at least 6 MONTHS (not 7-8 weeks). This will allow them to heal and prepare to stretch, during the first three months for suggest saline soaks 2-3x a day for 5-10 minutes and for the next three months you do oil massages, they feel incredible. Use avocado oil, vitamin E oil and jojoba oil; jojoba and vitamin E oil are suggested oils to massage your ears when stretching so definitely invest in them and massage your ears 1-2x a day.
Waiting time by credible piercers:
16g - 8g at least a month
6g - 2g at least two months
0g - 00g at least three months
The longer you wait while stretching ear, the better as it will preserve more collagen and give your ears more time to heal and get ready to stretch. Stretching ear faster than this will result in torn earlobes, blowouts, lots of scar tissue, the cat butt effect, thin/uneven earlobes, unhealthy earlobes, and resistance to future stretches. Please take your time while stretching ear will love you for it and you'll love the results if you let them heal.
Preparing for a stretch:
At least one week before a stretch, massage your ears 1-2x a day with the oils, be sure to clean your ears 1-2x a day with saline to loosen them up, prepare to stretch and to clean them, make sure you have appropriate jewelry and that your ears are ready to stretch. It is best to stretch during/after a shower or after a saline soak as the steam will help relax your earlobes. If you experience any pain or blood while stretching, stop and downsize immediately to prevent you from seriously harming your earlobes. Swelling, secreting fluids and pain are not normal when stretching so don't brush it off your shoulder as if it is.
Stretching ear should be painless and the most you should ever feel is a very slight sting. During/after your shower/soak, lube up the taper with a water-based lubricant and gently push it through your lobe. Keep the taper in for a max of 1-2 minutes and then prepare to put the jewelry in and you stretched your ear!
You should just keep them clean and dry. Washing them with antibacterial soap is a good idea. Don’t use alcohol, bactine, peroxide, etc on a fresh stretch, the chems are too harsh on that sensitive of skin. Use after piercing care solution. You can get it at places that pierce ears. Sally beauty supply has it, so does Claires and Walmart. just clean them a bit with that. But keep them dry. Oh, and dont use neosporin. Petroleum based ointments are too thick and don’t allow air to get to the piercing, which makes it heal slower, kind of like if you keep a bandaid on a scrape and it take it forever to heal.
Appropriate materials for fresh stretching ears:
Stainless steel
Titanium
14kt< gold
Niobium
Glass
Inappropriate materials for fresh stretched ears:
Acrylic (it's porous and toxic, please avoid it at all costs), Bone, Wood, Horn, Plastics and anything porous or anything that can easily break
It was well worth my money and remember to not skip 16g. Skipping 16g to 14g can still result in a blowout/torn lobe(s) so please do this properly. Please only stick to stainless steel/titanium tapers, although they'll only be in your ear for 1-2 minutes, it is really important that you stretch with the proper materials to ensure a safe stretch.
Stretching ear is a lot of fun, the history/culture is rich and fascinating and i'm sure you'll have a great time if you do this correctly.
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