Ear Stretching: A Step By Step Guide

When you begin to stretch your ear piercing hole to a bigger size for use with plugs, you are walking into a world of body modification that requires planning and care.

There are many ways to stretch your ears that will result in permanently stretched ears, pain and potential infections. This is not what you want. This is how you stretch your ears painlessly and potentially reversible.

To begin, accept that you need to stretch your ears very slowly, much more slowly than you probably think. You want to go up a single size at a time, not skipping sizes, and you need to allow plenty of time to elapse before you move to the next larger size. Most regular ear piercings are18 gauge, which means the first size you should consider using is a 16 gauge

Some guides suggest allowing six weeks to elapse between sizes, but this is actually faster than we would suggest. We believe that you should allow at least two months to pass at a single size before you move to a larger gauge. By doing so, you allow your ear to adjust to the new size, minimize the pain that can come with moving sizes, allow the circulation to return to normal, and most importantly, you are increasing the odds that your ear stretching will be reversible.

The biggest question many people have is, “how far can I stretch my ears and have it be reversible?”Unfortunately, the human body is a unique and complex organism and what works for one person might not work for another. As a general rule, you can expect that if your top gauge is 2 or 0, the ears will return to their normal size if you stop using your plugs. However, as with many things, your mileage may vary.

The best way to stretch your ears is by using tapers. There are tapers that come in a variety of materials. The most commonly used options are acrylic and steel tapers. The tapers come in the different size gauges and you just use the one that matches where you are in your stretching journey. The acrylic is less expensive; the steel is more sturdy and easier to insert.

Always use lubrication of some sort when inserting your tapers. This helps minimize the pain of moving to a larger size and makes the tapers easier to insert. Some places sell concave tapers, which allow you to use decorative plugs in the front so you can have a more interesting look than the plain tapers

Remember: always allow plenty of time to elapse between taper sizes, use lubricant when you insert your tapers, and only move up a single size at a time. This ensures a painless, easy transition to stretched ears.

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