Stretching vs punching (ears)

What are the pros and cons of these? Stretching seems like it will just take forever, but a punch just seems brutal.

What way did you do it and why?

Thanks in advance.

i haven't stretched my ears past a 16 (pierced at an 18), but my lip was stretched from a 16 to a 12 in about 2 seconds and it was painful, but not too bad and i know that if i want it smaller i just let it shrink. People that I know that have had punches say that it heals shtu in a funky shape, assuming it closes at all. that's just what Ive heard and my own experience.

jokersmile wrote:i haven't stretched my ears past a 16 (pierced at an 18), but my lip was stretched from a 16 to a 12 in about 2 seconds and it was painful, but not too bad and i know that if i want it smaller i just let it shrink. People that I know that have had punches say that it heals shtu in a funky shape, assuming it closes at all. that's just what Ive heard and my own experience.

So if I stretch..I can take them out and my ear will go back ( to a point )???

I'm no piercer, but from what I'm told, anything smaller than about a 00g will heal back without surgery.

Here's the deal!!

With stretching, there is no specific size that you can go to and KNOW that it will go back down. Everyone's body is different, and will react differently to the stretching process. If you stretch correctly (not too quickly), then you have a higher chance of being able to go back to the original piercing size, or close to it.

Biopsy punches, besides quickly becoming illegal for piercers to use in most states, are NOT appropriate for soft tissue like lobes.

Plus, they are ILLEGAL!!!!

When starting to consider things like scarification, punches, and "surgical" mods like ear pointing, tongue splitting, sub-dermal implants, etc., look into the specific legalities that your state has. There is a lot of legislation being passed right now that strictly limits what is allowed.

thank you for educating me some more deli

Suggestion!!!!!

Don't take everything I or anyone else says as the end all be all. I fuck up all the time, and post things ass backwards because I get so easily distracted while I'm posting (multi-tasking hahahaha....).

Anyway, if someone posts something, then go look it up, or check it out with your piercer, or a piercer you trust.

I'm not a piercer, but I feel like I'm fairly knowledgeable. That means I also realize that I'm going to mix things up every so often since it's not something I'm doing or talking about day in and day out, you know?

Sweet ...Thanks Deli. I knew alot depended on how I healed, but that info was just what I needed.

No problem! A lot of people DO say that 0 or 00G are the "point of no return" or whatever, but I've seen people who had their lobes stretched MUCH larger, and you could barely tell.

I had my second lobe piercings stretched up to a 1/2" diameter a few years ago. I think I took them out when I was.... 20? So they have been out for over four years, I think. Anyway, they STILL haven't grown back all the way. They are probably somewhere around an 8G or 6G. I wear the "regular" sized earrings in them now, but they have to be a specific type of hook so that they don't fall out, and they are dangly and girly hahahaha.....

But yeah, really just depends.

In MY opinion, someone should never stretch larger than they are willing to keep their lobes for the rest of their life. It's kind of temporary, but at the same time, I think of it as a permanent modification, you know?

What would be a good size to start with? I only want to go to a 2ga

correct me if Im wrong deli, but I think that you are supposed to start at whatever size you are now and just start going up gradually until you reach your goal.

jokersmile wrote:correct me if Im wrong deli, but I think that you are supposed to start at whatever size you are now and just start going up gradually until you reach your goal.

Well my ears are closed now...Havent had anything in them for a while.

hmm, I would ask your piercer what he recommends.

Yeah, you can start anywhere from an 18G to an 8G if I remember correctly. It's possible that you could start larger, I just can't remember exactly.

Now, the issue with trying to pierce really large is that with the beveled needle, you are creating a crescent incision where the needle (followed by the jewelry) kind of stretches the incision. If you pierce with something too large, you can create a small flap of skin on the back of the piercing.

The needle doesn't actually create a hole like a lot of people think.

Definitely consult your piercer on it, though; they should be able to inform you!

Also, I recently had a friend from the MySpace groups I post in ask me about starting to stretch, so I'll copy and paste my reply in a new forum/thread. It's got some general guidelines to go by and some good tips on keeping your lobes while you are stretching.


And make sure that you inform your piercer that you are planning to stretch before you have the piercings done. I think some piercers will have slightly different placement depending on if the client intends to stretch after the initial healing process.

stretched lobes weird me out, I don't know why.

Stainless wrote:stretched lobes weird me out, I don't know why.

Can we still be friends????

your ears arent all that big......00g?

I'm digging the CBR in your rook though

damn i can't see that pic from work. how stupid... I'll have to postpone answering until I do lol ... plus you didn't pm me something you said you would <3

jokersmile wrote:your ears arent all that big......00g?

I'm digging the CBR in your rook though

Those are 1/2" plugs. I have them taped up to about a 9/16" right now.

ahh, pictures are deceiving, they are pretty big. nicely done

jokersmile wrote:ahh, pictures are deceiving, they are pretty big. nicely done

I think it's b/c the pic is so close. But do you know how hard it is to take a picture of your own ear?

It's really fucking hard.

I took that the night I got my anti done. I <3 it, it's my favorite ear now.

cherrytat wrote:

It's really fucking hard.

yeah, and considering the topic, I love drilling holes

What are you using to tape the jewelry?

,thank you for this...i will find your cantast