Stretchy Stretchy!

While practically any piercing can, and has, been stretched - this writing will focus on the most popular of stretched piercings, the earlobes. If you’ve spent any time in your life around human beings in general, it seems practically guaranteed that at some point, you have encountered one of them with stretched lobes.

Your goal size may be on the smaller end, such as 14g (1.6mm). Or, you may be wanting to shoot for the stars and set yourself the goal of a roomy 2” (50.8mm) or even more! Regardless of where your final desired size rests on the ruler, the principles remain steadfast through the numbers. Healthy tissue will practically stretch itself with gentle prompting.

How do I get started?

Well, first order of business is to have a chat with a professional piercer! This step, regardless of how everything else is carried out - this step can absolutely make or break the entire experience. Sounds dramatic, I know - but hear me out here.

I’ve lost track of how many times a client has come to me, half way to their goal size - with no where left to safely stretch to; solely because the initial piercings were placed very poorly for this journey. This could be fistulas placed too low on the lobe, those that are not even bilaterally, those that are pierced at too steep an angle, the list goes on. If you knew the whole time your piercings needed performed again in a different position to grant you the most possible success and size - wouldn’t it make the most sense to make that adjustment prior to months or more of working toward your goal size? Of course it would! So, chat with a reputable piercer about your anatomy, existing piercings if applicable, and goals. We will absolutely do what we can to guide and assist you to your dream diameter as safely and efficiently as possible.

Understand that regardless of what size you want to get to - this will take time, patience and dedication. While stretching appropriately is more comfortable than most people realize, you still need to be aware that you are asking a little something extra of this tissue through this process, and treat it with the due respect and kindness.

Fun Fact!

On the surface; this can look like a comparatively modern Western trend, but that is woefully inaccurate. The practice of stretching piercings is essentially as old as our whole species! Long before American teenagers were disappointing their parents with their shiny life choices, plenty of other humans did so. Some of the oldest mummies thus far discovered have been found to have stretched lobes, from Ötzi to King Tutankhamun.

Many cultures around the world throughout history have actively utilized body piercing and stretching as rites of passage relating to age, life stages and accomplishments; indication of social, political or economical standing and more - for countless generations. Some of these practices are deeply ingrained and have great significance to these people to this very day!

Common Mistakes:

Tapers worn as jewelry: This one is brutal. I see people wearing metal tapers, which are heavy but unbalanced. This can start to cause dangerously uneven stretching, which can split tissue. I see people wearing acrylic tapers, which are lighter but still quite unbalanced - and also porous. Like a sponge. Which means various germs are just setting up shop in the material and staying nice and cozy with your tissue while it is trying to heal.

Tape Method: This certainly is a method. Not a recommended one - I assure you, there really isn’t any tape on the planet meant to be worn inside the body. So, maybe we don’t put it there.

Skipping Sizes: The bulk of unchaperoned clients are already stretching by huge amounts at a time. For instance, for a 2g (6.5mm) and larger - the average difference from one gauge to the next is 2mm. That is already a massive jump - and people still get impatient and try to double down on that. This easily causes blow outs, tearing, and even the outright separation of the lobe.

Silicone Tunnels: Along with skipping sizes and dead stretching, this is what causes a ton of blown out and torn lobes. This is not suitable for a variety of reasons, among them the possibility of the jewelry essentially wet sealing itself to the lobe, breeding infection and driving it deeper into the tissue in the absence of anywhere else to go. Folding down a set of too-big tunnels, shoving them in and waiting for them to expand and expecting the skin to just deal with it is actually really rude, friends.

Slow and steady stretches the lobe.

Our preferred method is a relaxed approach utilizing single flare pieces, most commonly glass, in 1mm increments. Yes, yes - it sounds like this way will take an eternity. However; a smaller stretch means less potential damage, which means less overall recovery time as well as less back tracking and downsizing due to injury or complications. You have the literal rest of your life to enjoy your lofty lobes - sit back, enjoy the road to your craved caliber and get there in one piece.

As a general rule, most reputable piercers are glad to help you find the supplies you will need, help lay out a game plan for how to achieve your preferred magnitude and assist with troubleshooting and aftercare. This is definitely not a thing you want or need to ‘wing it’ with. We are here to help!

You’re welcome to schedule a consultation appointment, or if you know you want to stretch, schedule for lobes and we can get you started off properly.

The rest of my life??

We’ve spent years being told ‘oh, it will shrink back down until you get up to 0g; that makes it permanent’ and ‘if you just take care of them better, they’ll never decrease in size’ and ‘if they are healthy, they will shrink back down easily’.

Let’s unpack ALL of that mess real quick. As a rule of thumb; any modification to your body should be considered potentially permanent. There are lobes that once stretched a couple millimeters stay that size with or without jewelry in them. There are lobes that have been stretched considerably more that over a time of being empty reduced in size drastically, sometimes quicker than one expects.

The truth is, the human body is wild and sometimes unpredictable. Piercing and stretching are not decisions to be made lightly - do your research and ensure that you are prepared for what this can and sometimes absolutely does entail.