Ear gauging/stretching?

Question

okay... i'm a mom and my 13 year old son is thinking about doing this to his ears. He doesn't even have his ears pierced and am wondering if we decide to do this, does he start with just a normal ear piercing? Also, as long as he's under 18, he will have a limit on the size. He's been talking about it for a while and he's going to think about it for a couple more months. I have already told him to think of his possible future career and how dumb his ears will look with big holes in them. He says he doesn't want to go very big ever. I honestly don't mind if he does it, I just don't want him to go too big and regret it 15 years from now.

Answer 1

You get it pierced at a piercing studio because they'll pierce it at a larger gauge than if you were to take him to some c**p retail store that does it with a gun (usually regular earrings are 22 or 20 gauge).  After 3 months or so once they've healed, then he can either try sticking the next jewelry size up in his ear or he can try using a taper, which will slowly stretch the hole instead of brutally forcing the next size up through.  The slower the better because going too big too fast can cause a blow out, which are typically called cat butt, I'm sure you can guess why.  Zeros are usually the point of no return for most peoples' ears, so as long as he stays below that, then more than likely they'll shrink back down to a normal size if he decides he doesn't want them anymore.

http://www.bodyjewelleryshop.com/about_B...

Answer 2

Let me just say that your son is really lucky to have a mom like you. I started gauging my ears about 2 years ago. Its a long process its not like hes gonna be able to go from 20g or 18g (normal earrings) to big holes over night.

First he needs to get his ears pierced and let them heal. There are to many people out there that want to stretch them right away and it ends up getting infected. After about a couple month then he can start. He can start with a 14g its not to big of a difference when I started gauging I started with a 12g. (by the way gauging sixes go like this. 20g or 18g normal, then 16g 14g 12g 10g 8g 6g 4g 2g 0g 00g... and so on) Then after that heals then he can go to 12g and work his way up. The first couple gauges you can skip a couple because there isn't much of a difference but anything higher then a 10g it starts hurting. Gauging is a long process, I've been gauging for about 2 years and I'm at 0g. Anything past a 0g will not go back to normal, some say that its 2g and I've even heard 6g. Oh and use tapers, those are the safest way to make sure the hole is even. When I would go up tho the nest size I didn't really need any lube, I would just do it in the shower and it would slip in, with a little force.

Well good luck

Answer 3

Try and talk him out of it. it's a really silly fad and he'll regret it later in life.

Answer 4

Hi there, firstly can I say that I find it really encouraging that a mum isn't being so harsh on this piercing? I think this is really good of you, too many parents don't seem to realise that their children have there own minds. I'm really glad people like you are out there.

Secondly, he will need to start with a normal ear piercing yes. It will also take six months to heal the lobe piercing, and then a further month for it to really settle in and be ready for stretching. From then on your son can either go to a studio to get his ears stretched, or do it at home himself. (which is the most common method.) He will need to buy plugs in different sizes. Im not good at gauge size (cause im english) but I'll tell you the sizes in MM and you should be able to convert them.

1.2mm to 1.6mm to 2mm to (2.4mm is optional) to 3mm to 4mm to 5mm etc etc etc. after 3mm it goes up a size at a time. Your son may get his ears pierced at a 1.2mm/or 1.6mm though- and if he does obviously just go to the next size. Eg if he was pierced at 1.6mm he would go up to a 2mm.

He will also need tapers (which start off at a smaller size one end, and work there way up to a bigger size.) these help stretch the ear so plugs can be inserted. He will also need lube to make the process more smooth.

The process can be painful, but he shouldnt ever make his ears bleed or he will get a blow out. He should wait a month between stretches also and clean his ears with warm sea salt water.

I hope I helped you a bit. I would also like to tell you that stretched ears do and can shrink back to a normal size if he treats them well. i.e he doesnt skip sizes, he cleans them and doesnt make them bleed etc.

So if in the future he doesnt want them- he can shrink them back.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 5

I would go to a piercing studio and get his ears pierced at their recommended gauge, then let them heal. Over time, stretch them with tapers and some sort of lubrication. Leave some time between each size to let the stretched piercing recuperate. I usually wait a couple months between each stretching.

I've heard from many people that going to a 00g is as high as stretched ears can go if you want them to shrink back after taking them out. I personally think it's a good size to go to (the smaller ones just look silly to me :/ )

I don't think your son will regret it. If he doesn't want them, he can just take them out. As long as they're not over 00g, they'll go back to normal, for the most part.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 6

Well. the first thing you do is get his ears pierced by a certified piercer.  then you have to wait until they have healed completely completely. (if they are not healed even the slightest bit, then they will get infected)

most ears are pierced with a 20 or 18 gauge needle

compare his earrings with a gauge chart

http://jewelry.about.com/cs/identifyjewe...

and buy the next size up after they have healed.  then, you put that slightly larger size in the ear, and wait for it to heal.  after that, just keep sizing up and healing it until it is at the size you want

make sure you tell the piercer that your intention is to stretch the ear.  he or she will give you tips and extra advice, and possibly take that into consideration while piercing.  

if, after stretching his ears, he decides to let them grow back, they probably will not heal completely.  there will always be a larger-than-normal sized hole, but the size will vary.

if he stretches his ears, and then realizes that they are not for him, and he is still young and growing, the ears will grow back a bit better than they would is he was an adult.  

personally, anything larger than a 2-gauge or a 0-gauge (it gets waaay bigger though) is unattractive.