Stretching

Over the last few years, I have slowly been stretching my piercings, with the ultimate goal of having my bottom hole a 4g, my two other lobe piercings a 12g, and my cartridge to a 6g. My first goal was reached last month, when I stretched my bottom piercing from a 6g to a 4g. Simultaneously, I stretched my cartridge from a 12g to a 10g, which was excruciatingly painful.

What the hell am I talking about? Stretching or gauging is a form of body modification, in which a piercing is slowly stretched to accommodate larger jewelry. Any piercing can be stretched, from a lobe piercing to a Prince Albert (why any man would want to do that is beyond me). 

The size of a traditional lobe piercing is sized at either a 20g or an 18g. As you stretch your ears, the gauge size decreased by 2, until it reaches a 00g, then the sizes increase in size by a fraction of an inch (another reason why fractions are amazing). It is definitely not wise to skip gauge sizes when stretching a piercing, since it can cause blowouts, which is when the tissue twists and literally pushes itself outside of the piercing. 

4g Tapers

A taper, circular taper, or pincher can be used to stretch a piercing. The taper is a long, tube like earring, which starts with a narrow pointed tip and gradually increases in width until it reaches the desired gauge. I don't like using tapers for two reasons, I find them too heavy for my ears and they are extremely long, making them difficult to sleep in. A circular taper has the same premise as a taper, the difference being it is circular, so the length of the taper isn't as irritating. My preferred stretching tool is the pincher, which resembles a claw. Each side of the pincher is thin and increases in width until it reaches the middle of the earring, again increasing in width until the disired gauge has been reached.

The taper is not to be used as jewelry, and should be removed after a 24-48 hour period, which is another reason why I prefer the pinchers over the tapers. I have found that I can leave the pinchers in for a few days longer so that I can take care of the piercing more easily. After this time period, the next step is to replace the taper with a plug.

Normally, a taper will come in a set with a pair of no-flare plugs (which usually match the taper in color and material). Personally, I avoid double flared jewelry, because the only part of the plug that has the matching gauge size as my piercing is the center of the plug. In order to insert a double flared plug into a piercing, you would need to further stretch the ear to accommodate the larger sections of the plug (which help keep the plug in your piercing). If you do not remove a double flare plug everyday, over time the piercing will shrink around the plug, making problematic to take out.

Instead, I am a fan of single flared plugs, in which only one side of the plug is slightly larger, which is easy to insert and held in place by a rubber o-ring. Obviously that means that a no flared plug is the same size throughout and requires an O-ring for both sides.

Other types of plugs consist of threaded flesh tunnels, which require the back to be screwed into the rest of the earring. Top hats resemble a letter t, with a flat design on the front and a plug attached to the design. Think of it as a small plate with a handle attached to the back of it. 

My personal favorite type of earring to wear, is silicone earskin, which maintains the size and shape of the stretched piercing, while showing off the circumference of the piercing. Unlike most metallic materials, silicone has a wide range of colors to choose from and are extremely light on the ears. 

Of course I showed off my new stretched piercings at our last 69 club meeting. I think this entire entry can be summed up with one Berman quote: "I can see the street through your ears."