Minor Stretching -- Bad Experience

At A Glance Author DF Contact british_gremlin@hotmail.com Artist unknown Studio Anubis Warpus Location San Francisco, CA

I'll try to leave the extraneous bullsh*t for the very end and just get to the details of the story. Hope this helps anyone who is considering getting their lobes stretched professionally.

BEFORE THE STRETCH:

I was in San Francisco on vacation. I had really been wanting to get my ears stretched for years and I figured that it was good a time as ever. I found the most respectable looking place in the Haight/Ashbury district, right in the middle of Haight Street. I walked in and made my appointment, and picked out jewelry. I didn't have anything in mind, and when I selected a pair of small 8g steel plugs, the person working recommended a pair of hollow ones instead (something about my ears sticking over the rims? I had no idea what she was talking about). She said it would be about 15 minutes, since things were pretty slow. Nearly an hour later I was finally told it would be my turn. I walked into the back, past two people getting tattooed, and sat in a chair in a weird room that looked far too much like a storage room.

"What gauge are your ears now?" the guy asked as he took out my CBR's and cleaned the new jewelry.

"14."

"And what are you getting stretched to, buddy?"

"8."

He then just disappeared for 20 more minutes. A few random people opened the door and just walked in, and stared at me as though I had two heads. I felt really uncomfortable with these and I could hear the guy who was supposed to be doing my lobes chatting away while I waited. (I'm mentioning all these because I found the whole thing really unprofessional.)

THE STRETCH:

When he finally returned, he just got the taper and pushed it through without warning. OW! Damn it burned. Putting the plugs through was something special in itself, because he was having real problems putting the rubber bands on the end. I have no idea why. After he finished the other ear in the same manner, he just walked off. I waited for a moment before leaving, then walked out.

AFTER THE STRETCH:

The rest of the day was agony. My ears hurt terribly, equal if not worse as when I had them pierced in the original 14g. The next day felt much better, but I was in for the worst part the day after that (and consecutively, nearly EVERY morning until I finally changed the jewelry); my ear would engulf the plugs while I slept, and I'd need to really push them out with some force -- and a lot of ooze and crust -- in the morning. Since I wasn't told anything about the jewelry or their care, I didn't know when I could remove and change the tightness of the plugs with the little rubbers on the ends. It also bled a little on mornings for about two weeks when I'd wake up and my ear almost totally sealed over the plug.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

If you want to get your ears stretched by a professional, go for it. It's free in some places as long as you buy the jewelry there [but don't forget to TIP!!!!!!!] or it could be a few dollars. I think that with good care and someone who knows what they're doing, it should be fine.

Personally, I don't trust myself and lack of knowledge and experience to stretch my own ears. Many people I know do, and I'm too impatient to go just one gauge at a time. If you want to really be on the safe side (and have money to blow on the high price of whatever jewelry you desire), just go to a piercer and have them go down one size. It shouldn't hurt then, and you should have a very speedy recovery time; even with what happened to me, it healed fully in about 5 days. I believe the problems were probably caused by the plug itself, and the fact that I jumped down from 14g to 8g in one step. Know your limits and know this -- it really BURNS. It doesn't quite hurt if it's done right, but it burns.

/RANT/

Also, if you think stretching your lobes is going to make you cool, it's not. I don't understand why people just do things to their body because it's the new up-and-coming thing to do. Body modifications are a serious thing. Read the FAQ's, talk to people who have it done, ask serious questions -- NOT things like, "How can I hide my piercing? Where can I get someone to pierce/modify/tattoo me, even though I'm underage? What gauge is the coolest looking?" Do it because you really want it, not because you saw someone on TV with it.

/END RANT/