This is the story of the up's and down's of my earlobes. When I was 14 years old I got my ears pierced with a gun at Aredene's and it stung, a lot. I played with my earrings a lot and when they were healed I was able to put the 14ga ring I had in my belly button through the holes. I thought that was cool. I kept studs in them most of the time, and they never closed up. I never bought a matching 14ga ring for the other side. Real body jewellery was harder to find and more expensive back then (it was about 1999).
At A Glance Author San Contact San@bme.anon IAM BlueStar When Two years ago Artist Various Location Niagara Falls, Canada
I found out about BME and started reading about "gauging" and "stretching" earlobes. I saw pictures and thought it was kind of gross. I saw a picture of a 2ga lobe with a really pretty tunnel in it and I knew I wanted to stretch my earlobes. So I asked a co-worker of my mothers how to stretch earlobes and she said to try knitting needles. I could only find a crochet hook so I used that instead. I took the hook, pushed it through with much pain, (and lube) and put q-tips in my ears, without the cotton on the ends.
I took the q-tips out before I went horseback riding that night because I was afraid they'd get hit, or fall out. I obviously couldn't get them back in when I got home so I put my little studs back in. Then I left them out for a few weeks and got my tongue pierced. I went to buy a blue barbell for my tongue, but they didn't have any, so I bought two matching tapers. I saw them in 8ga and 4ga. I kick myself in the ass every day for picking two matching 4ga rather than two mismatched 8ga.
I had my mother pick up my boyfriend on the way home and I went to set myself up for stretching my earlobes. I was 15 at the time. I stole my dad's jar of vaseline (and no, I don't want to know what it was used for) and rubbed it on my lobes after taking the studs out, and rubbed some more on the "tapers". They were curved spikes. Then I started ramming the spike through. Excruciating pain shot through my ear and I took a break to start on my other ear. I would ram it furthur threw every few minutes. I was in a lot of pain. This is where the disclaimer comes in.
DO NOT stretch your ears from 18ga to 4ga in one sitting. I wrecked my ears. I thinned out the bottons and now I can't stretch as far as I'd like. It hurts, it tears the ear, it completly wrecks it. Don't do this.
Once I had both tapers in and the o-rings on I went to my friends house to watch movies, our Friday night tradition. My ears throbbed for three days. I used polysporin on them, not knowing any better, since thats what my piercer (who no longer pierces) said. I did, however, use salt water to soak them, since I read about it on BME. I also read more and more stretching experiences and realized what a moron I was.
A couple of weeks later I purchased some 2ga acrylic CBR's. I pushed them through after a hot shower with no problem. Then I started making my own plugs. I used plastic clotheshangers. They're about 0ga. I would cut off the part I needed and file the ends with a nail file until they were smooth. I easily popped them through and started using the tape method. I eventually got a job and I wasn't allowed to have them at 0ga, so I took the jewellery out and let them shrink down to 6ga. I stretched them back to 4ga and quit that job.
I left the jewellery out most of the summer because I tend to lose it in the pool. I easily put back in 6ga's in the fall. Then I really started stretching. I wanted big ears, and I wanted them fast. I bought a pair of 00ga double flared eyelets off of Ebay and had my piercer taper them in, from my 0ga plugs with tape on them. The skin tore upwards, kind of like if we had scalpelled it. They throbbed and bled and hurt all night, and I gave them a good salt water soak. I hung 12ga CBR's through them in case they fell out, the CBR's would catch them. This was a good idea, since they'd fall out all the time.
Now, time for the next step. 7/16". I ordered some plugs from someone on IAM.bme and I got totally ripped off. (I never got them) So I went on a hunt on Ebay and found some 7/16" plugs with spikes on the end. They're white. I got them in a couple of weeks, since paying by money order takes years to get from one place to another, and I shoved them through. There was no tearing but there definitely was a burning feeling. I left them in for a while until I could pull them out with the o-rings still on the jewellery and put my 1/2" plugs that I had bought on Ebay from the same seller. They were clear and looked very nice.
After a while I realized my lobes were very thinned out. So I took the plugs out and massaged with vitamin E oil and lubriderm. It didn't help. I eventually put 4ga plugs back into them, and stretched up again. I used wood plugs for my 1/2" stretch (Yoshi on IAM made them for me for my birthday) and I tore one ear badly. I took them out the next day for a job interview and they shrunk down to about 8ga. I left the jewellery out for a while.
While in Ohio I spotted these gorgeous spiral glass earrings. They were 2ga. I bought them, for special occasions. I had my grad photo's done with them in. I left plugs in my earlobes at work during the summer since my bosses were assholes and would have screamed at me had I had big holes in my lobes. I wasn't allowed to wear tunnels. I had "too much jewellery for the restaurant business". They didn't fire me because I did what I was told, moreorless.
I eventually gave up on my lobes and had them pierced trasverse through the holes where I had worn jewellery. A few months later I slid 2ga plugs in, and they fight tight, so hopefully I can keep my lobes stretched because I missed them. Just remember, take it easy when you're stretching and don't be a stupid fuck like me and jump from 18ga to 4ga at once.
Happy piercings!