I have been dying to stretch my earlobes for about three years now. The only problem was that I had no starting point. My ears had been gunned three or four times starting when I was sixteen (I'm now 23). Now, I did not, at the time(s), realize the detrimental effects this method has. Needless to say, not one of these "piercings" fully healed. From the day they were performed I was constantly battling crusties, and sore lobes. By the time I was twenty, I had completely given up on the idea of pierced ears.
At A Glance Author LolaGabanna Contact LolaGabanna@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Jim Studio Body Armor Location Kalamazoo, Mi It was about this time I stumbled upon BME. I looked at picture after picture of beautifully stretched lobes, but I had resigned myself to a "stretchless" existence. I satiated myself with various other mods: nostrils, double tongue, 8g septum, tattoos... However, I kept coming back to the stretched lobes. Finally, I decided come hell or high water, I would have the 0g lobes I had wanted for so long.
I again started to research my options. Scalpelling and dermal punching freaked me out to no end. No matter what, I just could not stomach either of those. This left only one thing... plain ol' piercing. I called up Body Armor in Kalamazoo (about an hour from my house, the only place I trust) and told them what I wanted to do. "I want to have my ears pierced with the intent of stretching them." I said. "How big can I have them pierced to get me ahead of the game?" The girl on the other end of the phone told me their piercer had needles up to 4g on-hand, and could pierce both my ears for a total of $60. I thanked her and hung up the phone-- excited beyond words. I made plans with my sister (who wanted her tongue pierced) to make the trip to Body Armor the next day.
I woke up with an army of butterflies in my stomach. I kept trying to convince myself that it is only an ear piercing, but the jumpy nervousness kept returning. I went to my only Monday class and sat there, pretending to be truly interested, while in reality I could not stop thinking about what would be happening in the next few hours. My sister had spent the weekend at my house, and we left soon after I got home. She lives about 25 miles east of Kalamazoo and we had to go to her apartment first to drop off her cat. Afterwards, we went out for cheeseburgers, even though we were both too nervous to eat. Finally, we forced down some food to keep our blood sugar up and headed out to Body Armor.
We walked in. I didn't recognize the guy behind the counter. Evidently they had changed piercers since my last trip. His name was Jim. I explained to him what my plans were, and we both decided to go ahead and pierce at a 4g. I signed all the necessary paperwork as Jim went and got prepared. I was now so nervous I was afraid to move for fear of vomiting. My face felt hot and my hands were freezing. A young girl waiting for a tattoo smiled at me. I tried to smile back. The way I felt at the time, I'm afraid to think of what that must have looked like. Fortunately, I was distracted by the artist (Don) who did my last tattoo. I showed him the healed artwork and he was ecstatic with the results. He took some pictures for his portfolio and I had fun showing it off to the other people getting tattoos done. Finally, Jim was ready and I followed him back into the piercing room. The first thing I saw was the receiving tube. I think my heart stopped for a second. The n, I came to my senses and realized that would NOT be passing through my flesh, so I felt a little better. But then I saw the needle and my level of comfort dropped once again. I sat on the "doctor" table as Jim marked my ears. He asked if I was nervous and I answered with an emphatic "yes" and an uncomfortable giggle. He was excellent at calming my fears. "It's a big needle." He said, "But it won't be so bad. I've been pierced with them." Then he lined up the seemingly enormous needle with the back of my ear and told me to focus on my breathing, after what felt like an hour he pushed the needle through. I couldn't believe it! Was that what I had been so scared of? I felt almost ridiculous for being so nervous before. Honestly, it was uncomfortable, and yes, it hurt, but it was completely bearable and not at all as bad as I had prepared myself for. The most noticeable sensation was the pressure. Jim slid the plugs in and put on the o-rings. I was so thrilled I literally squealed and clapped like a little girl. Jim gave me a fe w minutes to regain my composure and get ready for the second needle. We talked about septums and squeamish counter girls. Then it was time. This one was a little tougher because of the build up of previous scar tissue. However, the pain was still totally manageable. "Wow, you're barely bleeding." Jim said, as he dabbed at my lobes with some paper towel. I did bleed quite a bit more than I normally do with a piercing, but I guess that is to be expected. Jim then asked me if I wanted to keep the needle so I could show it off. I said I did. He made me swear I wouldn't use it again or let anyone else use it. I promised. He cleaned it up, put some sponge on the sharp end and dropped it into a clear, plastic tube. "I want to show the guys first. Let them know I actually use these things!" Jim said. He walked into the various tattoo rooms, holding the needle up like a trophy. "Wow, did that hurt?" People kept asking me. "Actually, it wasn't too bad!" I answered truthfully.
I followed Jim out to the front desk and purchased some Dragon Mist to clean my ears with. He told me I could go for my first stretch in three months.
I truly cannot believe how little these piercings hurt! They stung a little bit on the ride home. Now they barely hurt at all. I did a sea salt soak and used the Dragon Mist about a half hour ago. My lobes bled a little bit, but not too bad. My ears are gorgeous and I can't wait to get them up to a 0g. Jim is an awesome piercer and a great guy. I look forward to going to him in the future. (Don is awesome too!)
The next day:
Sleeping was pretty tricky since I absolutely cannot sleep any way except on my stomach. I finally managed to figure out if I made a little "nest" out of my pillow with a little pit for my ear to rest in, I was fine. I had read horror stories of people waking up soaked in their own blood after a piercing like this. Thankfully there was no blood at all on me or my bedding. My lobes are still pretty swollen, but they don't hurt at all anymore. My left lobe bled a little bit earlier today, but that's it. So far things have been pretty uneventful as far as care and getting used to them. I'm hoping the rest of the healing process goes as easily as the last 24 hours have.
It's still amazing to me yesterday afternoon I had no holes in my earlobes at all, and now I'm already at a 4g! If anyone has any other questions about my experience feel free to e-mail them to me!