It's Not All That Different
At A Glance Author mekare Contact mekare@bme.anon IAM mekare When It just happened Artist me Studio home Location allen,tx (A Lobe Stretching Story)
I first got my ears pierced when I was 7 years old, sometime between my birthday (early December) and Christmas of 1979. I'd been pestering my parents for quite some time but they had some inane rule about waiting until I was 9. At six and seven years old, 9 seemed decades and eons away! At my 7th birthday party I received a pair of post earrings. They were little gold reindeers, so very cute. I guess this was the push my parents needed because before I knew it I was sitting in the big chair at the mall picking out some simple but pretty gold piercing studs. Late 70s, in the mall, God only knows how non-sterile that must have been. But I was 7 and what did I know. I was meticulous about my aftercare. I'd been told that if they got infected I'd never be allowed to have earrings again. Well that wasn't about to happen.
I kept these holes (and added several more) for another 23 years before the urge to stretch them took its hold on me. I'd seen plenty of people with stretched lobes and I'd always thought "those look good, but not for me." Well, we all change, grow, evolve ... finally I decided they were for me. For the first year I had the urge I tried to resist it. I work with kids, which makes me a role model and all that fun stuff. With all my holes, my tattoo and my generally unconventional look and style I hope that I'm a role model of open mindedness and tolerance. I hope that if my students learn nothing else in their time with me they learn that being different is all right and looking different doesn't make someone a bad person. I do; however, try to keep myself somewhat under control. I try not to be too outrageous; after all, I do need to keep my job.
I decided to start out with 14 gauge rings. You've gotta start somewhere and 14 gauge wouldn't be all that different, no one would even notice. So I pulled a couple of rings out of my body jewelry stash, washed them well, dabbed a little ointment on my ear and popped them right in. Easy as pie! No bad comments from my boss or students or their parents, definitely off to a good start.
At this point my plan was to go with the smallest gauge tunnels I could find so that I could slip the wire to a "regular" earring through them. I had 8 gauge in mind. This seemed like a wonderful idea so I started working towards it. I guess I kept the 14s in for several months before I got a pair of 12s. Once again I used the dab of ointment and slide them right in method. Worked like a charm. When you're talking millimeters 14 and 12 gauge aren't all that different. I enjoyed the weight of the 12s when I moved my head. I liked the way they looked and they felt nice too. It was about this time that I decided to take that pair of 14s I was no longer using and put them in the second holes in my lobes. No plans for really stretching these, just wanted the 14s in there on a whim.
I think I kept the 12s for about 2 months when I got some 10 gauge rings. According to the original plan I would only have one stretch to go after this one. The stretch from 12 to 10 was the first that hurt a little. They were sore for a day or two but who cares about a little pain when you've got a goal in mind. Mind over matter, pain is just another sensation; no pain no gain and all that other good stuff. I grew up a gymnast and I'm no stranger to discomfort. After each stretch, of course, I treated the holes like new piercings for at least the first week. No touching with unwashed fingers, twice daily cleanings, rinse away any sweat and all those good healthy things.
This idea of stretching started to become an obsession. It was fun and felt good. It was a steady evolution. It was a quest for a goal that no one could get in the way of. Around this time I realized that if I wanted 8 gauge double flare tunnels I was going to have to stretch to 6 gauge to get the outsides of the flares through. The cute little fuzzy idea I started out with was becoming a cute fuzzy beast ... and I liked this beast.
As I mentioned, I work with kids, this means I don't make much money and I certainly don't have much disposable income. Running to the shop up the street to get new jewelry all the time was quickly becoming unaffordable. A friend I met and came to trust well through IAM suggested an online shop that had good products and good pricing. So off I was to search the (shall remain nameless) website my friend had directed me to. In amazement I gawked at the wealth and diversity of jewelry they had, all of it sitting there waiting for ME! I found some nice 8 gauge rings that came to a point where the ring met the dimple of the bead. I ordered a pair of these; a 6 to zero gauge taper set and a few things for other people (with the understanding that they would pay me back) so that I could cross the dollar amount where they stopped charging shipping. A friendly friend sent me a nice set of ring spreaders as a gift, which I thought was very kind. When my jewelry order arrived there was only one 8 gauge ring inside. I checked my packing slip to confirm that I'd ordered the right number of rings. I had and the packing slip said the other was on back order and should arrive within a couple of weeks. I decided to go ahead and put the one in my left ear (why left? I don't know.) This was the first time I used a taper. I used the 6 gauge taper and some Kama Sutra oil and I slid the taper in a little past half way. I left it there for about a minute and took it out then I slipped the 8 gauge ring right in. The spreaders my friend had sent really helped with getting the bead in.
At this point people started to notice. No one said anything bad but I noticed that my attitude about it had changed. It had been a long time since I'd cared what people thought about me having piercings or how many I had, now I didn't care what they thought about the size of my holes either. This is my body; these are my holes, that's all that really matters. Other people's opinions are their own and don't effect me at all.
After about a week I started running to my mailbox anxiously every afternoon just knowing that the other ring would be there! Sadly, it never showed. I contacted the company and they offered to send me a different product at no cost and with no shipping charges. I had already picked out a 6 gauge ring with a spring loaded ball for my next and "final" stretch. This cost a bit more than what I'd already paid for but they sent it to me anyways. It had been about 6 weeks since I'd taken my left ear up to an 8 and a couple of months that my right had been at a 10. I took both of these out. I used the same method on my right ear that I'd used to get the 8 gauge in my left. Next I used the 6 gauge taper and the Kama Sutra oil to put the 6 gauge spring loaded ring in my left ear.
Side note about rings with spring loaded balls: THEY SUCK! The ball was incredibly difficult to get in and was constantly popping out. One day, while coaching, I looked down to see the bead on the floor. I picked it up to put it back in, AGAIN, and I noticed that the spring was gone! Talk about a royal pain in the butt! This ring lived out its life ball-less, a eunuch ring shall we say. Fortunately it was heavy enough not to shift around and fall out.
So here I am with one 8 gauge and one 6 gauge, just about where I wanted to be right? Well, remember that cute fuzzy idea that grew idea into a cute fuzzy beast? I ordered a pair of 4 gauge plugs and a pair of 2 gauge plugs at the same time. After all, 4 isn't all that different than 6 and I got the 2s just incase. When the plugs arrived I played the shifting game again. 8 gauge ring out, 6 gauge ring to the right ear and 4 gauge plug into the left. This was the first stretch that seemed to bother the skin. It split a little so I was ultra-meticulous with the after care.
Two weeks later I was so anxious to even my ears up that I took out the 6 gauge ring and tapered my right ear up to 4. I knew this was a bit quick but I was feeling compulsive about it and didn't do a very good job of keeping my urges in check. Anyways, here I was, with two very nice 4 gauge holes. I started picking out all kinds of pretty tunnels and plugs and things, all in 4 gauge. Well! About a week into having both ears at 4 gauge I decided that 2 wasn't all that different. I forced myself to wait a full month before stretching up to 2. I honestly think it was the longest month in the history of all time. I got the temptation to do it 3 days early, which probably wouldn't have made a difference, but I resisted and forced myself to wait. I used the oil and taper again and this time the holes seemed to tear a little. I took really good care of them and in about a week they were healthy and happy.
So now I have two 2 gauge steel plugs with black O-rings. I'm in the market for some more attractive jewelry. I'm looking at some Pyrex tunnels and some pretty stone plugs. Of course, I'll have to wait until I have the money to get them, and I'm sure I'll find more pretty things I'd like to get. For now I'm happy with 2 gauge in a Goldie Locks kinda way ... not too big, not too small, just right. I like the way they look and feel. But who knows, 0 gauge isn't all that different.
IAM: mekare