After downsizing my ears from half an inch to 0 gauge in didn't take long to realize that even though the lobes had in fact returned to a smaller size they remained very easy to stretch. After getting out of the shower I always had to be cautious when I tipped my head because the plugs were prone to falling out. Likewise when I was on the phone the pressure of the phone against my ears tended to push the flares through, I wouldn't even realize it was happening until I heard them clink on the floor or felt them fall into my lap. The longer this went on the more frequent it became, and the more annoying. I was afraid that I'd soon lose the jewelry altogether.
At A Glance Author Uberkitty IAM Uberkitty When A month ago Location North Carolina I've heard over and over in the QOD and elsewhere that the best way to stretch your ears (or any piercings really) is to let them naturally loosen in time until one day they are ready and you can insert larger gauge jewelry with just a little lube, no tapers required. It seemed that this was the obvious thing to do. I took my plugs out and measured the flares, which turned out the be 00 gauge. If 00 gauge flares could so easily go though my ears I thought it'd be easy enough to just pop some 00 gauge plugs in. At this point every stretch I'd ever been through had been professionally done so this was to be my first DIY stretch.
I went to a local studio and spent some time going through all the plugs in an attempt to find something good for the stretch. Initially I was looking for something non-organic and non-acrylic with single flares (double flares making the stretch more difficult and no flares meaning I lose o-rings more often) but in the end all I could find were some flareless non-acrylic but plastic like plugs (it's a material I've never encountered before, it seems to be a type of fiber optic cable.) While I was there I also doubled checked with the piercer that I shouldn't have any problem stretching my ears at home given my ears seemed ready for it.
Once I was home I was egger for the stretch. I took an extra long and extra hot shower during which I focused on massaging my lobes. Once I was out I realized how large the 00 gauge plugs looked in comparison to the current 0 gauge ones. I decided to go on and try, knowing that I'd always be able to go to a professional and have them tapered if I failed. I took some vitamin E oil and first massaged some into my lobes and then the new plugs.
I started with the right lobe, I lined the plug up on the front with my forefingers holding the back of the plug and my thumb behind my ear. I pushed a little trying to get the flesh to loop over the end of the plug which turned out to be more difficult than I had expected. The plug kept shifting sideways to avoid going in. Once I actually managed to get the plug started it was apparent that it would only go about half way in easily. It flashed through my mind that while my ears could easily take a 00 gauge flares that flares still only took up a little space lengthwise instead of simultaneously being 00 gauge all the way through, meaning that I had more stretching to do that I had first though. I continued to apply easy and constant pressure to the plugs while massaging the back of my ears until eventually it gave way and the plugs pushed all the way through. For a split second it stung then the pain just and quickly subsided. I put the o-rings on then repeated the process with my left ear which was exactly the same but slightly more painful in the end.
At first I was concerned about the little pain I felt just at the end of the stretch fearing I'd done some damage to my ears. I recalled that it was normal for my professional stretches to hurt about that much, only they seemed to for a longer amount of time. While my professional stretches were generally tender for about 24 hours these were just fine after a minute or two so I concluded that my ears were ok and that I hadn't pushed too far too fast. I was also surprised that the next day my ears didn't lymph any at all and still weren't sore or tight (which again is pretty normal for my stretches, no matter how ready my body is for them.)
It seems that stretching at home can work, and in this case it actually seemed to go smoother than many previous professional stretches. If you're going to use this method though it's important that your piercing is loose and ready for the stretch before anything is done, I couldn't imagine doing otherwise.