Patience, Care and dedication is not something I began practicing right away with stretching my lobes, however, now being at 0 gauge, I have a great respect for the trio.
At A Glance Author Dawn Contact Dawn@bme.anon IAM Dawnie When Six months ago Artist Myself This experience is a documentation of my journey to go from 14 gauge lobes to stretch them to a goal gauge of 0. This obviously is a process that takes time, dedication and patience; therefore this experience will contain details of each stretching that took place, the time it took between stretches, and everything in between, good or bad will be recorded.
May 28, 2004
I had been planning on stretching my ears for quite some time and was finally mentally ready to begin. I had ordered the supplies needed all ready, and was happy to see that they were waiting for me in my mailbox on May, 28, 2004.
I gathered the supplies needed for my first stretch: from 14 gauge to 12 gauge. To make sure my surgical steel taper and surgical steel cbr's were sterile, I first soaked them in bleach for five minutes, washed them off with antibacterial soap and hot water, then boiled them for fifteen minutes on the stove, soaked them in peroxide (although many will tell you this step was unneeded, I took the precaution anyway), washed them for a final time with antibacterial soap and hot water. I then laid them down upon the bathroom counter that I had just freshly cleaned with Clorox disinfectant wipes. I tied my hair back so it would not be in the way. I took a two clean cotton balls and soaked them in rubbing alcohol, which I then proceeded to clean my ear lobes with. I also gave my hands a good scrubbing with soap and water before proceeding.
I was then prepared to begin the stretching. I took the taper and I forced it through my right ear. It stung just a bit, however was not a major pain. It took me about fifteen minutes to get the cbr's in however. They just did not want to go through the back of the hole, however, I heard a slight pop, and it was through. I repeated the same procedure with my left ear lobe, and again what I experienced was practically identical to my right ear. A mistake that I did make in the procedure is that I did not use any lubrication, oils, creams or anything to help glide the taper and jewelry in, however, will do so in the future due to recommendations of doing so by knowledgeable professionals and friends.
After the rings were in, I attempted to put the beads onto the rings, however was unsuccessful to say the least, so I decided to just wear the rings without the balls until I could gauge again, or find someone to put the beads on for me! My ears were plagued by a burning sensation and appeared to be a bit more red that usual, however no major discomfort was noticed.
This would be the first night that I slept on my freshly stretched lobes, and I found the experience to be uncomfortable however nothing that would prevent me from falling asleep quickly!
May 29, 2004
I woke up to my lobes being a bit crusty, so I washed them with dial antibacterial soap, as I have done with all my previous piercings. The rings did not seem to be quite as tightly fitting as they were when they were freshly tapered, so I am assuming that some of the swelling has gone down, and my lobes are loosening up a bit!
May 31, 2004
My lobes are currently tender, however not a bit painful, it is getting easier to sleep on them as well. The beads have still not been popped into place, however not having the beads in does not seem to be creating any problems for me. There are still some crusties that are building up on the rings and on my lobes, I simply take a q-tip, run some warm water over it, and gently swab the crusties away! I also can see some redness and irritation around the holes, so hopefully it will heal up soon.
June 8, 2004
My lobes have ceased producing crusties, are no longer even the slightest bit sore, and are looking great.
Due to the wonderful condition my ears seem to be in, I stretched my lobes to a ten gauge today. I repeated the sterilization process that can be read about in my writings from my first stretch. The only thing I did different from the first time, is I used soft soap antibacterial soap to "lube up" the surgical steel taper and the surgical steel CBB's before I attempted to insert them into the holes. This seemed to help a great deal with easing the insertion of the taper into my lobes, as well as the jewelry. I also found that massaging the back of my lobes when trying to put through the jewelry instead of just trying to force it through the back seemed to take a lot of the stress off of my lobes and worked wonderfully. I have to say that this stretching was much easier and more pleasant and quicker than my first stretching experience.
June 9, 2004
My not very sore, just minimally tender when tugged on. They are also a bit itchy. Also, there were some crusties this morning when I woke up, but I cleaned them off with warm water and a q-tip. This seemed to work well.
June 15, 2004
My ten gauge lobes seemed to be healed up perfectly, so I have decided to stretch them to a eight gauge today.
My attempt to stretch to an eight gauge has failed. I think I slightly tore one of my holes in the process of using a taper on it. My lobes got very bloody and sore, and I was forced to put the ten gauges back into the holes.
June 17, 2004
My lobes are getting very crusty and very sore. I am cleaning them two times a day with dial antibacterial soap, however I feel that I really did a number on my ears during the last attempted stretch. I am really thinking about scalping at this point in time, however, am unsure how to find an artist in the area who performs the procedure, not to mention am not sure about the procedure itself and whether or not it would be my best option.
July 20, 2004
It has been over a month since my last attempt to stretch my lobes to an eight gauge. I decided, my lobes feel like they are ready to stretch again. I can see that my ten gauge cbb's are loose in my ears and they are feeling and looking healthy again.
I attempt to use an acrylic 8 gauge taper in one of my lobes, and I feel as if it does not want to budge and feel it is burning. Afraid to have a repeat situation of the last attempted stretch, I get the idea to lubricate the end of my eight gauge cbr and place it on the front of the hole in the lobe, I then proceeded to massage the back of my lobe, and within a minute I was surprised to see that it managed to wiggle its way into my lobe, with little to no irritation and absolutely not one drop of blood. I then repeated the same thing on my other lobe, and it worked out just as well! So, I am now the proud owner of eight gauge lobes, and am quite happy with the results, and anxious for the next stretch.
July 22, 2004
My lobes are in good shape, there is no irritation whatsoever. I am excited about the next stretch that is coming up.
July 27, 2004
My lobes seem to be healed up nicely, and should be ready for the next stretch fairly soon. I have attached some heavier jewelry to the cbr's I am currently wearing to attempt to loosen these up in my lobes a bit before the next stretch.
July 31, 2004
It still hasn't been an incredibly long time since my last stretch, but my ears feel ready to stretch up to six gauge. So, I indeed stretched them to a lovely six gauge. I did not use a taper for this stretch either, I simple "massaged" them into my ears for a little while, and they finally popped through, so to say, with no blood, and with ease!
August 6, 2004
My ears are feeling fantastic, and will be ready to stretch very soon again.
August 24, 2004
Stretched up to a four gauge again using the massaging method with no trouble what so ever! I think I will give my lobes at least a month's rest before stretching again.
October 15, 2004
I finally decided my lobes were ready to stretch to a two gauge. But I had to use tapers to get to two gauge. I actually slept with the tapers in my ears for the night and inserted two gauge single flared surgical steel tunnels into them the next morning!
October 16, 2004
So, I woke up to my right tunnels flare being stuck inside of my ear, so I had to push it through and then decided to make a brave move and finally wear double flared jewelry in my lobes. It took a bit longer than usual to get the double flares in, but in the long run it paid off because the double flares were super comfy.
November 15, 2004
The double flared plugs are going in and out of my ears easily, so I know that I will be able to stretch to 0 very soon.
November 17, 2004
I finally made the move and stretched to 0 gauge. This stretch went very painlessly and simply for my left ear, however, I am afraid I slightly tore my right ear in the process, however, was able to get the jewelry in, and it seems to be just fine now.
November 18, 2004
Deja-vu, I woke up with the single flared plug stuck half way through my right ear again. I just do not have any luck with single flares. So I took the plugs out of my ears, and cleaned them super good with dial liquid antibacterial soap, and then put in some straight plugs with o-rings to hold them in place. Which seems like a good fix until I can fit my 0 gauge plugs in!
I plan to do a lot more stretching in the near and far future. I started out the stretching process very impatiently and frustrated, but have since learned to be more patient, to be more gentle, to try different methods, and also have gained the desire to not stretch to a mere 0 gauge, but more like a long term goal of over 1 inch. So, I will one day in the future have my stretching process from 0 gauge on up posted for your reading pleasure.
My Disclaimer:
I would also like to make it known that my sterilization methods are no where near as effective as having your jewelry and equipment autoclaved, so I would advise you to have your items autoclaved, or know the risks involved, and know how effective my method of sterilization is. It should also be noted that having any piercing stretched by a professional is typically safer than doing an at home stretching.
It is important to be educated and know what you are doing and the risks involved before you attempt any kind of piercing, stretching, or procedure on your own. It is always advisable to seek professional advice and assistance!