First I would like to start by saying that I read alot of experiences on here, and more often then not I run into some where the person did something that wasn't really a great idea, but it wound up working out in the end. This is one of those. I am very lucky that things turned out okay, because what I did was definately not the greatest thing to do. I will start with a brief background on the start of my cartilage piercing.
At A Glance Author Christina Contact Christina@bme.anon When A week ago Artist me Studio my bathroom Location Jersey About a year ago I had my cartilage in both of my ears dermal punched at 6 gauge. I got it done after much thought, alot of reading here on BME, and after looking at alot of pictures. I was hesitant at first because my cartilage isn't the type to heal quickly. I had an industrial done a number of years ago, and it never healed properly. I was in constant pain for the better part of eight months. I finally gave up and took it out, and never really thought about doing anything else to my cartilage. But like I said, once I started seeing pictures here on BME, the thought crept into my head and didn't want to leave. So finally one day I bit the bullet and went to go have it done. The procedure went well, and I had single-flared tunnels put in. I left those in for about six months or so, and then I tired out various jewelery, alot of which did nothing more than irritate my piercings. I finally bought a pair of Liquid Glass tunnels, which resided in my ears until last week..
I had purchased a pair of 1/2 inch eyelets from Kaos for my earlobes, and bought a pair of 4 gauge peyelets as well, because I wanted to stretch my cartilage to 4 gauge, and I loved wearing the pair of eyelets that I already had. Of course when they arrived the first thing I wanted to do was put the 4 gauge in my ears. I knew that would be bad, so they sat in their little packet in my bathroom medicine cabinet. I would longingly look at them almost every day. They were begging me to let them live in my ears. So one day I went out and bought a 4 gauge taper, fully intending to have them in my ears somehow. This would prove to be difficult.
One night I decided I would try to put the Kaos eyelets in my ears. I took the taper, some Vitamin E oil, and some H2Ocean into the bathroom. I took out one of my 6 gauge plugs, and cleaned my ear with the H2Ocean. I lubed up the taper, and gently pushed it into my ear. It went in with little resistance. I let it sit for a few minutes, and decided to try to put the eyelet in. Now, as a note, these things are really small. You're supposed to fold them to put them in, which at that size is virtually impossible. Add in the factor of my long nails, and it becomes an awful project. I squished and pushed and did everything I could possibly think of, and nothing. I tried putting the eylet on the taper, but it didn't budge. I put the eyelet on my 6 gauge plug, but no luck. Finally after about a half hour or so, I gave up. This went on almost every night for a week. I tried one ear, then the other, and went back to the first one, etc. I finally gave up, but only temporarily. I wound up making my ear bleed a few times, which is when I would usually stop for the night. I never did let my ears heal, which is never a good thing. I was too impatient, and too determined to let that stop me.
I thought about taping my 6 gauge plugs, but I had no idea what I was going to use to hold the plug in my ear. I looked around for other jewelery, and came up with nothing. I told my sister what I was trying to do, and she told me she had a pair of 4 gauge claws that she never used, and asked if they would help. I said yes. So she brought them over one day. That night I set everything up again. I cleaned the 4 gauge claws and my ears, lubed them up, and pushed them into my ears. They went in fine, and I was happy. For a little while. About an hour later my ears started to throb. I just figured they were getting used to the stretch, and would go away. I took a couple of asprin before I went to bed, or should I say before I tried to go to bed. I sleep on my side, and this proved impossible, as the slightest touch or movement made the pain almost unbearable. I suffered through for two days, and couldn't stand it anymore. I could barely touch my ears. I needed to do something. And I wasn't about to put my 6 gauge plugs back in.
So it was back to the bathroom, with the taper, Vitamin E oil, and H2Ocean. I pried the one claw out of my right ear, cleaned it up, and slid the taper back in. I sat and stared at the evil eyelet for a bit. I went through the normal routine-putting it on the end of various objects and trying to shove it through my ear. I even thought up wrapping one end with a twist tie, since that was the only way I could get the end to fold. Nothing. I put the claw back in, and again went to bed. I tried the next night with my left ear, and did nothing but tear it up again. At this point I thought about abandoning the project altogehter, and taking the claws out and leaving the holes with nothing in them. But I was too stubborn.
The next day I went into the bathroom, my ears burning like wildfire. I knew today was the day, I couldn't deal with the pain anymore. I took the claw out of my right ear, and put the taper in, and just sat there. Finally I called my husband in, and begged him to figure out a way to get the eyelets into my ear. He took one from me, and rolled it around in his fingers for a few minutes. He said he would do his best. So I stood up, and took the taper out of my right ear. He tried it from the front, but my ear was still sore. So I told him to do it from the back instead. He walked around me, and told me to hold still. I felt his fingers press against my ear-owowowowOW- "It's in". Huh? I looked in the mirror, and lo and behold, there was the little eyelet sitting in my ear. Finally! So now it was time for my left ear. Same procedure. Alot of burning, and it's in. Both of my ears are still on fire, but the throbbing is gone. I stuck my head in the sink, and ran cool water on my ears. I cleaned them both with H2Ocean, and was so relieved that my nightmare was over.
Out of worry I decided to check Kaos' site in regards to stretching cartilage with their eyelets. Considering that's basically what I was doing, since I had only had the claws in for such a short time, and my ears were no where near perfect because of all the abuse I put them through. They strongly recommend against it, especially if the cartilage is not in good shape. Couple that with the myriad of experiences I've read of the eyelets getting stuck and having to be yanked out, I was starting to wonder what I had just done.
Thankfully I am happy to report that my ears are doing quite well. I would put my hair up in the morning for the first few days, to get it off my ears. I did sea salt soaks once a day in the mornings, and cleaned them with H2Ocean 2-3 times a day. The first day or two my ears were still hurting, and they're still not 100% comfortable to sleep on. But thankfully the eyelets move freely in my ears, and haven't gotten stuck or anything. My recommendation is NOT to do what I did. I took perfectly happy and relatively well-healed piercings and abused the heck out of them for the better part of two weeks. I am very lucky that everything turned out okay. The best advice I could give if you're really serious about stretching cartilage is take it slow, and listen to your ears. And if you're impatient and determined like I am, then please PLEASE keep them cleaned. Like I said, I'm lucky things turned out well, as it could have been much worse.