Lobe stretching has always interested me, though, admittedly, I never found large lobes all that appealing. Anything between 4g and 00g has always held my interest. I never knew how to go about stretching so I never really made a conscious effort to begin the process.
At A Glance Author Rachel Contact Rachel@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Myself Studio Home Location TX
I've had my ears pierced since I was about 5, done with a gun. I know, I know, huge no-no, but I doubt any shop would pierce a 5 year old and I didn't know any better until many years later. I had always had a habit of tugging on my jewellery, and for a long time, all I had in my ears were simple gold studs. It wasn't until a few years ago that I got really into body piercing and mods when I got my tongue pierced. Of course, BME played a part in that decision and would help me with my decision to stretching my lobes.
With the help of BME and a few other sites, I was able to thoroughly educate myself on stretching. I read the "do's and don't's" through other experiences, Q&A's, and other various definitions and explanations on the process. I had set my final goal to at least 2g to 0g. Now all I needed was the materials.
The first thing I needed to do was figure out what size my lobes were. I had 16g rings in by then and had plenty of room, so I moved up to a 14g ring and still had room. I decided I'd test the size and put one of my 12g tongue bars through both lobes. They went through easily and I still had a little room, so I figured I was at about a 10g.
After waiting around with 12g CBRs, I decided I needed to look around for stores that, more or less, specialized in body jewellery. I eventually found one that had curved tapers, albeit acrylic ones. If I had known then what I know now, I would've paid the extra money for stainless steel tapers.
I went ahead and ordered some 8g and 6g tapers. I got them both within about 5 days and was anxious to begin the stretching process. I ran up to my room with the 8g tapers, cleaned my ears and the tapers, lubed them both up and shoved the first taper in. Not the most pleasant experience. The left one went in okay, but the right one gave me a bit of trouble. Eventually, I got them both in and was a happy camper. Aside from a tad bit of swelling and a little pain, I was okay.
About a week after that, my left ear was still unusually sore. A little pressure I applied to the area revealed a very slight infection. Great, I thought. So I began the sea salt water soaks, on both ears to make sure, and things got better and I was fine.
After about 6 weeks or so, I decided it was time to go to 6g. By then, a body piercer friend of mine suggested I take a hot shower to ease the stretching process, so that's what I did. I turned the water as hot as I could stand, without suffering of course, and spent a considerable amount of time massaging my lobes before putting in my 6g tapers. I cleaned them off with some soap and the hot water and did the same with my ears. Then I put the tapers in and was again met with some resistance. I managed to get them all the way in by the next day. They were a little sore and swollen, but again, I was okay.
But of course, once again, not long after the stretch, I was met with another infection, this time in my right lobe. It was remedied with the sea salt soaks once again and had no problem after that. I managed to buy myself some stainless steel SFE's so I wouldn't have to keep the huge tapers in my ears for another 6 weeks.
It was probably close to two months before I could buy some 4g tapers and plugs. Again, I was still ignorant and purchased some acrylic tapers and plugs. I did the same thing I had done the last time: take a hot shower, massaged my lobes, etc. I got the tapers in relatively easy and by the next day, I had put the plugs in.
By the end of the day I had put the plugs in, I noticed my left ear was very puffy and very sore. Late that night, I was examining it because the irritating pain was bothering me. I gave my lobe a gentle squeeze and some pus came out. Yet another infection. I couldn't believe my luck. So I travelled downstairs to examine my ear better in a magnified mirror. I proceeded to extract as much pus as I could. Then I wondered if I would have better luck if I took out the plug to get more out. The next few minutes were truly horrific.
I had removed the plug and the fistula was grotesque. I had a raging infection in my lobe. My lobe was no longer leaking pus, but frightening amounts of blood. I held a tissue to my ear for a bit before cleaning it off. I used Bactine around my piecing and on the plug. I also had rubbed some Neosporin on the plug. I'm still not clear on if that's a bad thing, but I can tell you that it helped to drastically improve my ear's condition by the next day.
I did sea salt soaks religiously. Every 4 to 5 hours, I had my ear in a shallow cup of hot water and sea salt. I did this for about a week, and at the end of that week, my ear was healthy and there was no trace of anything going wrong. I've been at a 4g for a while now.
Now, what I learned, not that long ago either, I learned through another experience here on BME. I felt like a complete ass when I read it. In the experience I read, the author mentioned how acrylic body jewellery can harbour bacteria that can cause infections. It all suddenly became very clear why I had had so much trouble when stretching, not with the process itself though.
So now for my stretch to 2g, I am making sure I have stainless steel tapers AND plugs. Never again will I user acrylic tapers, or even plugs (despite having no real complications with my current ones).
With that all said, I STRONGLY suggest that no one use acrylic tapers to stretch ANY piercing. After having that horrific infection, I'm not going to risk it again and I don't want other people to find out the hard way. I feel I'm lucky that things didn't progress to anything worse, as I know infections from body piercings can evolve into something much more serious and even life-threatening.
On a more positive note, stretching slowly and leaving plenty of time for healing between stretches is definitely the best way to go with no problems.