I have been stretching my ear lobes for the last five years or so and after some big mistakes I was sort of scared off of stretching. I had my ears scalpelled from 1/2" to 3/4" but shortly after decided that I should have just had them cut to a full inch. I was well past the point of no return and figured I might as well go big or go home. I considered having my lobes scalpelled again to reach an inch because I wasn't 100% pleased with the shape of my ear at this point but eventually decided to stretch to an inch and then see how I felt about cutting larger after that. All of the artists in my area who are capable of doing this wanted to remove tissue and I knew that the more we took out of my lobes the less I would have to stretch later on. I have fat healthy lobes and I'd like to keep them that way so to prevent unnecessary thinning I went for the stretch.
At A Glance Author Whitney Contact Whitney@bme.anon IAM Fuzzybeast When N/A I decided to try polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or Teflon) tape. It is a kind of plastic that is often used for stretching because it tends to be inert, inexpensive, and has no adhesive. A roll from the hardware store (plumbing section) costs less than a dollar and lasts for ages. I have previously tried to stretch with telfon tape and been less than pleased with the results. My ears tend to be very sensitive to some materials and contact with the stuff made my ears swell and blister. That was a few years ago but since then my ears have settled down quite a bit and I have been able to wear solid Teflon plugs with absolutely no problems. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try the stuff again. If I reacted badly I'd just put my regular plugs back in.
I wrapped PTFE tape carefully around a plug until it measured just less than 7/8". The tape sticks to itself without an adhesive (I believe it uses static cling) but it was a real pain in the ass to start wrapping around the plug because it wouldn't stick to the plug at first and just kept getting all bunched up and stuck to itself. Once I did get the Teflon tape attached the most challenging part was making sure the tape went on smoothly without any bumps or wrinkles. I was afraid that any crease would be a place for bacteria to hide and cause irritation in my lobe. I was especially paranoid because in the past my lobes have reacted poorly to the material in the past.
After several layers of tape had been applied and I had used my fingers to make sure the surface of the plug was smooth I carefully measured the thickness with my calipers. It was about 13/16". I popped the plug in and out of my mouth to lube it up with saliva. I'm sure this isn't very sanitary but it's just habit for me now. I've been doing it since I first started stretching. I carefully eased the plug into my left ear trying to keep the surface of the plug smooth and adjust the earring so that even pressure was being applied across my fistula. The earring felt a little tight (although that may simply be because I'm used to kaos eyelets that 'open' in my ear) but comfortable.
I set about making the second enlarged plug and ran into many of the same problems wrapping the tape but eventually had an earring that now measured 27/32" across which is just a hair larger than the 13/16" plug in my left ear, and just a hair smaller than my initial target goal of 7/8". I didn't feel like fiddling around with the Teflon tape anymore so I figured this was close enough. I removed my eyelet and used the same natural lube to try and ease the larger plug into my ear. It didn't just slide like the first ear so I stopped trying (I figured out a long time ago that forcing a stretch is a terrible idea). I spat on my fingers and rubbed that over my lobe to additionally lubricate the hole. The extra bit of moisture helped and when I gently tried again the plug slid into my ear.
I could feel a slight tightness in my ear but nothing painful or even remotely uncomfortable. I'm really happy that I've finally taken the plunge and continued to stretch.
As usual I did this stretch right before I went to bed and while I lay there trying to fall asleep I realized that I was very aware of my ears. I can't think of another way to describe it. It wasn't painful but I could definitely feel a difference. The next day my ears felt fine and completely normal again. It seems that my body isn't having the best reaction to the PTFE though. It's not painful or nearly as extreme as last time but the fistulas in my lobe piercings are definitely drying out around the tape. Hopefully the reaction won't get any worse and I'll be able to deal with this until I can get some better jewelry into my lobes.