But not in our ears!
At A Glance Author Wildflower Sunshine When It just happened Artist Me! Location New Jersey
I cannot stress this enough: NEVER stretch with silicone!
Yes, it is a very quick way to stretch, but don't do it! I repeat, do not do it! The results are nothing but tearing, pain, puss, and blood!
I digress. I have had an overall pleasant experience taking the past two years to stretch my earlobes from a standard size earring to their current size, 3/4th's of an inch. I take my time, listen to my body, do the oil massages, leave my plugs out for extended periods of time, and only choose plugs, like wood, to inhabit my earlobes.
I made my trip up to my local piercing/jewelry shop recently, armed with money, and a list of the sizes I needed to get from 3/4th's to an inch. I plan on being away for most of the summer and I wanted to have a couple plugs in stock. I also wanted the multiple sizes because I leave for college in the fall and I don't know about the shops by my school. My shop, however, doesn't carry half sizes, such as 13/16th's and 15/16th's. This is quite the common response; A lot of shops don't carry "in between" or "half" sizes. I only know this from searching nearly all over northern New Jersey in the hunt for 11/16th's (I resolved with using electrical tape wrapped around the smaller plug until I achieved my size.)
I was waiting patiently in line while the three girls and their mother down the line were picking out navel jewelry, and the couple next to me was getting matching tongue rings. I was seen by the girl who works behind the counter, and who I know from going into the store so often. She said "hi" and that she would be with me in one minute. I nodded and peered into the clear case.
They have plugs in many different materials, ranging from amber to wood, acrylic to stone. I scanned the case to look for anything interesting, and there they were..
. Hot pink, sparkily, and single flared plugs. I knew instantly I was attracted to them, and they looked about 7/8th's, my next size. I felt like I had been punched in the gut because I knew they were silicone, the arch enemy of stretching.
Alas, I could not heed the warning on the Body Art Forms website (http://www.bodyartforms.com/materials.asp#Silicone):
"Silicone is not recommended to stretch your piercing. It has been done successfully, but not in all cases. If you want to take the chance and go for it, that's fine. Just be aware that your body could BADLY react to it."
Those words rang in my head as it was finally my turn and I asked to see them. They squished between my fingers. But they were just soooo Barbie pink and full of glitter.. I couldn't pass them up.
They were 7/8th's, which I considered to be a sign and decided to go for them. I bought a 7/8th's clear acrylic plug (my usual, ol' reliable for stretching.) I figured I would put in the clear acrylic one, and then slide in the pink ones when I was ready.
No.
They ached in my pocket, and when I got home, I decided to try an experiment. I folded the plug in to make it smaller, to fit my ear. I figured (this was very stupid of me) that the silicone would sort-of stick to itself and retain the size I had folded it. I didn't have to worry, there would be no problems.
I was so stupid. A couple of minutes later, I felt movement in my ear, which should have been my opportunity to jump off while I was still ahead. The plugs popped open, stretching my ears to 7/8th's. Painful. Too sudden for my liking.
I didn't see a problem, other than the fact that they were very sore. Usually, my ears stay sore for two days after I stretch. It is never the excruciating pain I endured for three days.
I couldn't sleep that night. I was tossing and turning, trying to find a way to get comfortable because of my ears and my new nape. The next night was a repeat, and by the third night, my left ear felt almost "normal". My right ear, the "problem" ear, felt like it had been spliced open.
I awoke the morning after the third night and decided enough was enough. I was going to see what was up with my ears. I sat on the floor in my room, in front of my mirror, and decided that it was better to do the worst first.
I squeezed the right plug from the back, and proceeded to push it through the front of my ear. Instantly, my ear felt better, but I looked at it and wanted to cry. It had little tears all along the inside and was bleeding and pussing. I ran to the bathroom and washed it immediately with Provon. I slid a 3/4th's back in and washed it several times again.
The left ear wasn't bleeding or pussing, but then again, I've never had problems with my left ear.
So I have downsized back down to 3/4th's. I plan on stretching again some time in the future, but I know one thing, I will never stretch with silicone again.