Well, where should I start...the beginning would seem like the rational place, eh? I am in the middle of the tedious, yet somewhat spiritual, process of stretching my lobes. I would like to make it up to an inch eventually, but would be willing to settle for 3/4" if I run into any trouble along the way. I am 28 years old, and only pierced my ears for the first time when I was 18. After a couple years, and an extremely unpleasant experience with infection, and a lengthy healing process after having the studs removed through the BACK of my earlobes...I decided it was probably best to go to a professional piercer. (How was I supposed to know what a bad idea it was to go to the Mall to get your ears pierced?? Ick!)
At A Glance Author phoenix314 Contact phoenix314@bme.anon When It just happened Artist I'm doing it myself Studio My home Location Derry, NH I was pierced with 10g captive hoops. They were beautiful. Healing went really well, and before I knew it I found myself looking at bigger, more beautiful jewelry. After listening to what seemed like a bazillion horror stories regarding how I should do it, how I shouldn't, what would (or could) happen if I did it too fast, etc. I decided to begin stretching by using tape. I had heard a student in one of my classes had tried this and had some success with this method. This was surprisingly easy, and relatively comfortable. I made it up to 00g fairly quickly, and was very happy with my progress. I wound up staying there for a lot longer than I had originally planned, a couple years actually. My decision had been influenced partly by my getting accepted into Nursing school. They tend to frown upon tattoos and piercings in general, so I felt it was best to put stretching my lobes on hold for the time being. It's bad enough I have to wear long sleeves because of my tattoos.
Unfortunately, before long I noticed that almost all of my 00g jewelry had become ill-fitting and had started to sag. I was no longer able to wear any of my hanging jewelry for more than a few hours before they would become loose, and very unattractive looking. I actually started becoming self-conscious of the way they looked, and I would wear the flesh colored plugs my mom got me for when I was in clinical. I was very discouraged. I eventually wound up letting my lobes shrink a little just so I could wear some of the jewelry I had accumulated. I was starting to think that I would never get to where I wanted to be. And none of my friends have stretched lobes, so there was a severe shortage when it came to resources or support.
Fast forward to now or, more accurately, the last few months. I have become increasingly anxious to, again, begin stretching the size of my lobes. I found that just wearing my smaller hanging jewelry through a pair of earlets has been enough to get my lobes to stretch. Actually I have been able to get my lobes up to just about 1/2". I am very happy with the ease I had in getting these results. Unfortunately it has been a short lived victory. I have hit a plateau, and I'm afraid to make any rash decisions...the last thing I want to happen is have to back track because I did too much, too fast. Should I use tapers? Should I use weights? There aren't any local shops that sell tapers, and I don't know if taping at this point would be effective. So I went out a few days ago and got myself a pair of shiny new combination locks. So far, so good...I am able to wear them for an hour or so at a time without any discomfort. I have made sure to keep my lobes moisturized, and I let them rest at night. And I am hoping that this will help me get closer to my goal. I am out of school now for the summer, and as long as my lobes are stretching well and I don't run into any problems, I will hopefully have some beautiful new plugs to wear next semester!!
I am hoping to make contact with some other people that can help me, and guide me during this process. I have little to no support locally, and often feel like I may not be going through this process via the easiest route. I worry about damaging my lobes and experiencing a setback. My skin seems to be overly sensitive and easily irritated. Like I said before, I do my best to take good care of my skin, but anything could happen. I am excited to be making progress, however little it may seem at the time. I know the end result will all be worth it.