Ok, so five weeks ago, I finally get the courage to get my ear pierced. I was always afraid it would hurt, and I hate needles so that is the main reason I put it off till now.
At A Glance Author Mercuryinhell Contact Mercuryinhell@bme.anon When It just happened Location Pennsylvania Anywho, I finally got up the nerve to have it done. The nice Arabian guy there let me choose a nice piece of stainless steel to shove through my ear, and my wife decided to go get money from the ATM. I was afraid that the whole procedure would hurt, but he assured me it would not. I was surprised to find that after sitting me down, making a dot on my ear for placement, and then moments later it was over with no pain, not even a sense that it had actually been performed.
I used the cleaning solution and turned it every day. After about 2 weeks, I thought it would be good to take it out and clean it good.
This became a problem when putting it back in made me bleed. Just a little, but enough to scare me. Two more weeks go by, and I pull it out again for cleaning. Again, putting it back in makes me bleed, one drop or two, but enough to upset me.
Leaving it in one more week as suggested by the nice Arabian guy is where we get interesting.
I have been doing a lot of research to find out what the proper way is to get to a larger gauge, and the internet is a great resource. What it didn't tell me is what size a standard earring from a piercing gun is (yes, now I know piercing gun = bad, but that is not what is important in this story, I was one of the lucky ones). I had devised that it was either 20 or 18 gauge, but wasn't sure.
A friend of mine claimed it to be 16 gauge. Anyhow, I have my eyes on segment rings, and they don't make them in a 20 or 18 gauge that I know of.
I went back to the mall and looked for a new ring that was a larger gauge, possibly 18 gauge or 16, so I can be sure to do it slow and without hurting myself.
The 16 gauge looked so tiny (and it is), and the ring would have been to small to fit over my lobe at all. The lady at the counter seemed to thing that a 14g would be perfect to size up to. She said a majority of kids come in and get the 16g then complain 2 days later it is too small. She pressured me into the 14g.
I showed my wife who has had her ears pierced for 12 years or so, and she was tempted to try to put it in her ear over dinner. She tried, and gave up.
We made it home, and I did some more research seeing if what I had in mind was safe. Being that we didn't know for sure the starting size, it was worth a shot. If it hurt, I would stop, and try to gradually do it over the weekend.
I took out my stainless hoop, and cleaned my ear with the solution from the piercing place. I grabbed a bottle of lubricant (water based), and massaged my ear. My wife tried to put it in, and was having a little trouble finding the way out. She got it in half way, and had to stop. I felt a slight tingle, but no worse than the pain after getting it pierced originally. She continued to push, and it came through the other side. No pain really was endured, and no pressure was felt. It still feels great. However this morning, I got up and went to the store. I felt behind my ear and it felt rough. I used my fingernail, and removed what seemed to be dried blood from behind my ear. There was more than a little, but I remember overnight sleeping on that ear, and moving it around on the pillow, and thinking "ouch" every once in a while. I continue to clean it using the solution from the shop, and I am loving my new 14 g curved barbell.
So in summary, it can be done. In 5 weeks, go from a fresh standard small piercing to a 14 gauge in one step. I plan on going to the 8 or 6g segment ring eventually, but this is a great start I think.
I am still in the healing phase and hope that things will continue to go rather smoothly.
This article is written for people who are new to piercing, like I am, and couldn't find a definitive article to tell them what is ok for their first stretch. Everyone is different. I think I might have been able to goto a 12, but I think it would have cause more pressure and some pain. The 14g is perfect, no pain, and no pressure. I just gotta watch how I sleep for a bit. And probably stop playing with it all the time, and sliding it from end to end the length of the barbell.
Good luck, go slow, be safe, and let your body tell you what is too much.