I had always wanted my ears pierced even when I was really little. But I was too afraid of the pain. But at the time I didn't know how enjoyable the feeling actually was. It all started when I saw my friend's ears. He had 2G at the time and they looked really cool. I told him I had been thinking of piercing mine and he talked to into starting to stretch them. So on a Saturday a few weeks before my 16th birthday, my friend, my girlfriend, and her mom all went to the mall. We went to a store called icing that I never heard of before but is apparently owned by Claire's. I felt like a loser getting my ears pierced in such a store but I wanted them done now. So we go in and get them pierced with a gun (I know I know, stupid me) and I was as happy as can be. They only hurt for about a day then after that I just let them heal for a few weeks.
At A Glance Author Anthony Contact Anthony@bme.anon When It just happened Artist me Studio my bathroom Location ... Keep in mind I DO NOT believe in skipping sizes. Most of my friends do and think I'm a "wuss" for taking baby steps. But I like it better that way. So afterwards I put in some 18G CBRs. obviously no problems there. Then a few days later I put in some 16G curved barbells. I struggled a little bit, but nothing too bad. Waited about 2 weeks and put in some 14G barbells. Kept those in for some time and eventually put some 12G in. Then the night of homecoming I really wanted some new ones to show off some I put in two black and red 10G plugs. (That was supposed to be my stopping point. Little did I know how addicting stretching is).
I had those in for about a month then my friend gave me some 8G plugs. I was sitting in study hall in school and decided to put them in. Some jock/preppy kid thought I was a complete freak for what I was doing. I just smiled and continued till they went in. A few weeks later I used a 6G taper to stretch them so I could get some tunnels in. I had some difficulties but like my previous stretches they went fine. I had run out of things to clean my ears with and my girlfriend at the time who had 00s had told me to clean my ears with rubbing alcohol. SOO fucking dumb of me. My ears were swollen, crusting, bloody, and smelled like shit for the next two weeks. Eventually they healed up and were just fine.
Here's where the sad part comes. I went to Hot Topic and got two black 4G tapers and put them in. This one was probably my hardest stretch considering my problems with the last one. But the bad part is that my dad saw the tapers and thought they looked hideous. He told me to take them out. Now as you can tell I spent a lot of time and money going step by step to get here so I was not about to take them out. I told him no. You can imagine how mad he was. Eventually I had my mom and my uncle on my ass to take them out as well. Eventually I gave in and took them out. It hurt me so bad. I felt like they stole a part of me.
Over night they closed to 10G and I wore some curved barbells for a few months. Then I started to give it another shot and slowly every week or 2 went up a new size till now I have my beautiful 2G stainless steel plugs. My dad was mad but hasn't told me to take them out yet. I'll probably be putting some 0s in probably in about a week. I really hope I have the willpower and control to stop here because I really do not want anything bigger than a 0.
There isn't much of a moral of the story. It's more of just a walkthrough of what I did to get to where I am now. Overtime I learned a lot though. I am a FIRM believer that everyone's bodies are different. What works for you will definitely not work for the next person. There really is no guide on how you should go about doing this. Such as aftercare and what not. Some people have made it to 3/4 and completely closed up. Others get to a four and they don't close. Some people clean with alcohol and have no problems. Personally I prefer antibacterial soap and sea salt soaks. I have yet to go wrong using those. I strongly encourage stretching your ears because they are very fun and extremely addictive. Just be careful, listen to your body, and keep them clean.