I've always wanted plugs but between my tattoos and everything else, it just sort of got pushed to the side until a couple of years ago. Bob Jones, who is also the founder of the shop, was a friend of mine while I was in college so he basically just offered up the service as a birthday present.
At A Glance Author AnsatzErsatz Contact AnsatzErsatz@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Bob Jones Studio Insight Studios Location Chicago, IL We originally started with a pretty centered piercing of 12G to knock out some old scar tissue from way back when I though piercing yourself with a safety pin was a good idea (still have keloids on other parts of my ear).
Small digression: The self-done piercings I had were the worst decisions I've ever made. There are many piercings on my ear that I can't or shouldn't get now because of the scar tissue that exists. Not to mention they were incredibly painful and constantly getting infected. :End digression.
Waiting 4 months, we stretched it comfortably and smoothly to an 8G. There was actually no pain and I asked him if that was normal. He said it was if you wait long enough between stretching. This was a steel pair of small inlets (like tunnels, but thinner).
Waiting only 2 months, I went to a 4G by myself at home. At this point, my 8G had been falling out of my ear constantly. The 4G slid right into my ear without any sort of burning sensation or pain. This was a beautiful pair of Gaboon Ebony plugs from Omerica Organic (I highly recommend them).
Waiting only 1 month, I went ahead and pushed on to a 2G. For the first time ever, I actually felt my ear stretch. There was still no pain. I knew the next jump was going to be 2 mm rather than the small 1 mm jumps I had been making so I waited till the 2Gs started to feel like they could fall out. This time I used a gorgeous pair of bloodwood plugs from Omerica.
Apparently, that 1 month wasn't producing the same affect as I had with my previous stretches. The 2G just wasn't enough anymore and I could pull my double flare in and out with ease, but the 0G wasn't budging in easily.
I washed my ears in warm water with plenty of soap. I opted for Pear's soap instead of anti-bacterial because my skin is pretty sensitive and everything else was pretty sanitary. I opted for silicone tunnels because I figured the soft and squishy nature of them would work in my healing favor. I soaped the plug up and folded them and stuck them in. There was a slight burning sensation, but nothing that would register worry. The sensation was really akin to using a heating pad or Icy/Hot.
I had read a lot of negative reviews of using silicone, but those stories really sounded more like people who stretched too fast and hard and regardless of material, would've had negative experiences.
My experience was totally different. The silicone did exactly what I had expected. They were comfortable enough to sleep on the side of my head! I took them out daily and washed my ears with warm water and Pear's soap and plugged them back in with no problem. Sebum production was actually much lower than when I had used the wood plugs. There weren't any infections and scabs like I've seen in photos and heard in horror stories.
Really the best part about using the silicone plugs was that they could fold into my holes while being soft and squishy to allow my ear give while healing, and so I bypassed the need for a taper or any instrument like it. Being able to use headphones, or sleep on my side while my ears healed was also a huge plus.
I repeated the process I used with the silicone plugs up until 5/8". I don't think I'll go any higher. It seems all my decorative wants in a plug have been satisfied. I can get all the custom plugs I want from Omerica (and I can't wait for them to come with the plugs with rising suns on them).
I'm really happy I took the time because my ears have nothing wrong with them and I've gone back down 1/2" because I miss wearing some plugs for the designs and colors and I've gone back to 5/8" with relative ease. I didn't think my ears would be this elastic based on what other people have told me of their own experiences, but I guess that's what I get for going slow and steady.
In hindsight, I feel pretty confident in attributing how smooth everything went to how I paced myself and the silicone plugs I used towards the end stretching. I couldn't be happier with what I've got.