From the very beginning of my friendship with one of my middle school friends, we always had the argument over tattoos versus gauged ears. I preferred tattoos while she preferred gauging. I didn't see her point--I always thought that they were gross. For some reason unknown to me, though, something changed my mind. I was thirteen years of age and I had become tired of my boring, 18g lobe piercings. Being so young, low on money, and a child of parents who aren't very comfortable with any kind of modification past the standard gunned lobes, I had to improvise to make my ears more interesting. I began by buying a pair of 16g barbells (or something similar, I don't remember exactly) and managing to get them through my ears. After a few days, I got bored so I took a Q-Tip (yes, a cotton swab) and I cut it in half and, after much vaseline and effort, I got the Q-Tips (not the cotton part, the plastic, tube-like bit in the middle) through my ear. Satisfied, my lobes stayed about that size for a good three or four days. The only reason I kept them that long was because I wasn't sure what to put in next!
At A Glance Author spuget Contact spuget@bme.anon IAM spuget When Two years ago Location Tacoma, Washington
After the Q-Tips and much searching for new "jewelry", I decided to move on to these small, green straws I had found in my kitchen. Yes, I was jumping sizes left and right--not something I recommend, based on the amounts of blood and pain I encountered. After the straws I moved up in gauge by sticking things through my lobes that looked like they would work--these included (but are definitely not limited to) straws, pencils, the little bits that are on socks to hang them, skewers, knitting needles, and other strange bits like that. My ears always hurt and often bled--it wasn't fun. Every time I went up in size, I wanted to move up faster and bigger. The second I was able to jam a new, bigger object through my lobe, I would begin to wonder what I would use next and when I'd do it. Sometimes I'd even only go a few HOURS between stretching sizes. Impatience is not a good thing when it comes to any kind of modification, and I learned through the pain I encountered.
Doing this alone seems like a pain, but keep in mind that I went from 18g to 00g in two WEEKS. Not only do I not recommend doing gauging like this using miscellaneous household items, I also strongly recommend not doing it nearly as fast as I did...it hurt like hell and was more of a hassell than anything. I couldn't sleep well at night because my ears were sore, I had to keep them hidden from my parents (I would have been dead forever if my mother or father would have found out about my gauged lobes), and I was always paranoid about infection due to the synthetic materials and miscellaneous objects I was shoving through my holes.
Anyways, back to my experience. Once I started getting up in gauge with pencils, pens, and knitting needles, I began to scrounge around my bedroom and house for money so I could buy an actual pair of tunnels. Yes, that's right, I DID actually wear some real jewelry in my ears at some point! I kept in pieces of jumbo drinking straws for a few days before I got my tunnels. The jumbo straws were always rather slippery and I would always panic that they were going to fall out , but they looked okay because they weren't bulky and they were neon green. They made my holes look clean and even, which I was very happy about. I was even more happy about the fact that soon I would have some real jewelry in my ears, though, instead of the plastic straws! I felt like I had reached the end of a big journey.
In the end, my 00g lobes only stayed for a few months before I decided I wanted to take them out. One day I just decided that I wanted my ears to go back to normal, and I took out my tunnels and never put them back in. Surprisingly, they've closed up (then again, it's been almost 4 years) enough to wear normal earrings, though I've measured them to be around 8g. They look normal, and I'm glad. I don't recommend doing what I did to anyone, but words can only go so far. Right now I have my approximately 8g lobes, 12g's above those ones, a 16g helix, a 14g navel, a 16g rook, and nine various retired piercings. If you have any questions for me about anything I've said at all, feel free to contact me whether it be through email or otherwise. Happy modifications and good luck!