A little over two years ago, I pierced my tongue. Before even doing it, I intended on a large gauge tongue piercing eventually. It was always something that I wanted and just absolutely loved the look of. Obviously I did much research on this modification prior to doing it, as anybody who is considering a rather permanent modification should do.
At A Glance Author Scott Contact michibmx@yahoo.com When Three months ago Artist Ann @ E.T and Janet @ A.G Studio Eternal Tattoos and American Graffitti Tattoos Location Brighton/Howell, MI I decided to make my first stretch about 4 months after the piercing was completely healed. It was only going to be up to a meager 12 gauge, but it was a start. I removed the 14-gauge bar, put a small dab of surgical lubricant on the tip of the new barbell, and gently tapered it in. It went in easily and almost painlessly. For this stretch, the new bar I put in was far too long because I wasn't entirely sure if my tongue was going to swell at all. It was a little over 5/8ths. I later downsized it to a half inch, 12-gauge barbell. There was no healing, if anything, it felt much more comfortable to wear the 12 gauge jewelry than the original 14 gauge.
A couple of months later, the decision to stretch to 10 gauge was made. I purchased a 10 gauge, half-inch long barbell. I decided I was not going to use a taper for this stretch. I lubed up the tip of the barbell just as I did the first time, and I pushed it through. I felt a sting, and a little pinching as i pushed the bar through, but nothing unbearable. My tongue felt a little funny for an hour or so, then it felt good as new after sipping on some ice water. I experienced no problems with healing the stretch once again, and I let it toughen up for another couple of months.
Next I purchased an 8 gauge, half-inch barbell. Half inch seemed to be the length for me I realized, but it could be different for everyone. The stretch up to 8 gauge was a little rougher and more painful than the other stretches. I did it without a taper, and this was when I realized I needed a taper from now on as I got to these larger sizes. The bar took some effort to push in, but it did go through. It swelled for a good part of the day, and my remedy for that was sipping on ice water. It healed up again, with no problems, and I was very happy with the results so far!
The stretch to 6 gauge was a big step for me because that's when the process started to become a lot more visible. This stretch was done with a 1/2-inch long 6-gauge barbell, and a taper. I relaxed my tongue, lubed up the taper, easily slid it through, and easily slid the 6-gauge barbell into my tongue. This wasn't very painful, and didn't swell very much. The only strange part was getting used to the noticeably larger balls on the barbell, which was fairly easy and only took a day or so.
I waited longer than usual to do my next stretch up to 4 gauge. I believe this was mostly because I was going through a rough time in my life, and just wasn't very motivated to go on. Soon enough though, I was hanging out with a friend who also happens to be a very talented piercer at Eternal Tattoos in Howell, MI, and mentioned that I wanted to stretch. She said she would order me a barbell and do it for me if I would like. I of course jumped at the idea because so far, I had done all of the stretching by myself.
The week after this, she called me and told me my barbell was in and I could come in anytime that I wanted to so I could get it installed in my mouth. She basically did the same procedure to me that I did on myself, lubed up a taper, pushed it through, and followed with the jewelry. Done. Wow. The new jewelry certainly felt like a mouthful. This was definitely something different. By the next day, I was used to it, and was talking normal and happy.
Next, was my most recent stretch, which was only a few months ago, the stretch to 2 gauge. I had made a new friend by this time named Janet who worked at a tattoo shop just up town from me. She ordered me a barbell, and offered to put it in for me. She did the procedure so perfectly it was unreal. I couldn't have been happier with the stretch. My eyes watered a little bit this time, which was a first yet I didn't feel much pain. I was completely used to the new jewelry being in my mouth by the end of the day.
Through all the stretching that I've done so far, I want to let people know that I don't play with my tongue piercing (i.e. click it on my teeth, rub it on my gums, twirl it around outside my mouth) because I really love having healthy teeth and gums. Also, I only wear acrylic jewelry. Not only does this help protect my oral health some, but also steel jewelry feels much too heavy and uncontrollable after 6 gauge. I love this modification a lot, and it's something that's most definitely not for everyone. It takes a lot of patience and careful stretching, but if it's something you really want, be smart and stretch slow and carefully and definitely use tapers.