I have been wanting to stretch my ears to about a 4g or so, right now I am at 14g. I’ve been researching and have found inconsistent answers.
The first method, tapering. I have found a kit online that comes with tapers and CBRs…but is this the best way?http://www.kingsbodyjewelry.com/tapersan…
Next, I’ve heard of the pincher. Many people say these are fine to use, but others disagree. Again, I’ve found a kit online.http://www.kingsbodyjewelry.com/pinchers…
And finally, there are just the single-flared plugs. The kit I found, does not come with tapers. If I were to use those, would I need to buy tapers also?http://www.kingsbodyjewelry.com/hugeears…
Basically, I want to hear some opinions on what works the best and what is safer for your ears. What do you recommend out of these three kits?? I already know that you should only use steel/glass for fresh stretches and I know about waiting for them to heal.
Also, if anyone knows price ranges for Vitamin E oil, jajoba oil, and emu oil, please share! 
Thanks a lot!!
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Ear Stretching (“gauging”) Advice?4 comments to Ear Stretching (“gauging”) Advice? |
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Overall, the best way is lots of time between sizes, not matter the method. Beyond that, tapering at small sizes is a good idea. You can use CBRs, straight plugs, labrets, basically anything not flared and of appropriate material. In general, it’s a bad idea to use jewelry like pinchers or claws as stretching tools or in new stretches. Since they aren’t uniform size, they may slip while you wear them, and the constant stretch/shrink of readjusting them can irritate a fresh stretch. Pinchers also have a small wearable area, meaning in a new stretch the lobe may not be stretched evenly all the way around. Of course in very loose piercings that have stretched naturally, that is less of a concern.
Beyond a certain size, in the 8g area, using teflon or bondage tape is far more gentle than using tapers. It’s also much cheaper than buying tapers at each size. If you’re 14g, I would buy 12g tapers and CBRs, which are easier for me than plugs and o-rings at small sizes. You can also use PTFE, titanium, and niobium in new stretches. In general I use Ti or glass, steel makes my lobes angry but many people are fine with it.
Emu oil is most expensive but awesome, about $10 an oz. Vit E is cheap and good, you can get a bottle for a few bucks in the vitamin section and just break the gelcaps. Jojoba works about as well as vit E but is not as sticky, I can usually find it around $3-5 an oz. It’s nice to have a little emu oil when your lobes need extra love, but for everyday rubs the cheap stuff is fine unless you’re dealing with scar tissue or stubborn lobes.
Yes, tapering is always the way to go when stretching ears. Please don’t ever call it “gauging”. That’s not the correct term to use at all.
You may want to buy the single-flared plug kit along with the tapers. Otherwise, you won’t have any jewelery to wear after stretching.. and that would be pointless.
CBR’s are a decent way to stretch your lobes but get unpractical when you get to larger gauges. For early stretches the loops are good because they have a tiny bit of a taper at their ends. But when you get to larger gauges you should stick to the taper method for sure.
I didn’t really use a kit to streatch my ears, mine are at 2g right now, and I don’t really know when I wanna stop, but I definitely don’t want it to get bigger than 00g. By buying these kits, though, you will save lots of money, and you are very smart for doing your research, kudos to you!
Honestly the first two look like good choice, but you might get bored with the second one, so I would go with the first one. When you actually put the taper in to get it used to the new size, what I do is, I leave the taper in for a few days then change it to the actual jewelry. Vitamin E oil is the best you can get, I don’t know how much for but I’m sure it won’t be too pricey (i.e. $7 for a big bottle)
To alleviate much of the discomfort you get from stretching, I take a hot, steamy shower and once when I get out, I stretch to the next size with the taper. Your ear will be soaked in the hot water and it will be tender and there will be a lot less discomfort. Hope I helped!!