1. Get your ear / ears pierced professionally. Yeah, your mate can do it with a safety pin, but trust me, you're saving yourself a scarring and complications down the line.
2. Once your ears are COMPLETELY healed (I'd leave it for two months), buy either a 1.6mm or 1.2mm straight titanium body bar. These are the standard sizes for most body piercings and will easily be available. If you're not sure what you're looking for, just ask the staff. They're usually affordable. Push the bar through your pierced ear slowly, it will seem like it isn't going to fit at first, but it will with a bit of wiggling and determination.
3. After your ear has healed from the first stretch (give it at least two weeks) you can stretch up to 2mm. Use a titanium taper.
4. Continue in this way until you reach your desired size. Always leave at least two weeks between each stretch and always only go up by 1mm - otherwise you risk a blow out... A blow out is scar tissue pushed through the back of the ear. Not pretty! Once you reach 5mm, start wearing plugs or tunnels - don't wear tapers. If you get to a point where it is getting difficult to increase in size, try using tea tree oil to help to ease it in - never force a stretch.
FAQ
Q. Does it hurt?
A. Everyone has a different pain threshold. All I can say is try it and find out yourself, but don't expect it to be pain free.
Q. Is it normal for it to still sting the day after I stretch it?
A. Yep. It can sting up to the point when it heals.
Q. My ear lobe is throbbing / aching / very tender / swollen / weeping / bleeding - what should I do?
A. You can either choose to take it out totally and leave it to heal by itself - tea tree oil and antiseptics can help in the process. If you think you can still stretch, baby your ear like you fear it's going to drop off - rub tea tree oil into it at least three times a day, downsize about 2mm and let it get some air until it's totally healed.
Q. What is a 'blow out'?
A. Scar tissue which forms and eventually gets pushed/ pushes itself through the back of your ear. If you get a bad blow out, it's extremely unlikely that your ear will shrink back to a 'normal' size. They're also really unattractive.
Q. What's the difference between a taper, a plug and a tunnel?
A. A taper is a cylinder which is sealed at both ends and 'tapers' into a thin point, they can be straight, curved or spirals. Tapers are used for stretching until the healing point ONLY. Tapers shouldn't be worn past the healing point as the uneven weight distribution can cause uneven stretching, creating scarring and a longer healing process. A plug is a cylinder usually sealed at both sides, they can be used to stretch or to wear past the healing point. A tunnel is a hollowed out plug which you can see through from one side to the other, it can be used to stretch or to wear past the healing point.
Q. What materials should my jewelry be made from?
A. Practically anything so long as it is fully sealed and treated after your ear has fully healed. Only use materials which can be autoclaved during each stretch. Titanium, plastic and silicone are the most common. Stainless steel, wood, bone and polished stone are also quite popular.
Q. Where can I buy tapers / tunnels / plugs?
A. Your local piercing parlor will definitely sell them, a lot of tattoo parlors sell them too. Otherwise, there are LOADS of shops on eBay which sell body jewelry and plenty of web stores to choose from, too.
Q. What is the smallest size of plug /tunnel? What is the largest?
A. The smallest I've seen or heard of is 2mm. Plugs and tunnels can be custom made, usually past 2" you will find it harder and harder to find 'off the shelf' jewelry and will need to find somewhere that will make them for you.
Ps: only use recommended makers / sellers!
Q. Will it shrink back to a 'normal' size? When is the 'point of no return'?
A. It's different for everyone. Mine personally shrink back over night from 12mm to around 8mm, it would shrink further the longer I left it but probably only as far as 2mm. 'The point of no return' is usually considered to be around 1.5", though it is obviously different for everyone.
Q. If I stretch it up to a certain size, will it continue to stretch by itself?
A. No, your ear can only stretch up to how far you want it to stretch.
"Depending on the size of the gauge, weight of the jewelry, and age of the person, your stretched ears can become loose and stretch a little larger. Ear weights (heavy jewelry) are designed to slowly stretch the lobe over time to fit a larger gauge piece.
This is generally done for much larger gauges because lets face it, I've never seen a taper 2" wide so they aren't very common if they exist at all. Naturally as someone gets older the elasticity of their skin breaks down therefore sagging and if accommodating weight, can stretch. "
This is why I usually recommend light weight jewelry.
Q. Why does it smell?
A. Because you're not washing it. You should wash both your jewelry and ear lobe every day. I wash mine when I wash my face - morning and night. I usually rub some tea tree oil into it once a week.
Q. My friend went from 1.6mm to 10mm in a week - why are you saying I shouldn't?
A. Because your friend will most definitely now have caused scarring / a blow out, if they should want to shrink back at any point, they probably wont be able to. It's also likely that despite your friend's macho 'It didn't even hurt!' it will have hurt like a bitch - stretching at a healthy rate should not hurt more than a slight sting.
