What material is best for healing gauges?
Plugs
- Steel is durable.
- Titanium is like steel, but lighter and less likely to irritate your ears.
- Silicone is a hypoallergenic material. It may need more frequent cleaning.
- Organic options include glass, finished wood, polished stone, or any nonartificial materials.
Are glass plugs good for your ears?
GOOD FOR HEALED EARS AND PIERCINGS
Glass plugs are a great alternative to metal plugs. It is nonporous and can be autoclaved so it’s safe for healing tissue and glass plugs come in a variety of brilliant colors and interesting designs.
Are glass plugs good for stretching?
Single-flared glass plugs are perfect for a fresh stretch since it’s only flared on one side and rounded on the other which makes it easier to slip straight in the ear lobe. Glass is non-porous, highly biocompatible and easy to sanitize which makes it our stretching material of choice.
What is the most popular ear gauge size?
“Standard size is 18 g, which is what I mostly use for all my ear piercings,” Thompson reveals. “For piercings in general, 18 g through 16 g is the most common.
When can I start dead stretching?
Dead stretching, the natural method, is a passive way to stretch. It’s when you wait for your ear to heal and loosen enough on its own so you can just slide in the next size. Patience and wearing slightly heavy jewelry help this process. (See the full list of stretching methods below.)
How long should I leave tapers in before switching to plugs?
How long should I wait between each stretch?
- 16g to 14g – 1-2 months.
- 14g to 12g – 1-2 months.
- 12g to 10g – 2-3 months.
- 10g to 8g – 2-3 months.
- 8g to 6g – 3-4 months.
- 6g to 4g – 3-4 months.
- 4g to 2g – 3-4 months.
- 2g to 0g – 4-5 months.
Should you sleep with gauges in?
It keeps the skin from drying out and cracking. I recommend you sleep with your plugs in your ears. Sleeping without them can cause irritation, dryness, and cracking.
What’s the safest way to stretch your ears?
Oil massages are the best way to maintain healthy stretched ears. They break down scar tissues that were created by the piercing or built up during the stretching process. This should only be done when there are no open wounds or irritation. You could use Emu, Vitamin E, Jojoba, or Bio oil.
What size gauge will shrink back?
Most professionals in the piercing world suggest going no larger than a 0 gauge, preferably a 2 gauge, if you want your ears to shrink back to standard size.
What is a blowout stretched ears?
A blowout is one of the most common complications of ear gauging. It’s a ring of scar tissue that forms behind the jewelry and gives the piercing the appearance of turning inside out. Blowouts usually occur from trying to stretch the hole too quickly. They often cause sharp pain and inflammation.
How far can you stretch your ears before its irreversible?
Most people can go between 2g (6mm) – 00g (10mm) and expect their ears to revert back to a normal piercing, after a few months of healing. If you don’t want stretched ears forever, be sure to stretch slowly and never skip sizes.
Should I take my gauges out to shower?
Once your piercings are fully healed (after 12 weeks), you should remove your jewelry when you shower. This is the most effective way to clean both your piercings and your jewelry. Be sure that your hands are clean before you remove your ear gauge jewelry.
How often should you size up your gauges?
Before you move on to the next stretch, it’s best to wait for at least a month between stretches but ideally you should wait for 6-8 weeks. The main rule here is the longer you wait between the stretches, the healthier your lobes will remain and the more viable they will be for the bigger gauges.
Why do stretched ears smell?
Why does this happen? Your body secretes a substance called sebum, sebum is an oily secretion which helps your skin keep lubricated and keep it waterproof. The sebum mixes with the dead skin cells between your ear and the jewellery to make this unpleasant odour.
Do 00g go back to normal?
What does ear stretching symbolize?
History has shown us that ear stretching was initially used to show that an individual belonged to a group or a tribe. It was accepted by the group and they were marked as being “one of us”. When someone did not have stretched ears they were considered to be an outsider or someone who did not belong to the tribe.
Does 00g shrink back?
It depends on the person, but usually anything less than 00g will shrink back to the 16-20 range.
Why do ear gauges stink?
What is an ear gauge blowout?
What is a blowout ear?
Why can’t you use Vaseline to stretch your ears?
Vaseline is very thick. It will not allow your ears to breathe properly and there is the potential for a buildup of bacteria.
What ear gauge is the point of no return?
Any size larger than 8mm is normally given as the “point of no return” for earlobe piercings, as beyond this size there is a significant risk that the hole will not shrink back to the size of the original piercing and may require cosmetic surgery in order to close the hole completely.
What’s the point of no return for gauges?
In North America, most stretching methods go up by a single even-sized gauge increment at a time. 0g (8 mm), is generally considered to be “the point of no return”: a hole larger than this size will rarely close to a standard piercing size.
Why do my gauges smell?
The stink in your ear comes from dead skin and oil produced by your skin called sebum. The sebum and the dead skin get trapped in your piercings if you constantly keep your plugs/tunnels in. It is a result of sebum and dead skin being trapped in your hole.
Will gauges ever stop smelling?
The odor will be stronger while you are stretching your ears. This is because the ear is trying to heal and will produce more sebum and dead skin. When you get to your desired ear gauge you will notice less of an odor. The other part of the smell is the plug itself.