I used to have stretched ears, but when Jesse and I got engaged I decided to take them out to see if they'd grow in enough for me to wear normal earrings. It's been a long time, and my ears are definitely never going to grow in- so this year I decided that if that was going to be the case, then I wanted to stretch up and get really cute, really big plugs!
These are the plugs that I've been wearing while I've been stretching up since last fall…
Right now I'm wearing the large tunnels, and I'm so excited to be able to wear my next goal plugs – hopefully next month!
They're so sparkly and beautiful, they look like a night sky! Two weeks I really hurt my ears by trying to stretch to quickly, so I'm taking it slow for the next little while and I'm dreaming of the day I can get them in :)
LAST UPDATED ON: August 16th, 2011
CATEGORY: All Posts
Has anyone been able to find out which is the best product among those listed here?
Do you think a 00g will go back down to wearing earnings? I wasn’t even allowed to gauge that big and I’m removing them when I turn eighteen. Any advise? :o
It’s a really individual thing, and I think you’ll really only know when you remove them and see how you heal. My advice would be that if you don’t want stretched ears forever, don’t stretch them at all- even if it’s more common now, it’s still an extreme thing to put your body through and mine never closed completely from being 0g.
That being said- I love having big jewellery and I wouldn’t change anything about them. The “worst case” scenario of having them not close up could be lovely if you like how your jewellery looks now :)
I’m at a 00g right now & have the next size waiting for me to stretch to soon. Do you have a goal size or are you just waiting to see what you like best when you get there? Everyone’s different that way, & I think I want to go up to 1/2″ but I’m going to play it by ear (haha). I really love the look of some of the hanging plugs, with natural woods & things. They would satisfy my need to wear “regular” earrings that dangle, I think. ;) But then there are a lot of really cute plugs out there of all kinds that once you reach your ideal size you can switch out & play with.
i haven’t stretched my ears in years. I used to work in a piercing shop and I went so big, they were custom made. When I took them out, my earlobes hung to my shoulders :(
I think you can pull them off gracefully!
Stretched ears is not my look of choice, but I think it’s awesome when people express themselves and are confident about it. I also love how you’re this perfect mix of vintage girly-girl and bad-ass rocker with your ears and your sleeve. It’s so fun to watch! :)
oh my gosh! i would be so scared to do this. seriously. but they look so cool! you are so brave. lol. great blog!
love, rach.
http://www.so–hi.blogspot.com
I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this before, but electrical tape around your plugs, a little more every few days, is a pretty easy way to work your way up quickly and painlessly. I love big plugs on other people but I feel like 00 is the perfect size for me, just big enough to be able to wear some fun ones, not too big that they look weird with my face shape.
That’s awesome! I recently went from 1/2 in to 5/8ths. I had been at 1/2 inch for two years and would take them out every night before bed so they wouldn’t do that annoying thing plugs do… smell bad. When I decided I wanted to go bigger I buckled down and kept the heaviest plugs I had in for about a week or two… where I could pull them through the holes easily even with the flare. When I went in they went to 7/16ths but I didn’t even feel it. So I said push on! We did, it hurt. So bad. But, there was no blow out, my ears are fine now and I’m at the point where I don’t know if this is the final stop in my stretching life or if I keep going. I mean, every size seems big until I get there and then I want them bigger… sigh, what’s a girl to do?
Play with and pull on your ears a lot (with clean hands) to get them ready to be stretchy! Nicely of course. And definitely wait about a month if not more between stretches. It’s important especially at these sizes because the body needs time to acclimate and then get ready to go further.
good luck!
Your blog is adorable! Can’t wait to read more…
I’ve never seen such cute stretchers! Not many girls can pull this look off! I think it suits you well!
Good luck to you! I’m not into gauging but I love how it looks on other people.
I was just reading through all the comments and it looks like everyone’s ears must be different! I had read somewhere that anything 2g and smaller would likely shrink back down. But I guess it stands to reason that everyone’s bodies behave differently. I’m at a 2g now and though I’d love to go bigger, I think I’m staying here. It just kills my poor mother when she looks at me, and it makes me sad. I wish she “got it” but oh well…
Ah, I also had mine stretched and took them out YEARS ago, but they’ve only shrunk down to 6g. I’ve been contemplating stretching them back out again. Where did you buy the cute 4g pair? Cuuuute!
Wow—I didn’t realize that you streatched! You’re brave to do it yourself :)
http://breatheandhush.blogspot.com/
Those are so pretty! I am such a weenie. I have tried to stretch my ears and don’t get very far. Maybe some day I will try again.
I love your plugs! I’ve not stretched my ears for years, they’re at 20mm at the moment, I’m not sure what gauge that is. I want to go up to an inch though so might start stretching again but then I wouldn’t be able to wear all the pretty plugs I already have. I think that’s the only thing stopping me!
I love stretching my ears, I’m at 7/16ths right now. But, I’m dying to move up a size!
Good luck with your stretching adventures. Is 5/8ths the largest you will go? Or do you think someday you may go even bigger?
Wow! I can only imagine that it, you know, HURTS to do this. I have to say, gauging is not something I’ve ever been a fan of; it makes me a little queasy, to be honest! (No offense meant – I have a tricky stomach, & it’s something about the stretchy skin…) But if anyone can pull it off, you can, especially with such pretty plugs on hand!
I *totally* understand Kate- I don’t love the look of tunnels, but they were the cheapest options for me at my current gauge. The first time I put them in, after I finished I got queasy! lol
I really like the look of solid plugs, and the nice thing about stretching up is that you wrap super thin tape around them so it’s not very uncomfortable to go between sizes at all :)
I love the look of mine, but I’m also aware that it’s totally quease-inducing too- and I appreciate you being sweet and honest at the same time! It’s one of the many reasons why I like ya so darn much :)
I had to look up what tapers are and all the pictures made me qeasy right away… I like the look of small solid plugs but just the thought of putting them in makes me almost faint.
I’d love to see a photo of you wearing them though (and I can hopefully look at it without feeling qeasy ;-) ).
Those 5/8ths ones are so gorgeous! I love how many varieties and how beautiful plugs are – and with the bigger ones, it is easier to see the cool designs!
I, too, used to have stretched ears (to 00), and took them out to be in a friend’s wedding. They actually did shrink back to 10g! So I was able to wear normal earrings, but I started to miss the stretched ears, so I stretched them back up.
Like you mentioned in one of your comments, I had a super easy time stretching up to my prior size, but all the steps after that were a little more difficult (though much easier than I remembered from the first time!).
I’m currently at 1/2″ and really enjoy wearing my kaos silicone eyelets, but also like wearing normal white pyrex single flared plugs, since they kind of look like big pearl earrings, and that matches my “granny chic” clothing.
Good luck with getting to 5/8ths!
You’re so brave to stretch all by yourself! I’m such a baby and couldn’t do it – I had to go to my piercer and have him do it for me! Needless to say – I’m done at a 1/2″! What do you think you’ll stop at?
I love the 5/8″ ones! very pretty. I’ve always used tapers (around $5) but I might have to try tape next time.
I used to do that to my ears, but I got tired of constantly having to clean them. Maybe it was the plugs I used, but my ears smelled so awful from them.
I love all of your gauges. I took mine out after high school but ended up missing them. Six years ago I started stretching again. I’m sticking with the zero gauge. I can never find cute plugs unless I go online. Bummer.
Ah! I was just telling my friend Emily last night about how I’m stretching again! I had my ears stretched up to 9/16ths a couple years ago and when I let them close they never closed up completely so I figured I’d just start stretching again! Love all of your plugs! I love that this gives me an excuse to shop for cute plugs now :)
I cant believe you went from those little ones to a 4 with nothing between!! Ouch!
I’ve been taping up between gauges on top of the posts, so those little ones used to have a lot of tape on them but I cut it off afterward. You can actually still see the tape on my 4g & 00g plugs :)
Because my ears had previously been a 0g everything up until 00g for me was really easy and comfy! Jumping up to 7/16ths was the first point where I had to be a little more careful :)
kyla, those are so pretty!
those black sparkly ones are so awesome, they look like a galaxy or something! eeep! so pretty! :)
happy day,
Lauren