What size taper should i start with

Something that you want to keep in mind before stretching is the fact that you may need surgery if you stretch too big and then change your mind. Another reason to take good care of your lobes! This is also another popular question that has a lot of opinions. Because of the fact that everyone's body reacts differently, this answer varies. It is recommended that you wait at least 6 weeks in between stretches. This will give your earlobes time to heal up and become a little loose.

However, we recommend that you wait months between each stretch. This will really give your lobes the optimal time to heal, reduce the risk of tearing, let your ear lobes thicken up, and get your circulation back in your skin. Your earlobe is a part of your body and it needs taken care of! Remember, if you want to get to a large size, the key is to stretch slowly! Once you get to 0g and larger, the taping method makes it easier to stretch gradually when there are larger jumps between sizes.

To begin your ear stretching journey, you'll need to know all about tapers. A taper is going to help you safely stretch your ear over time. We have a big selection of tapers made from different materials here on UBJ. Tapers are normally made out of acrylic or stainless steel and are exactly as they sound: tapered. They are round at one end, normally the gauge that you are going up to, and then taper down to a point for easy insertion.

First, you'll need to learn all the details about sizes and material. These are very important factors when picking the right taper.

Acrylic tapers are going to be your cheapest option. The material isn't good to wear since it can hold bacteria, but you can stretch with it if you need to. You'll need to make sure you wash everything beforehand because if you happen you tear your ear, the acrylic has more of a risk of carrying bacteria than steel.

Don't get me wrong, they are okay to stretch with though not to wear! Steel tapers are recommended for a few reasons. They are easier to stretch with than acrylic because they are slicker than acrylic. Steel is able to be sterilized which results in a safer stretch because you won't be accidentally introducing bacteria.

They are in the same shape as the acrylic tapers; just in a different material. The concave steel tapers are just like the steel tapers; they're safe to stretch with since they can be sterilized and are easier to use than acrylic.

However, there is something special about these tapers compared to others: the concave part. This means that they have a dip in the back where you can put your new plugs at. As you're pushing the tapers through, this puts the new plug in place without the hassle of having to wait until your ear is ready to put the new size in.

With steel tapers, when you stretch you normally have to wait a bit or fight with the new, bigger plugs to get them in. This is what makes the concave tapers better. They make the job quick and easy. These tapers are a bit more expensive than acrylic or steel, but they are worth the few extra dollars! The tape wrapping method is usually used once you get above a 0 gauge. The tape wrapping method helps to stretch your lobes slowly and carefully.

It is used by a lot of people who stretch over an inch as well. Taping takes longer than using a taper, but it will help you keep your ear lobes thick and healthy for the bigger sized gauges. Most people assume that they can use regular tape, electrical tape, or duct tape but this is not true! You'll want to use tape that is not only safe for your ears but is also thin enough to use properly.

PTFE is a great and inexpensive tape that you can use to stretch. The good things about it is that it is very reasonable in price, non-adhesive so it only sticks to itself, super thin so you can slowly increase your size, and it doesn't irritate your ears like some tapes do such as electric tape. Bondage tape is the second best tape used during the taping method. The bondage tape is self-adhesive just like the PTFE tape. It is wide enough to fit on your plugs but thin enough to be able to stretch with.

Simply put, yes! Skipping sizes or stretching when your ear aren't healed can cause a lot of problems. You can easily tear your ears. This can introduce infection, pain and bleeding, as well as hurt the elasticity in your ears. When you stretch your ears too quickly, you really aren't stretching your ears, but tearing your skin. This is the reason we recommend that you wait at least a month between stretches, if not longer.

If you stretch slowly, you will be able to stretch your ears much bigger in the end. It is a very lightweight and comfortable material for most people. If you have irritated lobes or have had any bad reactions to silicone before it should be avoided.

Massage your ears for 5 to 10 minutes every night Massaging your ears with these types of oils will promote healthy skin and blood flow as well as break up the scar tissue. As the scar tissue is broken down into smaller particles, it flows out of or reabsorbs into your ear tissue.

Skip to content Users questions. April 26, Joe Ford. These holes are really too big for the tapering method of stretching, so you need to move on to taping. Taping can also benefit smaller sizes though not too small by offering a more gentle, gradual method of stretching. Here we go:. Personally, I had to use tape to get from a 2g to a 0g, because it's a 2mm stretch, which is hard to do all in one go.

You might want to start there as well, or you might not need to until you get to 00g if you're going that far. To keep your ears in top condition, you should use a good quality balm or moisturiser at least a couple of times a week, ideally daily, and whenever you swap out your plugs—especially if they're double flared, which do put a little pressure on your ears when you first put them in. Otherwise, stretched ears are fairly low maintenance. You should try to wear a plug made of glass or steel or titanium, if you prefer overnight and when you're not all dressed up, but otherwise anything goes, and you can enjoy and show off your stretched holes!

Congrats on successfully completing your first stretch! If the edges of your holes are red and itchy, it might be that you're allergic to your o-rings. Black o-rings are mostly made of a substance called nitrile, which a lot of people are sensitive to. Switch to silicone o-rings and you should be fine!

See the taping method above. If it's a small size or your first stretch, you might want to try a sea salt soak, massaging your ears with some vitamin E oil, or stretching right after a warm shower, when your ears are at their most supple. Also, make sure you're only trying to go up one size! Check the gauge of your tapers to be sure they're correct. This is affectionately called 'catbutt' holes and is a side-effect of stretching too fast.

The best way to solve it is to go back down a size and be sure to keep your ear well moisturised while the hole shrinks back. Then leave it to heal for longer than you have been, and try again. If that doesn't work, the puffy part can be scalpled off which should only be done by a professional but that will hurt and probably scar. This is why healing times between stretches are really important. Can you stretch your ears while in the hot shower? Im currently i beleive at a 4g its been 5months since i had it done but trying to find some painless ways to do it.

Pleasr help. The only thing I have to say is that I have a few friends who started taping at 2g and their ears are fine. I stretched my ears to a 12ga and then to a 8ga with those spiral earings where the tip is thin and then you go all the way to a little bit larger size. I didn't read this before I did it so yeah my earlobe god red and I felt pain but at the end of the streching I tarted doing like: after the shower, I put some vaseline and stretched a little bit more, 'cause my ear was like soft because of the warm water of the shower and it was wayyyy easier.

It's been about 3 weeks so I'm going to buy another spiral. One that expands from 12 ga to 0ga so I can do it with time, no rush. I guess I did a lot of crap at the beginning, my ear got a little puffy thing around the hole and it was "ugh" but now it's completely healed and ready to strech more. This time I'm gonna be way more patient to avoyd any kind of side-effects.

Thank you for the tips and I'll surelly use them.