How to stretch your ears

Remember, ear stretching is a body modification and should be taken seriously and responsibly. Its your choice and your body and your responsibility. We accept no responsibility for any injury you sustain using any of our jewellery or advice. The below information is our opinion only and expert medical advice should be sort if you encounter any injury.

Right, got that out of the way...

Well, first you need the ear pierced. Just a standard ear piercing. then you need to wait. Generally its best to wait at least 2 months before you stretch, some people think you should wait even longer. Anyway, once you have a fully healed standard earring piercing, then you can start to stretch it.

The best way to stretch your ears is patiently and gently.

Different people have different ways of stretching. This is my method.

I prefer to stretch up very slowly, moving an expander further in, gently stretching the hole, over a period of a few days... an expander, also called a taper or stretcher is what you need for this. An expander is just that, a shape that expands the hole as you push it into the ear. What shape is up to you.

If you are going to stretch your own piercings, be sure to wash your hands with hot water and a liquid, antibacterial soap.

If you are just starting to stretch from a fully healed standard ear piercing hole, then start with a 1.6 or 2mm expander or crescent. Push it in as far as it will easily go, then give it another twist and push, then stop. It should feel uncomfortable but not really painful. It shouldnt really 'hurt' , it definately shouldnt bleed, there should just be a warm glow in the lobe, very slightly painful. Go slowly. You risk a 'blow out' (see below) if you try and stretch too quick. This causes permanent damage to your lobe.

Leave the taper in the ear. Wait for the ear to settle down before continuing. This varies greatly between people, it might be a few hours or it could be be a day or two. Everyone is different, listen to your body. Once it feels ready give it another twist and push deeper in. Don't be too vigorous, you can seriously damage your ear lobes by rushing this. Remember, take your time... Go slowly. It could take a day to go up a millimeter, it could take a week, everyones different. Don't rush. However long it takes, the taper should be removed often, so you can clean the ear and give it a salt bath (see below)

Keep up the process until the taper is fully in. I then leave it for another day or two before I change to some other jewellery. Dont try and use double flared plugs for some weeks (see below). Stick to jewellery that doesnt require a further stretch for a few weeks.

Although i didnt use lubricants, because i tend to stretch very slowly, some people find a little lubrication helps. If you want to use a lubricant, choose wisely. There are conflicting opinions on what is a safe lubricant to use. I have heard of people using vaseline or olive oil.  I'd recommend that whatever you use, make sure to wash it all off after with warm water.

Clean your fresh stretches at least once a day with salt water, dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a cup of boiling water, wait for the water to cool down, remove the jewellery and soak the lobe, this helps prevent infection. I find pouring the salt water into an egg cup makes this easier.

Remember to keep your ears clean. Remove the jewellery regularily and wash the lobes with anti-bacterial soap. Massaging the lobes is a good idea, use extra virgin olive oil, but remember to clean it all off.

The larger your holes get the more dead skin, moisture, bacteria, and dust can collect in them. This smelly, (cheesy) oily substance which forms (called sebum) needs to be cleaned out on a regular basis. It seems that the build up of sebum is not as bad with 'organic' materials as these allow the ear to 'breathe'.

When you want to stretch again, an expander or crescent with a gentle increase in diameter of a millimeter or two from your current hole size should be chosen.

Only stretch up by a millimeter or two at a time. Then wait for the hole to completely heal and feel fine before stretching again. Probably 4 or 5 weeks later. Dont rush it or you'll damage the ear lobe and increase the risk of infection.

Once the hole gets bigger it stretches more easily. Some people find they dont need to use expanders once they get to a certain size, and are able to insert a plug of the next size up without one. A little lubricant can help when inserting tight plugs.