before I do anything too stupid

[Pink Haired Pirate]

I'm going to stretch my ears from a 20g (standard peircing) to a 10, I've stretched to a 14g before but I lost those pinchers, I just bought my 10g's today and I'm really unsure of the time frame in which I should expect to move from 20g to a 10g.

I once heard stretching up about every two weeks but that was some random guy I met on the street, I want a real opinion on this.  

[Aetherna]

From what I heard; it's a good idea to stretch at 1 interval at a time, waiting a month in between for ear lobes, and even longer if ear cartilage. 20g-18g-16g-14g etc. The more time you give your ears in between stretches, the better. smile

From personal experience, my very first stretch was from 20g or so (standard jewelry) to 14g. I don't think that was the best way to go about it, but I did not tear my ear or otherwise injure it from what I noticed. If you can get your hands on each interval, that'd work well, or if you could go to a parlor and have someone stretch for you - that way you only have to pay/provide the jewelry, not the taper.

I've heard that because girls are more apt to tug/play with their earlobe jewelry, the actual fistula can become a bit larger than expected and surprisingly enough, can sometimes accommodate larger gauged jewelry.  

[LittleGreenGirl]

I went straight from an 18g to 14g... but that was only because I pulled on my earrings a lot when I was younger and so had a lot of scar tissue, which tends to stretch easier. Beyond that, it took me anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months in between sizes, depending on how they felt. Just remember, if it hurts beyond a slight burning sensation (not "Ahhh, my ear is on fire!"... more "hey, that's rather warm..."), then you're probably doing a little too much at once, and it could tear. Any amount of blood means tearing. Oh, and lube is good... helps reduce friction!  

[Pink Haired Pirate]

thank you guys bunches, I actually gaged to a 14 last night because I've done it so many times before (from 20 straight to 14). But this whole... 10 gage thing... I might see if my friend has an old pair of 12's lying around.
The only problem I had was my left ear (it's always been tougher to stretch). It was just on the other side of "wow... that's really warm" and just a little under "AAHHH MY EAR!" probably because I don't have tapered gages and just old navel rings (which I soaked in alcohol and then cleaned with salt water solution) I'm very carefull 3nodding even though I didn't expect any tearing (there was none btw)  

[Aetherna]

I'm glad the process went well! Let me let you in on a little tidbit of information:

The physical act is called "stretching" - gauge just refers to the measurement unit for the diameter ^_^

If you want to find and buy tapers with matching gauge jewelry, Body Art Forms sells this.
You get an acrylic taper and 2 steel plugs with Nitrile (black) o-rings.

If you cannot make it to a parlor, I'd highly recommend checking out such a kit because you will have the taper for keeps - just in case you ever let your lobes take a break and then re-stretch. Also, one of the best ways to thoroughly clean jewelry is to have it autoclaved, which is something limited to metals (to my knowledge.) Basically, flame, alcohol, and salt water solutions aren't ample precautions but I'm glad everything went okay for you <3

My left lobe always gave me more problems, too!  

[dagon is a gloomy bear]

I think 10g is pushing it. I went from healed up regular earrings to 14g, but when I went from 14g to 10g it wasn't fun at all.  

[popcornsharingbox]

My left ear gives me problems too o_O Weird.  

[Aetherna]

My hunch is that I'm left handed, and this SOMEHOW magically affects my left ear. gonk Actually, I've got a question forming, but I don't want to hijack this thread, off to make a new one.  

[Pink Haired Pirate]

Just an update:

I decided that because 10g's were just too much of a "stretch" that I would buy a pair of 12's which I already did, did my standard sanitization alcohol and saltwater, and tossed them in my ears during a shower. They went in with barely even a pinch of pain. It felt more like somebody literally pinched them with their fingers and that was it.
2 wks from now I'll see if the 10's will go in, if not I won’t not push it. I'm not in a big rush to have earlobes that resemble a butt hole.

Also, as far as having access to an autoclave, the closest shop I would trust is over an hour from my house. All of my piercing (excluding lobes and cartilage) have been done well outside of my town at highly recommended shops. I just don’t have the time to drive an hour and a half to have jewelry cleaned when it’s really just stretching skin and not puncturing it. If I were to have something go in a fresh hole, then yes I would see a point in driving that distance but otherwise because these holes are well over 6 years old I’m sure they’ll be fine.

PS. I read that last paragraph at least four times and rewrote it every time, I can’t seem to make it not sound like I’m being a snooty b***h, but I do truly appreciate the information. heart  

[Pink Haired Pirate]

and yet another update:

I decided today (just for the heck of it) to see if my 10's would fit, because I only had the 12's in there for a few days, 2 or 3 really, and so I cleaned up my 10's to the best of my ability, put some natural oils on them for lube (my mom is a reflexologist we have all kinds of nifty stuff) and slid the 10's into my ears like a hot knife in butter.

Next goal. buy my horn and bone spirals frome onetribe.nu  

[Aetherna]

That paragraph didn't sound offensive in the least, no worries.

I'm actually in the same situation - there is no parlor in my town at all. I've heard of one that's newly opened but supposedly very good though it's around 30 minutes away or more. The other parlor that I'd trust more (through husband's experience) is more like an hour away in another town. The only piercing I've had done (Septum) was in another country, so I can't travel there on a whim.

I'd avoid the transit if possible, too.

Good to hear the stretching is going well, I hope your jewelry arrives shortly. smile  

[Blue-eyed wonder]

I think the left ear must be some magical thing, because I had problems with it too since I first got them gun pierced in the 3rd grade.

I feel rather lucky to have two high quality parlors in my town.

As far as stretching experience goes, be careful about skiping gauges, especially when you get into the bigger ones. I know I stretched from a 12g to an 8g...bad idea. hurt like a b***h. Luckily I didn't rip anything, and it healed well.

Just be careful. ^^  

[Simim]

Well, don't do what I did, even though it worked out for me.

I went, with all 3 of my lobe piercings, from 20g straight to 14g. From there, I went from 14 to 12 with my topmost ones, and then 14 to 12 to 10 with my middle ones.

With my bottom most ones, I went like such: 14-12-10-6-2.

Generally speaking, I wear heavy earrings. If you get a hold of some long steel ones, it'll weigh down the ear a bit and stretch it out for you. I was going to use 4g from 6, due to the painful experience I had going from 10 to 6, but when I slipped the 4 in, it didn't stretch at all. Apparently, wearing my heavy earrings had pulled it down to a 4 already. XD

In terms of pain, every other move hurts. I.e. 20 to 18 usually does hurt, 18-16 doesn't, 16-14 does, 14-12 doesn't, 12-10 does, 10-8 doesn't, 8-6 does, 6-4 doesn't, 4-2 does, etc.

Iunno. With mine, I'd stretch it with a tapered end, and then after a few hours put a plug in. The next day, I'd take it out, and it'd bleed like hell. I'd let it bleed out, clean it up, put the plug back in, and leave it for a few days, cleaning around it but not removing it.

I went from 20g in all 3 lobe piercings to 12 in the top, 10 in the middle, and 2 on the bottom, in 1 month.

Like I said, don't do what I do.