Earlobe stretching is becoming popular nowadays. You can start lobe stretching after your first piercing has healed properly and completely. However, you should make sure that you don’t stretch it too fast, to avoid any undesired result like tearing of your earlobe. Be patient and consistent in your transition.
Once you stretch your earlobe, give adequate time for healing before going to the bigger gauging size. Start with a 16 gauge and you can increase the gauging size by two. How far you can stretch your earlobes totally depends on the elasticity of your lobe. You will be able to stretch to a maximum if you are doing slowly with correct size.
Before you start stretching make sure whether you want your earlobes to go back to normal size. Because if you have stretched too fast and too far, your earlobes cannot shrink back to normal. And you will be left with the only option, that is surgery.
You can ask your piercer well before increasing your gauging size to know the best gauging size for coming back to normal. From Almost Famous Piercing studio you can get the best guidance on safe stretching.
Use some natural oil and ointment to keep the area odorless, soft and infection free. Clean the area at least once in a day. You can ask your piercer for suggestions on best oils and other supplies that are there specially for earlobe stretching.
You can also wear heavy jewelries to stretch to the next size. Make sure to clean your jewel before wearing them to avoid any infection. Clean and massage your earlobe to make them more flexible. One more thing to remember is, if you forget to wear jewelries for few days your earlobe may shrink back to few sizes small.
Stainless steel and titanium tunnels are mostly preferred by people for stretching their lobes. You can also use acrylic tunnels but since they are of light weight, they cannot give you a stretch. But you can use them if you want to maintain that same size.
When there is a minimum of 2mm between your inner edge and outer edge of lobe, it is safe to stop stretching, beyond which it may cause a blowout.
Usually, stretching when done perfectly doesn’t cause too much pain. However, in case it hurts you then you are either stretching too fast or doing imperfectly. Ask your piercer and follow their guidance throughout your stretching process.
