Silicone
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Thursday December 6th, 2007 @ 2:50 PM
Filed under: Ear
Do you reccoment silicone stretching to go up a size. i.e. 9/16 to 5/8?
I personally do not recommend using silicone for stretching.
Having said that…I know many people have used silicone very successfully for stretching; sometimes even stretching several sizes.
However, I have personally witnessed (although not on myself) a number of bad experiences when silicone has been used for stretching. In most cases, there were several things done wrong when using the silicone to stretch. I do believe that the extent of the “damage” that occurred was due to some of the properties of the silicone jewelry and the effects wouldn’t have been as bad if other materials were used.
Some people have reported having problems with silicone jewelry even when they aren’t stretching. I think it’s important to mention also that the problems people typically experience seem to be related to the surface “tackiness” of the material, and rarely seem to be a reaction to the material itself.
Now, having said THAT…I personally wear silicone on a regular basis. I find it to be incredibly comfortable and I have experienced absolutely no problems with it.
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3 Responses to “Silicone”
Have you ever heard of anyone oiling silicone to make it less tacky? Oiling it like you would organics but using less oil because silicone isn’t pours so it wouldn’t actually absorb any of the oil.. I was just wondering
guy on December 9th, 2007 at 1:52 pmHonestly I REALLY advise you NOT to do it. I know everyone is different but it’s really not worth the risk. I did that exact same stretch with silicon and it took a long time to get my ears to recover. Please invest in a taper instead you’ll really regret it if what happened to me happens to you.
Kami on December 12th, 2007 at 5:14 pmThis is actually from the Kaos website’s FAQ:
“We recommend use of lubrication to reduce the chance of tearing the tissue in the piercing, whether or not you’re stretching. We haven’t come up with any particular lubricants that we stand by wholeheartedly, but olive oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E have worked well for our customers in the past. If you are having irritation issues with the silicone, or have sensitive skin, lubrication may be especially important. Also, we have found no evidence of any common lubricants breaking down the jewelry material.FYI, most people have used various common lubricants both on their lobes and the silicone. Some lubricants (like olive oil) make the jewelry look matte, not shiny, for a short period of time, but it doesn’t seem to permanently affect the jewelry.”
But they also state that you should not stretch with them, and only wear them in a fully healed piercing.
Ryan on December 14th, 2007 at 6:39 pmLeave a Comment