Wednesday November 7th, 2007 @ 2:17 PM
Filed under: Ear
About a year ago I stretched my ears to a measly 8g. But sadly had to take them out because of work. Even then, I had troubles with my left ear and it always being itchy no matter how much I cleaned my jewellery. I cleaned it by alternating with sea salt soaks and anti bacterial soap. And since now, Ive started to restretch again but slower and just at 10g, but the same itch has come back. Im using lucite [I guess acrylic to you guys] and I was wondering if MAYBE thats the cause of the itch and if there was an alternative to jewellery that came that small in gauge[10g]without having to be specially ordered?
It’s possible your body isn’t a fan of the acrylic/lucite. It’s certainly not unheard of. However, if you’re using o-rings (the black ones) to hold the acrylic jewelry in place, I’d be more suspicious that you’re having an allergic reaction to the o-rings. I’ve definitely run into that much more commonly over the years than I have people reacting to acrylic. If you are wearing black o-rings, you could try switching to clear o-rings, as the clear ones are made out of silicone and not latex or nitrrile rubber.
Other alternatives for jewelry material you could wear include stainless steel, titanium and glass. Plugs in 10ga, made of those materials, should be pretty easy to find in a studio with a decent jewelry selection.
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Sunday November 4th, 2007 @ 7:46 PM
Filed under: Ear
so, a week ago i went to a tattoo and piercing shop and bought some acrylic crescents and the piercer lady put them in for me. i had 14g crescents in before, but now i’m in spain where they do millimeters instead of gauge. but i got 2.0 millimeter ones. or they were supposed to be. but i realized the next day that one is bigger than the other, like significantly. i assume it’s 2.4 millimeters. so now a week later my ear with the 2.0 millimeter crescent is fine, but the other one is still kinda sore and pusing. ordinarily i would go back to the shop and ask to exchange it, but my spanish kinda sucks. i figured i’d just let it heal, and it would eventually. what i’m getting concerned about is that under my ear there’s a lymph node, i think, that is kinda swollen and hard and painful. is that something i should super worried about?
The joy of Imperial and Metric Systems…I think personally we should just throw them BOTH away and come up with something better, what that is…Who knows…
14ga = 1.6mm, 12ga = 2.0mm,etc.
Acrylic honestly is not something that is an ideal material to stretch your piercings with, and leave that in. For starters the more prominent acrylic out on the market cannot be autoclaved. Also products like Alcohol and Disinfectants will break the material down and cause it to crack,etc.
My advice to you is to go back to the shop or another shop and have them put in either a CBR/BCR, Circular Barbell, Labret Stud that is either Steel or Titanium and treat your ears as if they were just pierced (ie: salt water soaks, for ten minutes, gently remove discharge, etc).
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 3 Comments
Sunday November 4th, 2007 @ 4:53 PM
Filed under: Ear
I have gone from a 10 gauge to 9/16 in about 6 weeks time professionally by someone who has been in the buisness for over 15 years so i do trust him. I actually had my ears cut and stretched from a 10 to a 0 and then to separate stretches to get to where i am now at 9/16 with no problems. I plan on going to 5/8 and sticking with that.
He told me i only have to wait a week or 2 befor coming in again to stretch to 5/8. I need a second opinion.
And i’ve noticed my lobes seem to be swelled. There’s no pain or discomfort at all and the holes are very clean i’ve just noticed they’re a little swollen is this normal since it’s only been a few days since my last stretch? or is there a problem? and if i have or get a blowout is it painful?
There are some piercers who utilize a “rapid stretch” method. Regardless of all the philosophical arguments (i.e, it’s not a race, patience is part of the reward etc.), I think simple logic makes it fairly obvious it’s not the ideal way to go. While you “can” do stretching in this fashion, it doesn’t mean you should.
The main thing I’d be concerned about would thinning of the your lobes…most likely at the bottom. By not giving your body a chance to rebuild some of the skin cells lost in the stretching, you have a higher chance of the tissue becoming thin, which could result in poor circulation on the serious end of the spectrum and could result in unattractive/poorly-placed holes on the not-so-serious end of the spectrum.
As for whether you should wait for more than 2 weeks to stretch to 5/8″, I personally think so. But, considering you’ve gone from 10ga to 9/16″ in 6 weeks, does it really matter at this point? It’s probably a little late to be thinking about whether you’re stretching too quickly.
Best of luck.
Also…lots of people will probably post comments about how they stretched from (fill in the blank) to (fill in the blank) in some really short period of time. As I said….lots of things are possible…whether they are the best approach is a whole different topic.
+1 / 1 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 3 Comments
Monday October 29th, 2007 @ 3:44 AM
Filed under: Ear
I have had my ears at a 9/16 for four years and decided it was time to move on to 5/8. I bought some plugs and couldn’t get them in so I made the mistake of buying silicone eyelets. They felt fine, just mild burning which I thought was just the stretch. After 2 days I couldn’t take the pulsing and burning and knew this wasn’t right. Long story short the eyelets had stuck to my inside lobes. After taking them out my ears were swollen and bleeding with clear liquid dripping out. I cleaned them very well before bed and woke up with my lobes actually crusted together. After a long sea salt soak the only jewelry I could get in were a pair of 0g tapers. A week later now, and my ears are slowly getting better with mild swelling and soreness although it seems like the hole has shrunk to a 0g! I’m wondering what I can do to get my lobes back to the way they were and how long I should wait to try and stretch again?
The wonderful joys of stretching with silicone jewelry. Sorry to hear of the trouble you’ve had involving this matter, it doesn’t sound very fun at all.
In regards to how you can get your lobes back to the size you were at and waiting periods,etc you can be directed to the previous entries involving stretching:
Waiting Time
Stretched Ear Jewellery
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments
Monday October 29th, 2007 @ 3:06 AM
Filed under: Ear
I had stretched my lobes to 00ga, but now a job opportunity that I cannot pass up has required me to remove the jewelry. My question: what are the best/easiest/most effective methods for closing up lobe fistulas?
Fastest/Easiest means of closing up the fistula - Visit a plastic surgeon and have them close it up via a surgical procedure.
Sadly though this procedure usually costs a pretty penny (usually around $500 a lobe from what I hear, plus or minus some money there) and is a route not many go down, due to the cost.
Another option is to take your jewelry out and massage them daily with an essential oil like: Vitamin E, Neem Oil, Jojoba Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil,etc. Do a deep tissue massage once or twice daily and simply do not put any other jewelry in your lobes.
Now depending on the person, as each individual varies, this might enable the holes to close up a lot or it might not close up hardly at all. But I’d say it’s better to try and let them close up on their own before going down the road of re-constructive surgery. So do the deep tissue massages daily for a couple weeks and see how much the holes downsize.
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 12 Comments
Saturday October 27th, 2007 @ 8:46 PM
Filed under: Ear
I had my tragus pierced about a year ago, but let it heal up about 6 months ago.
Would I be able to get it repierced, or would there be too much scar tissue?
It should be totally fine to repierce. Go visit your friendly neighbourhood piercer and have a chat with them about it, they should be more than happy to help you out with it. 
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | Comments
Sunday October 14th, 2007 @ 1:55 AM
I haven’t stretched for a couple of months, but recently noticed what I assume is a blowout, a little flap poking out the back of my lobe.
I’ve read the encyclopedia entry but I think most of the tips there apply to fresh blow-outs, where this must be a few months old. What can I do?! I have downsized a couple of mms for now.
Can I also add that I feel like an idiot because I was always so proud to have healthy ears.
It is unfortunate, I’m sorry that this has occurred. With blow outs quite often it’s not a result of the last stretch you did, more so it’s a result of a couple stretches before that.
The best option to do with this situation is to take your jewelry out completely and give your lobes a good massages daily.
When the blow out disappears completely find a jewelry size that easily fits into the current size of the pathway, do not try to muscle larger sizes in, put a comfortable fitted size in. From there keep the jewelry in through-out the entire day, but take them out once or twice a day and give the lobes a good massage.
Also I’d advise to maintain your lobes at this comfortable size for at least 6 months to a year before trying to fit the next size in.
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 7 Comments
Friday October 12th, 2007 @ 11:30 PM
Filed under: Ear
I’ve always heard that after you get your ears pierced, you should wait atleast 4 months before you can start to stretch the piercings. But, my friend is stubborn and doesn’t want to wait that long. So, he asked his piercer how long to wait, and the piercer said a month and i thought that was way to short. Now for the question, and i know that you should always listen to your body first, but what is the best time to wait after getting your ears pierced before stretching them.
The best time to wait is when your ears are nice and loose. This could take 4 months, it could take six months, it could even take upwards to a year or more.
The faster you push the envelope the most risks that are going to be put in place. The faster you stretch the more you leave yourself open for causing micro-tears in the fistula which can create more scar tissue then desired, not to mention it can also create problems such as blow-outs,etc.
Personally nowadays I’m advising clients to refrain from actively stretching their lobes. Instead I instruct them to simply massage their lobes with some type of oil, ie: Vitamin E, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil Neem Oil,etc. They are to do this every couple of days and simply wait for their lobes to get nice and loose/stretchy. From there all they simply need to do is get one gauge size larger and with a lil bit of water-based lubrication, the jewelry should just easily slip in.
By doing this, you’ll eliminate all the problems/risks that can occur via actively stretching. People are often impatience, they’re going to do what they’re going to do. But that’s also why there are so many people out there with badly complicated stretched piercings.
Patience is a virtue that needs to be implemented when it comes to this form of modification.
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments
Thursday October 11th, 2007 @ 9:19 PM
I have a BIG problem with allergies and my stretched ear! My ear WAS stretched up to 0ga, with no complications and all with acrylic jewellery, but unfortunately it flared up and I switched to wood (dunno what type).
It got worse! So I’ve downsized now back to 4ga, and my ear is constantly flaky, dry, itchy and VERY sore. I am allergic to nickel and stainless steel won’t work with me. I can’t find ANY jewellery in titanium…Obviously, I’m now reacting to the acrylic, wood hasn’t worked, and I honestly don’t know what else to try!
I’ve heard glass is pretty hypoallergenic, I’m also in the UK, so materials aren’t that readily available either 
Any ideas would be lovely, thankyou very much! I don’t want to loose my stretched ear!
~Kitty
Dear Kitty,
You essentially went from bad to worse with your stretching practices. First off the acrylic currently used in the Body Piercing/Jewelry scene is made for cold storage, in warmer temps it will release toxic vapours which can irritate. Also know that the majority of most commonly sold acrylic cannot be autoclaved(sterilized), which means it is not safe to stretch with and wear long term.
You then switched to wood which is even worse as its very porous material and can harbor a lot of harmful bacteria around the wound. This can lead to seriously irritated piercings if not full blown infections.
As per your statement you can’t find ANY Titanium jewelry and you’re in the UK, you must not be looking hard enough my dear. As the EU Nickel Directive states all piercing jewelry must be nickel free steel or it must be Titanium. One of the biggest jewelry suppliers in the world is called Wild Cat and their main headquarters is located in the UK, same with another one called Cold Steel. Both companies distribute both steel and titanium body jewelry.
As for your allergy to nickel although it is common in the UK, something about the water source if I remember correctly. But one way of finding out if you are really allergic is by wearing a pair of buttoned up jeans (Levis 501’s,etc) or wearing a watch with a stainless steel backing. If you develop a rash from those items then you might very well indeed have an allergy. If you do not react from these materials I’d be inclined to say the locations where you’re buying your jewelry from, are not purchasing proper quality jewelry.
So in closing stop using the materials you’re using and switch to Titanium. Believe it or not but it IS readily available in the UK, due to the EU Nickel Directive that is in place. You may also use Pyrex Glass as well. But what you need to really make sure of is that you are only stretching one size at a time and using sterilized pieces of jewelry as well as a water-based lubricant.
Personally I tell clients they do not need to actively stretch their lobe piercings, as the piercings will naturally stretch themselves. I just tell them to have patience and wait anywhere from 6 months to a year, even more, and you should easily be able to slide the next size up right in. This method truly saves people from having to deal with tears, blow outs,etc.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 20 Comments
Wednesday October 10th, 2007 @ 10:08 PM
This is sort of a two-part question.
I have a 14ga helix spiral that’s about three months old. It’s still giving me a little bit of trouble and seems like it has a little while to go before healing completely. When I asked a local piercer about it, he told me my piercer should have never used the spiral for the initial jewelry and that there was no way I could heal it correctly. Would you agree?
Also, this same piercer told me that to treat the little bit of hypertrophic scarring forming around one of the holes, I should apply a paste of water and crushed aspirin every night directly to the piercing for three weeks. Thoughts/opinions? I’m not sure if that’s good advice or not. Thanks!
The thing surrounding these spiral projects is that they absolutely require precise angles, so not to apply pressure to the pathways.
I bet if you removed the jewelry and put barbells or labret studs in instead, the hypertrophic scarring will go away. Once they are gone you can then consult with a qualified piercer who can establish the angles of the pathway and custom order jewelry with the angles needed.
As for the piercer who advised you to crush aspirin and mix with water, I truly hope he is not an American. As by stating that he is putting himself at risk by giving such medical advice to people. In theory it could work due to the acetylsalicylic acid, but it’s not ideal for this problem. The reason being if the angles are off, they’re off, and nothing will help. As there will always be pressure applied to the area, causing the scar tissue to form every single time.
As I said the best option is to just convert the spiral into individual piercings with either barbells or labret studs. Do warm sea salt soaks and allow the hypertrophic scarring to go down. Once it’s gone you can then have a piercer analyze the angles and figure out a custom made spiral piece suited specifically for you.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 14 Comments
