Friday October 17th, 2008 @ 8:20 AM
Filed under: Ear
So ive recently started stretching. i stretched from a 14g to a 6g in about two months and i have a blow out. i havent worn any jewellery in my ears for about a month and im still about a 10g. any suggestions on how to get rid of my blow out.
anything would be helpful.
Why is it so many people seek a cure rather than going down the tried and tested and wholly reliable prevention route? Blowouts are totally preventable. There is a wealth of information, not just on bmezine but across the ‘web on how to stretch safely.
Keep your jewellery out, massage your lobes daily with something like vitamin E oil or Holey Butt’r and when they have returned to normal -ish then start again. This time keep each size in for a minimum of two months before stretching again and don’t skip sizes. You have damaged your lobes so there’s every chance that you won’t be able to look forward to nice, large gauge lobes in the future.
+29 / 33 votes 
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday October 14th, 2008 @ 9:09 AM
Filed under: Ear
About two and a half months ago, I got my ear pierced. Nothing crazy, just a conch with a CBR. Even though I’ve followed all the rules (no touching, washing with Satin, sea salt soaks) it still hasn’t healed. I can’t sleep on that side, it’s tender to the touch, and the skin around the area is redder than I think it should be (it’s definitely redder than my other, non-pierced, ear).
I’ve always had a sensitivity to base metals. All my earrings are gold, sterling silver, or surgical steel, and I usually don’t wear them for longer than one day. Is it possible that the metal of my CBR is causing my problems? Could I switch to a gold/sterling CBR? Do gold/sterling CBRs even exist? Or should I just take it out, let it heal, and mourn it?
A conch piercing will be nowhere near healed in ten weeks. It can take up to a year to fully heal. My preferences for conch piercings is to heal with a bar rather than a ring as a bar is less likely to get knocked around. If you have been trying to sleep on that side then that will also account for the redness. So long as the exudate is not a greenish brown yellowy colour and that the pain is only tender rather than excruciating and your’e not running a fever then I would suggest being patient, staying off that side and continuing with the twice-daily seasalt soaks. If anything, have the jewellery switched out to a sterile bar by a piercer and see if that elleviates some of the tenderness.
+9 / 9 votes 
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 2 Comments
Saturday September 27th, 2008 @ 12:01 AM
Filed under: Ear
Hey
I have wanted my outer conch pierced for quite a while now, but i’ve always been scared of anyone coming anywhere near me with a needle
Anyway, I was wondering if there are any veins or nerves in that area of the ear, or anything else that i culd cause damage to
Thanks in advance
I’m afraid we are not a ‘how to’ guide on self piercing. What I can say, though, is that you will have a far easier ride if you do pluck up the courage to visit a professional. I’m sure I can speak on behalf of my colleagues when I say this, but we do get our fair share of needle-phobics through the door. A good piercer will be able to do a grand job of putting you at ease, giving you time to relax, talking you through the procedure, answering any questions and making your piercing experience a pleasant one. If you are that nervous then pop down to your local, reputable studio and have an informal chat with the piercer, then book in for a later date. If you go to a good piercer, the one thing I can guarantee is that it won’t be half as bad an experience as you fear.
+10 / 10 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 3 Comments
Saturday September 20th, 2008 @ 12:23 PM
Filed under: Ear
Is it possible that my body can not handle piercings?
All my piercings seem to get infected.
I clean with sea salt and warm water twice a day for the first couple of weeks and then once a day from then on.
I always make sure to rinse them out after washing my hair.
I’ve recently been on 500mg of Flucloxacillin to clear up a lobe infection, and it has helped, but the infection is still there. (I’ll be seeing my doctor again shortly.)
It would also seem that an infection is starting to develop in my other lobe too.
I really don’t know what to do. Should I keep trying to get them to heal, or just give up and take them out?
Thank You
If you are continually getting wound infections that are troublesome to clear up, even with antibiotics, it very much sounds like something else is going on here. It could well be that you have some form of systemic infection and unless that is adequately treated there’s every chance that you will continue getting the same problem every time you get pierced.
When you see your doctor it may well be worth bringing this up in conversation and discussing removing the jewellery at a certain point within your drug therapy and not bothering with any kind of piercing until you and your doctor have worked out what is going on and it has been adequately treated.
+11 / 13 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 7 Comments
Saturday September 20th, 2008 @ 11:58 AM
Filed under: Ear
Hi there! Firstly, apologies for sounding like an idiot - I’m a relative newb to piercings!
I had my tragus pierced about 10 weeks ago. In theory it should be healed, although I understand it can take longer. I’ve cared for it with hot salty water. It’s not bleeding or leaky and the crusty bits are small and rare. It’s not painful but I am aware of it which is slightly uncomfortable. Plus, I’m getting the bulgy/flappy bits around it. I had this with my navel piercing too and occasionally get it with my tongue bar. With my navel, it was recommended I change to titanium - it healed right away! I don’t have titanium or surgical steel in my tragus - I can’t remember what it is. Does this sound normal?
I have tried going to my piercer but on asking when they close I was told “when the last person leaves” and they said “after two months, it will be healed”. Problem is, I don’t even know what jewellery I need if I do change it myself. What do I do re sizes? How do I know exactly which jewellery is made for traguses? (I know some will be specific but some say you can use the tragus bars in various body parts!)
It was pierced with a weird bar - it basically twirls up behind my tragus? I really cannot use a BCR, so I am only looking for other options. The piercing is the regular one, not the vertical.
I called EVERY piercer in the vague vicinity before I got this done - the ones I went to were the best, and came recommended. The two places who pierced me previously have shut down as has the shop who recommended titanium for healing purposes. So I have no clue who to go to for advice, hence posting here…
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
xxxxx
Hmm.. what you are saying is not giving me warm, fuzzy feelings about this studio.
Everything sounded normal with regards to the healing process until you described the ‘bulgy, flappy bits’.
Firstly, a tragus piercing will not heal within eight weeks. You are looking at between eight to twelve MONTHS. Secondly, I’m not too comfortable with the jewellery you describe. Without seeing it I can’t be sure but it sounds like you are describing a nostril screw. Thirdly, the raised tissue around the piercing sounds like irritation which is most likely caused by the jewellery.
I would suggest finding a reputable studio (it sounds like you might have to travel) and having them switch it out for a titanium flat-backed labret stud and then leaving it be for a minimum of eight months. Twice daily warm seasalt soaks are good.
+8 / 8 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 5 Comments
Wednesday September 10th, 2008 @ 7:54 AM
Filed under: Ear
I have read a couple of conflicting estimates of the largest gauge that one can stretch their earlobes to while keeping the option open of returning to the gauge originally pierced at; 2 gauge and 6 gauge (both on the BME wiki), which seems to be quite a difference. Before I start on my stretching voyage, I’d like to nail down the outer limits for the sake of being able to change my mind later.
Although I know the answer to this question is likely to vary from person to person, what is the largest gauge that the average person with healthily and safely stretched earlobes can go to and still be able to downsize all the way?
Thanks!
I’m afraid that is one of those ‘how long is a piece of string’ questions and the answer is ‘equal lengths from the centre’!
Seriously, it’s impossible to say. It varies greatly from person to person. Some people can stretch up to and beyond 10mm and have them shrink back down in no time. Others can go as far as 4mm and still have a noticeable hole there. My advice with regards to stretching? View it as a permanent modification. Earlobe reconstruction is painful and expensive.
+12 / 12 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 3 Comments
Saturday September 6th, 2008 @ 9:35 AM
Filed under: Ear
Hey there 
I have finally started the process of slowly stretching my ear. I am now up to an 8ga and have decided that for now I will limit how far I will ultimately go to a 4ga to give me good odds of it being reversable later.
The trouble is now that I have actually started, a 4ga looks tiny! So now I’m looking at another approach. I want to know how successful silicone skin coloured plugs, claw ended diamond plugs, etc… have been for most? I mean, what are some common problems people face in terms of how others judge them and any tips/tricks for avoiding these problems, whether that be through covering it up or whatever.
Any advice is muchly appreciated
Thanks
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Common problems that people face in terms of how others judge them, is simply that, people will judge you. They’ll judge you based on what Body Modifications you have. They’ll judge you for the clothes you wear. They’ll judge you for the music you listen to. They’ll judge you on every single thing they could possibly judge you on. You cannot avoid peoples judgment, because for those who judge, there’s always something for them to judge on you.
One thing I learned early on, is coming to grips with that. That no matter what I do, someone will always judge me. So the best thing to do is just “suck it up” and either ignore the judgments or laugh it off due to their judgmental ignorance.
Now if you’re talking in regards to: “I don’t want to lose my job” type of judgment and you’re looking to be minimalistic in the jewelry you wear in your lobes. One hard part will be to find jewelry that is the EXACT color tone of your skin type. Some people have had success with the solid silicone plugs, and some no matter how hard they try, it will still be visible. I even know of some people who’ve obtained certain jewelry and with the use of makeup and a lot of time, have been able to somehow blend their skin color tone onto the jewelry,etc…
Ultimately though, and I don’t mean this in a harsh way, when it comes to other people judging you based on your physical appearance…You just need to suck it up and deal with it…The sooner people realize that, the sooner they won’t simply be bothered by people staring, or making rude/inappropriate comments,etc.
Heck I get stared/commented at DAILY for my scarification sleeve, my tattoos, and how I dress/look,etc. This even occured BEFORE I even started modifying my body, back when I used to experiment with my clothing (ie: fishnet shirts, polk-a-dot tights, tattered and torn army combat pants,etc,etc,etc)… The best thing to do is grow a thick skin and don’t let their ignorance phase you. The only people you should care about, in terms of their opinions are…Yourself (most important individual’s opinion is your own)…Then very close family and very close friends…And even then the best thing to do is take their comments/opinions and simply analyze them and compare and contrast them against your own. Then self-assess them all and see if any of them are correct/right (your opinions, and the others)…But ultimately you should just follow your gut instincts on your opinions and your opinions alone.
Also stretch ear lobes are becoming quite a norm these days, at least in pretty much every mid-sized town/city,etc. The concept of judging somebody harshly because they have stretched lobes is very outdated and circa many years ago, back when it wasn’t that common. Sure its not on every single person, but a large number of individuals have stretched lobes of some form or another.
+20 / 22 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 13 Comments
Friday August 22nd, 2008 @ 8:04 AM
Filed under: Ear
I have 9 ear piercings, 4 lobes, and 5 slightly above the lobe, but not quite to the helix. the 3 higher piercings on my left ear have a small red area around the jewelry that is very slightly swollen. I have been doing sea salt soaks daily that have made them less noticeable, but they are still very much there. What else should/can I do?
You haven’t mentioned how old the piercings are. If they are irritated, it doesn’t matter what you put on them. The only way for the symptoms of irritation to subside is to nail the cause of the irritation and remove that from the equation. Ask yourself these questions.. do you sleep on that side? What type of jewellery do you have in there? Is it good quality jewellery? Is the jewellery fitted properly, for example, if they are healing is there enough room to accomodate potential swelling? If they are healing do you avoid getting hair products in the piercings? Were they pierced at the correct angle? Is there anything you may have done differently, any stressful events that may have occured roundabouts the time you first noticed they weren’t happy?
A bit of detective work should reveal the root cause of the irritation. Deal with the irritation and the symptoms should subside.
+6 / 6 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
Thursday August 21st, 2008 @ 1:39 AM
Filed under: Ear
Hi there.
After much thought and discussion with a piercer, I chose a snug as the least problematic of piercings I was considering having, so that’s what I ended up with. The piercer went out of his way to calm me (though I already have an industrial and was aware of the pain issue and possible long healing time) and explain to me about the piercing. He also showed me the barbell he was going to use and talked with me until I was ready. Anyway, that was six weeks ago now. It’s been painful and itchy, but I didn’t really see any problems with it until today. This morning I woke up and realized my head (not ear) was itching and when I lifted a hand to check it, I had crusties on my scalp and in my hair. Naturally I checked my ear next and it seems as if the curve of the barbell was too sharp (?), because there’s a raised, scabbed and crusty spot on the back of my ear just about the center of the snug. My question is whether I should try and keep it clean and leave it alone and hope for the best for the skin or if I should just remove it and try again another time with a straight(er?) barbell? At the moment it doesn’t hurt especially, but I’m worried about overall/future damage to my ear. Any advice?
I’ll personally question the theory behind a snug piercing being the least problematic of piercings to choose from… I would say it’s one of the most prone to having problems piercing you could pick…
I’m concerned that you have a scabby raised part on the BACK of your ear. This leads to me think that you didn’t the right anatomy to accommodate a very anatomy-dependent piercing such as this and that your piercer may have pierced in a way that’s causing the barbell to expose itself out of the back of your ear.
I usually use a straight barbell for snug piercings (Which is why I’m so choosy as to who can actually wear a snug piercing with minimal potential issues.) Some people have a very pronounced fold of cartilage there, others don’t and a snug piercing will basically become a cartilage “surface” piercing and end in disaster.
Without seeing the piercing it is hard to say for sure, but it sounds as if you may want to remove the piercing.
+5 / 7 votes
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 2 Comments
Thursday August 21st, 2008 @ 1:34 AM
Filed under: Ear
Alright so right now I’m stretched to 3/4′ and I have wrapped tape around my plugs. I didn’t wrap much, just twice around, they were kinda tight going in and now one of my ears are super sore and the other is fine, just wondering if this is normal or a bad thing?
And if there is anything I can do to help, because this is very uncomfortable and I know if I take it out now it’s gonna be super super sore.
“Super Sore” is not a good way to describe earlobes!
Even a couple wraps can be too much for some lobes. Your best bet would be to downsize the jewelry to the size you were last - or maybe even the size under that until you feel less pressure on the lobe.
Treat it like a new piercing - wash it with warm water twice a day, don’t touch it, etc and give it lots of time before you attempt to wrap it again.
+7 / 7 votes
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 10 Comments
