Thursday July 31st, 2008 @ 1:45 AM
Filed under: Ear
I recently had my other earlobe pierced. After about 30 minutes, it started bleeding quite heavily for almost another 30 minutes at least.
After going back to my piercer covered in blood, he told me that it was completely normal and that it was most likely pierced next to a little “blood sack”, then as the bar moved around, the blood sack popped.
I’m not sure if I believe him…is he just trying to cover his tracks after a bad piercing?
“Blood Sack”? Is your name Lieutenant Kif Kroker and are you employed under Zapp Brannigan? Ya know cuz Kif doesn’t have any skeleton structure he’s supported by a bunch of fluid filled sacks.
I think what your piercer was trying to say was that he perhaps pierced a blood vessel/capillary vein.
Which might very well be a possibility if you bled that heavily. However when you say “heavily” how can you define that? Was it more of a simple flowing type bleeding or was it a pulsating type bleeding?
The one thing I can say is without being there in person its really hard to determine if he did anything “wrong”…Although I’ve yet to experience a client whom I’ve pierced, that has left and 30+ minutes later bled [i]heavily[/i], especially with an ear lobe piercing.
So I certainly wouldn’t say its “normal” but I’m sure there is a possibility of it occurring with some people.
+6 / 8 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 8 Comments
Tuesday July 29th, 2008 @ 4:09 PM
Filed under: Ear
I’ve had my lobes at 2g for probably 2 years now and my goal size is 0g. I bought one kind of SS taper that allows a plug to rest inside the end of it when stretching and my attempts to stretch with that have resulted in all kinds of pain, even with lubrication, massaging, etc. Don’t worry, I wasn’t stupid enough to force it once it started hurting. Thinking it was the taper, I bought another one that just allows for a plug to be butted up against the end. It looks much smaller than the first, but when I gave it a go I had the same problems. No matter how much I prep my ears for stretching, I’m met with huge resistance (especially with my right lobe) and I have to stop. I’ve heard going from 2g to 0g can be hard, but I’ve been trying this for about a year now and I’m at my wits end. Am I doing something wrong? Would it be better for me to just get my lobes cut?
Thanks!
You and I, my friend, have a little something in common…although I was at 00ga trying to go to 7/16″ when I ran in to the same proverbial wall. Without seeing your ears, I can’t really give you much of a definitive answer. However, it’s likely that you have simply reached the limits of what your ears want to do…at least in their current incarnation.
Some people don’t like to believe it, but each of us has a limit to how far we can stretch…and of course, everyone’s limit is different. How far you can ultimately stretch depends upon your skin’s natural elasticity, the placement of the original piercings, how “nice” you’ve been to your ears as you’ve stretched (i.e., forcing it and getting blow-outs makes stretching harder), the original shape of your lobes etc.
In my case, I believe I had run in to the limits of how far my ears wanted to stretch in the downward direction. My lobes weren’t overly thin on the bottom, but there was far more tissue at the top of hole than the bottom. I believe that when I tried to stretch, there simply wasn’t enough tissue in relation to my natural elasticity to allow the stretch to happen without much pain…and undcubtedly much tearing had I forced it.
My solution ended up being to have my ears cut upwards and slight back. This served to allow them to get larger pretty much only upwards, as well as helping to make the holes more centered on my overall lobe.
I would be surprised if 2ga is simply the largest you will ever be able to go, but it is possible. If you have very small and/or very attached earlobes, you simply not have enough tissue anywhere to make them bigger. It’s more likely that you may need to explore some alternatives to traditional stretching.
My suggestion would be to visit a piercer with a good deal of experience. They should be able to advise you on what is going on and they should be able to offer up some options.
Best of luck.
+10 / 10 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Tuesday July 29th, 2008 @ 10:10 AM
Filed under: Ear
So my ears are at 3/4″ right now and I just bought a pair of 1″ plugs, I’ve never been a big fan of doing the smarter thing and buying tapers to stretch them, so I was wondering if there are any objects I may have around the house to stretch them out with?
YIKES!
3/4″ to 1″ is an enormous jump to force your lobes to stretch and a really awesome way to blow out your ears so they don’t get any bigger (or smaller!) among other things.
“Stretching” isn’t something you DO to your lobes, technically speaking. Wearing appropriate jewelry and keeping your lobes clean and moisturized will ensure they stay plump and stretchy and then relax enough for you to fit the next size jewelry without forcing it.
The best thing you could find around your house to help out would be some teflon tape. Putting a wrap or two on every week or so will get you to 1″ in no time as long as you don’t force it.
Forcing something through your lobes is a surefire way to ruin them.
Patience!
+17 / 17 votes
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 1 Comment
Monday July 28th, 2008 @ 4:10 PM
Filed under: Ear
I have 4 lobe piercings in my left ear and have recently stretched my lower one to 1/2″. I have a 2mm second lobe, which since stretching my lower lobe last, it has swollen up and is scabby and crusty. I have been cleaning it with saline solution and putting a couple of drops tea tree oil on a couple of times a day (I find this helpful when healing my piericngs) but it doesn’t seem to be helping. I’ve noticed that the two holes are quite close to each other and the smaller one seems to be pushing towards the bigger one.
Should I take it out or leave it until and see if it calms down?
Michelle
While some people do have the anatomy to accommodate multiple stretched piercings in their lobes, many people do not.
If you remove you second hole, you may find it more comfortable to stretch your lower first hole. It’s very likely you’re compromising your circulation between the two of them and putting too much pressure on the piercing holes themselves.
+6 / 6 votes
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 1 Comment
Saturday July 26th, 2008 @ 6:45 AM
Filed under: Ear
Hey!
I have been stretching my lobes since October 2005. My left lobe is at 1 1/4″ and my right lobe is 1 1/8″. It’s not as stretchy as the left for some reason.
I have been taking my time with stretching, but the inner lobe (earpit??) is really thin, especially my left. I want to stretch up to 1 1/2″, but I think it’ll be impossible unless I want to tear my lobes off. My friend started stretching in November 2007 and he’s already at 1 1/8″ with super thick lobes. I would think it should be me with the thick healthy lobes and him with thin ones! Why is this?!
Is there any way I can buff them up without having to downsize and restretch? Or is that the only option.
Someone told me that massaging them with Vitamin E oil can help make lobes a little thicker, but I’m not sure if this is true.
Thanks!
This isn’t a race/competition people, for christs sake!
Just because your friend has had no problems stretching, that doesn’t mean ANYTHING involving you and your lobes YOU’RE BOTH DIFFERENT PEOPLE, PIERCED AT DIFFERENT TIMES…Piercers are not perfect machines placing the piercings identical every single time…So again I say YOU’RE FRIEND IS YOU’RE FRIEND AND YOU ARE YOU! What works/happens for your friend, may not work/happen for you, and you need to start realizing this ASAP!
Know that depending on how thin your lobes are getting there’s only a few small ways to correct this situation, lobe re-direction scalpelling procedure being one. And even thn that will not fully 100% correct the lobe thinning situation. Also know that the Vitamin E oil may or may not help, it really depends on your lobe or “ear pit”. If its thin in that specific area that you’re referring to, I’m more inclined to say its a result of how it was pierced and quite often no amount of magic jesus juice or re-direction will make the “thinning problem” go away.
People need to stop having “goal sizes” and instead just simply work with what they are given with…Make sure its pierced properly to begin with and go from there and never put anyone elses stretching experience in the same relation as your stretching experience. Because everyone’s experiences/capabilities are completely different.
Also I’m just curious…Are you confusing “Super thick lobes” with massively blown out lobes? Cuz 1 1/8″ stretched lobes since getting them pierced in November 2007 is FAAAAR too fast to be stretching. And you’re friend is putting themselves at serious risk for some SERIOUS complications if they continue on the pattern they are.
+7 / 9 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 2 Comments
Saturday July 26th, 2008 @ 6:20 AM
Filed under: Ear
I am gearing up to get my rook done in my small army town devoid of much of a mod scene. One piercer I talked to said that I had to wait until he could order some curved needles. Of course, my first instinct was that he had no idea what he was talking about- I’ve heard of most rooks being done with just a typical straight needle, and a few here and there dont with a straight needle bent slightly with pliers. He didn’t say anything about the anatomy of my ear either, so I don’t think it had to do with that.
My question: Is he totally wrong?
Technically the piercer is not wrong…Perhaps they just feel more relaxed using the curved needles.
Personally I bend my needles slightly just using my finger tips, as bending with most pliers will damage the surface of the needle on a microscopic level.
Also personally I don’t like using pre-made curved needles, I just find them hard to control properly, although I have and still on occasion use them.
Nowadays personally I’ll use a IV Catheter Needle and create a slight bend in it, pierce and slide the jewelry into the catheter and insert. But depending on the area and how “set in their ways” the piercers are, will dictate how they do their procedures.
The only thing I’d hope for, is that said piercer uses a curved barbell instead of a CBR/ring shaped piece of jewelry.
But is your piercer WRONG for wanting to used a curved needle? Certainly not as many piercers have different techniques/styles for doing the procedures/piercings they do.
+1 / 5 votes 
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments
Friday July 25th, 2008 @ 6:11 PM
Filed under: Ear
My ears are at 5/8th and I’m starting nursing school in a couple months. I bought the silicone hider plugs in 2 different versions in 1/2 inch. Neither one was the right color. Is there any other way to hide them. I love my ears too much to let them close. Its killing me that I can’t stretch them bigger than what they are.
Keep stretching them, because, around 1.5″ you can usually pull your lobes over your ear cartilage. You will look mildly deformed, but jobs can not discriminate because of that! If it wasn’t for that pull over technique I surely would have lost my lobes at the Bad Luck 13 show.
Otherwise , go old school, try some solid wood plugs, you could paint the front flesh tone to match your skin. Just be sure to keep the paint away from the wearable surface.
+11 / 11 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 5 Comments
Wednesday July 23rd, 2008 @ 9:20 PM
Filed under: Ear
I’ve been seeing more and more teardrop shaped plugs around, and I was wondering why one might choose the teardrop shape over the typical plugs I see more commonly. Are there any advantages or is it just a matter of taste? Also, since i typically wear regular plugs, could I switch back and forth between my usual jewelry and the teardrop shape? Thanks!
There are really no advantages to teardrop plugs, other than offering a slightly different appearance than standard circular plugs. At present, they do some to be becoming more popular. Assuming your ears are in good shape, you shouldn’t have any problems switching between teardrop and regular plugs.
+2 / 4 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday July 23rd, 2008 @ 9:07 PM
Filed under: Ear
Last week i got an industrial ear piercing. Today i noticed that down the outerside of my ear my skin has become very rough and almost scaley. The worst part is down my lower lobe which i thought was a bit strange. My ear has also been getting extremely hot and painful. I know that with a new piercing there is pain too be expected but is this thing caused by my industrial piercing or a different matter? Also i have been spraying my ear with a spray given to me by the piercer.
Thankyou.
I would suggest you go see your/a piercer as soon as you can.
My guess (and that’s all it is, since I can’t actually see your ear) is that you either have the beginning stages of an infection or there is something going on related to the size of the jewelry and/or the angles of the piercing.
While a true infection isn’t the most common thing with a piercing, the fact that you said the piercing is rough and scaley as well as being hot and painful, leads me to think an infection is a definite possibility in your case. An infection in a cartilage piercing is not something you want to let get out-of-hand. The nature of cartilage tissue allows infections to spread rapidly and also can make them difficult to deal with. Your piercer may not be able to tell you if you have an infection per se, but s/he should be able to rule out the other likely culprit…jewelry size/piercing angles.
If the barbell in your ear isn’t long enough to accommodate swelling which can occur and/or the angles of the piercing are off, causing the jewelry to put excess pressure on the piercings…you may get reactions like you are describing. In some cases, if the pressure is too much, it can trap lymph and other things your body tries to push out of the piercing, actually resulting in an infection.
If your piercer determines that all appears to be fine with the jewelry and placement, I would suggest you go see your doctor right away. If your piercer tries to tell you that what is happening is normal for an industrial piercing…they are full of crap…go to the doctor. Some soreness, a slight bit of swelling and a bit of redness are perfectly normal for an industrial. Scaley, roughness and throbbing hot pain are not normal.
I can’t comment on what your piercer told you to spray on your piercing without knowing what it is.
Best of luck.
+5 / 7 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Tuesday July 22nd, 2008 @ 7:49 PM
Filed under: Ear
So I recently discovered the wonderfullness that is silicone jewlery(kaos ear skins) and they’ve made my ears super happy and I swear some scar tissue even subsided.
So yay me for that.
But my question(s) is/are:
Are there any negative effects to long term wearing of silicone?
Does parybln(sp) coating matter?
And why exactly is silicone bad for stretching when its generally a body friendly material?
Because silicone is a very biocompatible material, there shouldn’t be any long-term effects of wearing silicone. However, keep in mind that silicone has caused some people problems even when worn in healed piercings. My personal theory is that it has little/nothing to do with a reaction to the material and is mostly a result of a physical problem…the “tackiness” of the material. (see below).
The parylene coating on the silicone can make a difference. I don’t know much about it from a biocompatibility point of view, but as I understand it, it reduces the “tackiness” of the material. From what I have seen, problems with silicone seem to occur where the skin sticks to the material, resulting in tears and/or ulcers of the tissue. So, if the parylene coating reduces the chance of the skin sticking to the jewelry, it could make a very important difference. Having said that, I’ve never had a problem with the non-parylene eyelets myself.
The problem with silicone and stretching really doesn’t have anything to do with the biocompatibility of the material. It has to do with, as I said, the potential for sticking. When stretching, the silicone is forced against the skin even more than when not used for stretching, increasing the likelihood of tearing or ulceration of the tissue. Add to this the fact that the material is soft, and can therefore “seal off” those tears or ulcers, and you have a recipe for very unhappy earlobes. Once sealed off, the lymph and blood that want to come out of the tears/ulcers can’t, making a bad situation even worse. If the length of the eyelet is very close to the width of the lobe, the eyelet doesn’t move side-to-side either, adding another complicating factor.
I personally really like the silicone eyelets. However, I think using them for stretching is asking for a world of trouble. Also, even when not stretching, you have to pay attention to what your body is telling you. If wearing them starts to make your ears sore, remove the jewelry. While silicone should work great for just about everyone, not everyone can where everything…it’s no different than other materials body jewelry is made from in that regard.
+7 / 9 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 5 Comments
