Ear Stretching Guide | How To Stretch / Gauge Your Ears
Wondering how to stretch your ears? You’ve come to the right place.
Here at UBJ, we not only carry ear stretching kits and supplies and aftercare, but we also want to be your go-to resource for information about safe stretching.
Read on to find out about the most common methods for stretching, plus troubleshooting and answers and common questions.
Table of Contents
- What Gauge Should You Start Stretching With?
- How Far Can You Stretch Without Permanent Holes?
- How Long Do I Wait Between Stretches?
- Tapers or the Taping Method?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Stretching?
Ear stretching, sometimes called “gauging,” is the process of slowly enlarging the earlobe piercing channel to fit larger jewelry, such as plugs and tunnels. Stretching is done instead of piercing with a large gauge needle, and allows your skin to adapt slowly over time.
The key to safe stretching is patience. By moving up in small increments and allowing your body to heal fully between stretches, you’ll build strong, healthy lobes that can support jewelry for years to come.
When done correctly:
- Your lobes will stay thick and resilient
- You’ll avoid complications like blowouts and scar tissue
- You’ll have more freedom to experiment with unique jewelry styles
When done incorrectly (by skipping sizes, forcing jewelry, or stretching too quickly), the result can be permanent damage that can’t always be reversed.
What Gauge Should You Start Stretching With?
This is the first question that most people have when they begin stretching.
When you get your ears pierced at a standard size, it will be either a 18g or 16g, or roughly 1mm - 1.2mm. Therefore, you want to begin stretching with a 14g.
If you’ve had your ears pierced for a long while, you may be able to get a 14-gauge piece in since the skin will naturally loosen up. However, if you find that you’re having trouble, stick with a 16g and give it time.
Rather than start with a plug or tunnel at this size, it's recommend to use captive bead rings because they typically weigh a bit more and can help loosen your lobes.
How Far Can You Stretch Without Permanent Holes?
When it comes to stretching "beyond the point of no return, you’ll hear a different answer from everyone you ask.
Every person's ear lobes are different and have different elasticity. However, we won't know what exactly that point is until we reach it.
Most professionals in the piercing world suggest going no larger than a 0 gauge, preferably a 2 gauge, if you want your ears to shrink back to standard size. If you stop at this point, you should have no problem with your ears shrinking back. Of course, you have to keep in mind that every person is different; some people find that their ears don’t shrink back at all.
Stretching slowly can be a huge factor in whether your lobes will go back to standard size. As said in the beginning, stretching slowly and carefully can help improve your earlobe health.
If you took your time and didn’t skip sizes, this will significantly affect your chances of your earlobes being able to shrink back down to normal. If you stretch your earlobes too fast and tear them, they will be harder to shrink back down to a normal size. There are so many reasons not to skip sizes when stretching, and this is a big one!
Have you stretched too far and are scared that your lobes are never going to shrink down to a standard size? That’s possible if you’ve stretched to a very large size.
After a certain point, there’s only one way to get your ears back to normal, and it’s surgery. This is something to keep in mind when you begin your stretching journey and decide how far you want to take it.
How Long Do I Wait Between Stretches?
This is also another popular question that has a lot of opinions. Because everyone’s body reacts differently, this answer varies.
As a standard rule, you’re going to want to wait 2-3 months between stretches. However, emerging research suggests that waiting 4-6 months may be beneficial, as it gives your skin more time to heal.
This is because your skin needs time to develop new skin cells and collagen, which is what makes the skin so elastic.
While you’re waiting between stretches, it’s important to massage your lobes regularly. When you massage your lobes, the warmth and pressure stimulate blood flow, aiding the healing process and regrowth of the fibrous tissue that supports your ear’s elasticity.
While not entirely necessary, some people like to massage their lobes with product. Holey Buttr is great because it’s packed with essential oils that promote skin health. Jojoba oil is also a great lubricant to use when massaging your lobes. You can also use Vitamin E oil or coconut oil, but be careful to avoid anything that would clog your pores.
Also, don’t over lubricate your ears. A little product goes a long way, and it’s the massage and not the product that matters most.
How to Stretch Your Ears Safely
The best and safest method for stretching your ears is natural stretching, also known as dead stretching. During this process, you don’t need to use any tools or equipment to help you stretch. Your body will naturally loosen on its own.
Here’s how to stretch your ears using single flare plugs:
- When stretching, it’s always best to stretch after you take a hot, steamy shower. The shower will help give your skin time to loosen up and give your lobes some added moisture. The heat is also beneficial in helping with the stretching process and your skin’s elasticity.
- Always make sure you wash your hands before touching your piercings.
- Next, you’re going to want to massage your lobes. Simply take a bit of the lubricant or oil you’re using to stretch and apply some pressure to your lobe while rubbing it in. This helps stimulate blood flow, warming and loosening the tissue to make it stretch more easily. Massage each lobe for a couple of minutes before beginning to stretch.
- You’re going to want to have a pair of single-flair plugs. We recommend glass for stretching because it is affordable, hypoallergenic, and available in a variety of colors. Plus, you won’t spend a lot of money on jewelry you won’t wear often, which is ideal for those who want to continue stretching.
- You’ll also want to have some lubricant to help the jewelry slide easily into the piercing channel. Safe forms of lubricant include: single-use surgical lubricant, water-based body-safe lubricant, vitamin E oil, emu oil, or jojoba oil. Please note that some oils do cause skin sensitivities, so it’s always best to do a patch test first before using them.
- Next, take some of the lubricant or oil and put it on the back of the single flare plug.
- Gently insert the plug. The plug should slip right in without any resistance, pain, or discomfort. You also shouldn’t need to apply any force to the plug. The minute you do feel pain, discomfort, or resistance, stop what you’re doing immediately. This is your body telling you it needs more time for the tissue to expand and loosen up naturally.
When you dead stretch, you’re going to want to do it 1mm size at a time.
Using Tapers
To start ear stretching using tapers you'll need to know all about tapers.
- To stretch with tapers, the first thing you need to do is wash your hands and anything going in your ear lobe. This will help keep the stretch clean and reduce the risk of infection.
- Next, you'll want to pick a lubricant. You can use jojoba oil, vitamin e oil. The lubricant with help the taper go in easily and reduce the risk of tearing your lobe.
- Put the lubricant on the taper and your earlobe and then slowly put the taper in. You should do this slowly and it shouldn't be painful. You don't need to rush through this process, but your ear should stretch pretty easily.
- Once you have the taper through, you'll put the plug in right after.
We have a big selection of tapers made from different materials here on UBJ.
316L Stainless Steel Tapers
Stainless steel tapers are recommended for a few reasons. They are easier to stretch with than acrylic because they are slicker than acrylic. Steel is able to be sterilized which results in a safer stretch because you won't be accidentally introducing bacteria. They are in the same shape as the acrylic tapers; just in a different material.
Concave Stainless Steel Tapers
The concave steel tapers are just like the steel tapers; they're safe to stretch with since they can be sterilized and are easier to use than acrylic.
However, there is something special about these tapers compared to others: the concave part. This means that they have a dip in the back where you can put your new plugs at. As you're pushing the tapers through, this puts the new plug in place without the hassle of having to wait until your ear is ready to put the new size in. With steel tapers, when you stretch you normally have to wait a bit or fight with the new, bigger plugs to get them in. This is what makes the concave tapers better. They make the job quick and easy. These tapers are a bit more expensive than acrylic or steel, but they are worth the few extra dollars!
What Material Is Safe to Stretch With?
In addition to stretching safely, it’s also important to stretch using quality jewelry to ensure a healthy ear stretching journey.
The following materials are safe to stretch with:
- Implant-grade steel
- Implant-grade titanium
- Solid 14k or higher nickel-free gold
- Niobium
- Glass (fused quartz, lead-free borosilicate, or lead-free soda-lime)
- Stones that are low in porosity, including amethyst, agate, quartz, onyx, jade, tiger's eye, and howlite
What About Using Tapers To Stretch?
While tapers are available, they aren’t the best method for stretching safely. This is because tapers are tools designed to assist piercers with inserting jewelry into piercings; they were never intended to be used to stretch with in the first place.
Tapers often lead to tears, blowouts, and scar tissue because people who use tapers often do so to skip sizes or stretch before their ears are totally ready for the next size.
Additionally, tapers should never be worn as jewelry. They are too heavy to be worn long term, causing thin spots along the lobe that eventually lead to tears.
What About Using Tape to Stretch?
There are some sources out there that suggest wrapping PFTE or bondage tape around plugs to advance to the next size. However, this isn’t recommended by professional piercers.
One reason is that it is really easy to overwrap, causing you to skip sizes, which leads to tears and blowouts. You can also overwrap in some sections that lead to thin spots in the lobe.
Another reason is that tape isn’t body safe. It also collects dead skin and oils, making it difficult to clean.
In general, stick to natural stretching. Your body and lobes will thank you for it in the long run.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will stretching too fast really hurt my ear lobes?
Simply put, yes! Skipping sizes or stretching when your ears aren’t healed can cause a lot of problems. You can easily tear your ears. This can introduce infection, pain, and bleeding, as well as hurt the elasticity in your ears. When you stretch your ears too quickly, you're not really stretching your ears, but tearing your skin.
This is the reason why we recommend waiting at least two months between stretches, if not longer.
Gross, ear funk! Why do I get it, and how can I fix it?
Ear funk, also commonly called ear cheese, is the gross smell that you’ll notice once you start stretching your ears. No, this doesn’t mean your lobes are infected! This is actually a normal reaction that happens when you stretch your ears.
In reality, ear funk is actually dead skin cells. You probably know that all over your body dead skin cells fall off as new ones grow. This is what is happening with your ears, but the dead skin cells are held in place by your jewelry. They build up and create an awful smell.
You can fix it by making sure you wash your ears daily while you’re in the shower. We also recommend the use of products like Smelly Gelly.
Blowouts?! How do I fix them?
Blowouts are probably something you’ve heard of while researching stretched ears. A blowout is another common problem that happens when you stretch too quickly or skip sizes.
All healed piercings form a fistula, a tunnel of skin that your jewelry goes through. When you stretch too fast, this fistula literally is forced out of the piercing. This will leave extra skin around your ears.
If you keep stretching, your blowout will just get worse. It can even become permanent, making it much harder to stretch to bigger sizes.
Essentially, what you need to do is take your plugs out and let the blowout heal. You can either let your lobes rest with no jewelry in, or you can try using plugs that are 2 to 3 sizes smaller than you were before you stretched. This will keep your lobes stretched while allowing them room to heal.
Healing a blowout is important because it can affect your earlobe health and halt any further stretching. Besides downsizing a few sizes, massaging your ears will aid in the healing process.
How do I insert double flared plugs?
Double-flared plugs can be a pain to put in. The flares are designed to keep your plug in. As a result, the flares (excluding the plugs) are slightly larger than the plug you’re inserting.
We recommend using the lubricant of your choice, such as Vitamin E or jojoba oil. You can then lubricate both the lobe and the plug and start to put it in sideways. If you are putting the plug in at an angle, you are easing the process of putting this “larger” size in your lobe.
Double flared plugs should only be worn in well-healed piercings. They shouldn’t be painful to put in! Be careful, and if it starts to hurt, wait a few weeks before trying again.
The smaller your ear lobes are, the harder it is to wear double flared plugs. It isn't impossible, but it is a bit harder to put through. You could try the taping method that we mentioned above to help put them in, but you'll need to lubricate them before you take them back out.
How should I care for my piercings?
Keeping your lobes moisturized is important. Not only does it aid in healing, but it also helps your ear lobe circulation and greatly reduces the risk of tearing and blowouts. This will keep your ear lobes thick and healthy and ready to stretch up to the next size. You can use jojoba oil, vitamin e oil, or Holey Butt'r. Taking care of your ear lobes is a vital part of the stretching process!
How do I care for organic plugs?
Organic plugs need to be taken care of just like other plugs. Organic plugs are made out of wood, horns, bones and many other materials. Because they are made of living things, they need to be cared for. You don't need to do a whole routine, but you need to make sure that you know what you'll need to do to take care of them. For example, if you're using wood plugs, you'll need to know that when they get wet that will expand. And when you are using bone to make sure to use jojoba oil on them. This will keep the plugs looking nice and shiny just as if you were washing your steel plugs.
Do I have an infection? How do I treat it?
Be on the lookout for any unusual symptoms, such as red, swollen ear lobes, extreme itching, discharge, or warmth coming from your lobes. This more than likely means you have an infection.
An infection in your lobes needs to be treated like any other infection, as it can cause serious problems. The first thing you’ll need to do is ensure you’re wearing quality jewelry, like steel or glass. This will help reduce any irritation. If you’ve just stretched, consider downsizing a size or two, as the fresh stretch may be the cause of the infection.
If the infection is getting worse and not healing on its own, you’ll need to see a doctor. It’s important to get it taken care of as soon as possible so it doesn’t turn into something worse.
Ready to Get Started?
If you’re ready to start stretching, you can get started by taking a look at our ear stretching kits. Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions.