The Daily Orange

Kelly, did you do ANY research at all about this topic?

1) Stretching is NOT the same as gauging. If you were to gauge your earlobes, you would be measuring the size of your lobes. To actively make the piercing larger, you must STRETCH it.

2) "Gauges" is not another term for plugs. A plug is the word for a solid piece of jewelry put into a stretched piercing. Plugs can be no flared, single flared or double flared. If the plug is hollow, it is a tunnel. If the plug is shaped like a crescent, it is a pincher. If it is a rod with two balls on either end, it is a barbell. A circular rod with two balls is a circular barbell/CBB; a circular rod with one ball is a captive bead ring/CBR; a circular rod with no balls is a segment or continuous ring. One cannot gauge their gauges by inserting gauges – but they can stretch their piercings by inserting plugs.

3) The gauge system is commonly used in the US. It's an IMPERFECT system. For example, stretching from 6g to 4g is roughly 1mm. The stretch from 2g to 0g? 2mm. The Metric system is a better one to use – it moves in even increments (one millimeter at a time).

4) That gauge system you were talking about? DOES NOT START AT 16g. Gunned piercings typically measure in at 20g/18g; play needles can go as small as 24g. The largest gauge is NOT 0g. Some like to push the system to 00g (which, by different company's standards, can range from 9mm to 10mm) and even to 000g (11m or 7/16in). You can stretch your ears larger than the gauge system goes – you then measure in inches or millimeters.

5) Scalping is the act of skinning someone's scalp (see: the Native Americans). Scalpelling is the act of making small incisions on the inside of one's fistula to increase the size of a stretched hole. Typically this process is used to redirect a hole away from a thin spot.

6) Dermal punching is not considered the best technique for obtaining larger holes in lobes. The process of punching removes soft tissue that is crucial for stretching into larger sizes. Instead, lobes can be pierced at larger gauges and stretched or scalpelled. Dermal punching is most commonly used for cartilage.

7) The "point of no return" is different for everybody. Some people can stretch to 1/2in, downsize their lobes and have them return to normal. Others can't go past 4g without ever shrinking. Think of stretching as a permanent body modification.

8) It is not at all difficult to find "feminine" pieces of larger-gauge body jewelry. Bodyartforms.com and tawapa.com both stock large-gauge hanging designs made of bone, horn, wood, glass and other materials. Companies like Industrial Steel, Reign and Anatometal sell "blings" with different colors of gemstones. Frozenfire, an Etsy seller, makes custom-designed glass plugs with bright colors and dichro. Oracle and Paul's Plugs sell custom organic pieces.

9) I won't even go into the "male-dominated" nonsense.

10) Last, but not least and certainly the most important point, STRETCHING DOES NOT HURT IF YOU DO IT CORRECTLY. Wait 6 to 8 weeks between stretches, go up one millimeter at a time, USE A WATER-BASED LUBE, do not push if you feel resistance, use single flare, rounded end glass pieces for initial healing, DO NOT USE ACRYLIC/PLASTIC/FIMO, do not use spirals or pinchers to stretch, use long, gradual tapers (like those made by Industrial Strength), DO NOT USE PEN CAPS/TOOTHPICKS/STICK MULTIPLE PIECES OF JEWELRY IN THE HOLE, do not leave tapers in past the few seconds you are inserting them, use bondage/PTFE tape to gradually stretch at larger sizes (add a few layers of tape every few days), DO NOT USE BACTRICIN/RUBBING ALCOHOL/VODKA TO CLEAN YOUR EARS. Take it slow. If it hurts, you're wrong. If your holes look like catbutt, you're wrong. If you have a blowout, downsize your ears and do oil massages – you did it wrong. GET INFORMED.

11) (I lied - 10 wasn't the last)... http://community.livejournal.com/stretched/profile. That has everything you need to know AND MOAR.

I am using toothpicks though,
and it isn't to bad.
But it does hurt, and bleed, and shit... it's infected but at least im not a baby!

i almost shit when you said 00 was the biggest size. my ears are at 2 inches right now. and why worry that it wont close up. isnt the point of going through the process of stretching to have them to not let them close up?