How do you put in ear gauges?

Question

i'm thinking about putting ear gauges in, but how do i get started?

also, do i need a parent or guardian to come with me if i want to purchase these earrings? or can i just buy them and do the enlargening process at home?

Answer 1

First off, there is no such thing as an "ear gauge", unless that is some new measuring device for ears that I have not heard of. What you are referring to is the size of the jewelry you choose to wear. The gauge is simply the diameter of the jewelry.

Anyway, to get started, you have to consider what size your ears are currently pierced at. If you had your ears done with one of those horribly traumatic piercing guns, you would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 to 16 gauge. If you had your ears pierced the correct way (with an actual piercing needle) then your ears will almost always be at a 14 gauge.

If you were pierced with the gun, your best bet would be to start with a 14g (gauge will be shortened to a g from here on out). From an 18g or 16g piercing, a 14g should slide right in. If you were pierced with a piercing needle, you would want to start with a 12g, which would also go right in at that point.

Once you have taken that first step, it is important to go slowly. NEVER SKIP GAUGES, with the exception of going from an initial size of 18g to maybe a 14g. Once you have gone to a 14g or larger, you will want to go one gauge at a time. The sizes are as follows (anything larger than a 00g is measured in fractions of an inch): 20g, 18g, 16g, 14g, 12g, 10g, 8g, 6g, 4g, 2g, 0g, 00g. The recommended time to wait between stretches is generally between one and two months. Even if your ear feels like it is healed up, you need to wait for the skin to relax before trying to stretch it again.

Skipping gauges and gauging too fast can be horribly traumatic to your ears. You can actually tear your earlobe, and you can also cause something known in the piercing world as "blowout". This "blowout" is a flap of skin that forms around the back of the hole (I believe from the ear producing too much scar tissue at a rapid rate). Once this has formed, you generally have to have it surgically removed.

As a general rule, it is also a good idea to use a taper for any size after a 12g. A taper is just what it sounds like. It is a long (2 or 3 inches) metal or plastic cone. It starts small at one end, and ends up at the desired gauge at the other end. Your best bet is to go to a professional piercer to have this done. I do mine myself, but I have a total of eight piercings, seven of which are gauged.

Another reason why going to a piercer is a good idea is because of the fact that they can sterilize your jewelry before gauging your ears. Also, their tapers are required by law to be sterilized between uses, and they also wear latex gloves during the process. This all comes together to ensure you do not get an infection, which could cause your ear to take much longer to heal between stretches, or could even cause you to have to remove your piercing.

If you need any further assistance, a great piercing resource is http://www.tonguestud.com/forum

Oh, and it is not true that your ears will not go back to normal, as long as you keep your ears at a reasonable size. My ears are at a 2g (I can stick the shaft of a Craftsman #2 Philips screwdriver through the hole if I so choose). It is not unusual at all for people with 2g holes to get their holes back to a 14g. My piercer even got his 0g holes back to a 14g after about a year of not wearing jewelry.

Answer 2

How To Get Gauges

Answer 3

it's called ear-stretching. first, you have to get a small gauge earring put in (14 should be fine). then, every week to two weeks, get the next gauge up. the next would be a 12, then a 10, then an 8. then make it a little longer in between. like 3 weeks. go down to the size you want. eventually if you keep doing it, you will get into a size 00 which is like the size of a dime, I think

Answer 4

RE:
How do you put in ear gauges?
i'm thinking about putting ear gauges in, but how do i get started?

Answer 5

Gages In Ear

Answer 6

I started From a .6 and im slowly going bigger,

Answer 7

Don't start. I think it is gross, plus you can never get your ears back to what they are now. Eww.

Answer 8

i don't know..... lolz.....