Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as professional advice. I am not a licensed piercer — just someone who taught myself how to stretch my ears. This article is intended for entertainment purposes only.
If you had told a younger Jesille that she would start stretching her ears in her early twenties, she probably would have been confused about what you were talking about. However, once she found out what you meant, she would have been in disbelief. If you’re reading this and are confused about exactly what I mean when I say “I stretched my ears,” don’t worry; I’ll explain.
Everyone who has regular lobe ear piercings probably knows that the standard earring size is not very big. It’s anywhere between 20 gauge (0.8 mm) and 16 gauge (1.2 mm). Don’t worry about understanding what the size measurements mean yet; I’ll go over them in a bit. Stretching your ears is simply the process of gradually making the holes in your earlobes larger. In other words, you take the small holes created by your original piercings and slowly increase their size.
Gauge is simply a measurement used to describe the size of a piercing hole. Personally, I find gauges a bit confusing, so I usually refer to measurements in millimeters. With gauges, the bigger the number, the smaller the hole, and the smaller the number, the bigger the hole. Millimeters follow the usual logic: the smaller the number, the smaller the hole, and vice versa. The millimeter just determines the diameter of the hole itself. From here on out, I’ll only be referring to the sizes in millimeters (mm), occasionally including the corresponding gauge measurement.
I didn’t start my ear stretching journey necessarily because I wanted gigantic holes in my ears, but rather because I couldn’t fit my favorite earrings into my piercing hole. I used to wear flatback earrings that would mimic the look that my ears were stretched. While I did not have the idea in my head yet, I like to think of this as a bit of foreshadowing.
Eventually, I started having trouble putting those earrings in because my piercing holes would shrink frequently. It got to the point where I would have to painfully force the earrings through. That’s when I randomly remembered that you could stretch your piercings, and I decided it might be the perfect way to make it easier to wear my favorite studs. However, the more research I did, the less I thought, This is a way to make my favorite earrings to go in easier and the more I thought, Wait, I actually want to have more notable holes in my ears.
My research consisted of watching plenty of YouTube videos from professional piercers sharing their advice, as well as people who had stretched their own ears sharing their experiences. After spending a week researching, I bought a dead-stretching glass plug kit from Amazon for around $25 and began my journey as soon as it arrived.
I started officially stretching my ears on July 31st, and as of October 16th, my right ear is currently at 4 mm, and my left ear is at 3 mm. Stretching my ears has been a journey and has truly put my patience to the test. It’s easy to want to immediately get to the 10 mm (00g) size that I’m aiming for; however, our bodies need time to adjust.
Dead stretching is one method people use to gradually increase their piercing size. It involves using single-flare plugs secured with O-rings to keep them in place. There are several materials that plugs can be made from, but I chose glass because it is nonporous and can be thoroughly cleaned.
Dead stretching involves wearing plugs that fit your current piercing size and allowing your earlobes to gradually accommodate larger sizes over time. It’s a slower process than some other stretching methods, but it allows you to progress gradually. This is also why you might notice your earlobes stretching over time if you regularly wear heavy, dangling earrings. However, that type of stretching can create an uneven, elongated hole rather than the more circular shape associated with stretched piercings.
I was expecting stretching my ears to be something easy and fast. While it is easy and has never caused me pain, the sudden lesson that I need to be patient before I get my results was something that I was not anticipating.
I’ve realized that taking my time to reach my goal size is making me more in tune with my body than I expected. While I might not reach 00g (10 mm) anytime soon, I’m learning to enjoy the journey along the way.