Pierce.
Insert taper.
Replace taper with plug.
Wait.
Repeat.
It’s not difficult, but it’s not painless, and it’s not for everyone.
It’s stretching your ears and it is different.
Stretching is about as old as piercings themselves and is practiced by millions of people all over the world, including Seaholm.
“I just like the way they look,” junior Scott Beatty, who sports a 1 in. diameter plug in each ear, said.
Beatty has been stretching his ear for about 10 months now and has not had any problems so far.
“If you go up sizes at the right time, they don’t hurt at all,” Beatty said.
Beatty says he’s decided not to stretch his ears any further, and for good reason. According to Dr. William Vasileff of The Birmingham Institute of Plastic Surgery, overstretching or stretching too quickly can cause serious damage to your ears.
“There is a risk of infection or the earlobe splitting completely,” Vasileff, who has repaired stretched earlobes before, said. “Repairing the hole in the earlobe is possible, and not terribly difficult.”
Although a split earlobe, or blowout, is somewhat of an easy fix, it is extremely painful something to avoid.
The repair of an earlobe involves surgically excising the rim of skin from the center of the opening, then shifting the tissues around before suturing the ear.
The procedure is quick, about 45 minutes to one hour, and can be done in an office setting, as opposed to a hospital, because it only requires local anesthetic.
The procedure is not cheap, and when the stitches come out after about 10 days, the earlobe is left slightly smaller than it was originally.
By giving an ear enough time to heal between sizes and stretching with professional equipment, blowouts can be eluded quite easily.
“If you are going to start stretching your ears, be patient with it,” junior Ryan Stark said. Stark started stretching to be different from everyone else and is so far happy with his decision.
“Don’t rush it because it’s worth the wait in the end,” Stark said.
Stark started stretching last September and right now is at a size 4 gauge.
Contrary to what most think, the process is called stretching, not gauging. A “gauge” is the unit of measurement used to measure the diameter of the plug which holds the shape of the hole.
Stark wants to go as high as a 7/8” plug or a 1” plug but knows that it takes time.
“Most people wait like 3 weeks to a month to go up to the next size,” Stark said. “It’s enough time [to let your ear heal] so they won’t hurt.”
Aside from stretching at a safe pace, it is also important to ensure that the equipment used is always sterile and approved for the job. Using sterile objects prevents infections where the proper equipment guarantees an even stretch all around the hole. Metal, plastic, and hard rubber plugs make the cut where pencils and paperclips do not.
Both Stark and Beatty agree that it is important for anyone considering stretching their ears to do so as safely and professionally as possible.
“Make sure it’s something you really want to do,” Beatty said. “Because it’s really hard to go back.”
