How to Stretch Piercings

Any piercing that you currently have can be stretched to a larger size. Different body parts can be stretched larger and more quickly than others. How much a particular piercing can be stretched in a certain time varies between individuals. By following basic guidelines and listening to your body, you can stretch any piercing safely.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Jewelry one size larger than current size.
• Taper of the same size, preferably long and implant grade steel.
• PTFE tape, if not using a taper
• Lubricating oil, such as emu oil, vitamen E, jojoba, olive oil.
• Sea salt, no added ingredients
• Soap and warm water

1. Know what jewelry size your piercing is at, and buy jewelry one size larger. Jewelry is measured in gauges and inches, or millimeters. For best results wait at least a year after getting the piercing and it's well healed, and longer if it's cartilage or a temperamental piercing. If you've stretched before, wait at 2-6 months since your last stretch, or a year if you're stretching cartilage.
2. Wash your hands, the piercing area, and all materials that you will be using. Take your taper and dip the end into the lube. Emu oil is perfect, jojoba and vitamin E are good, but even olive oil, Neosporin, or soap can be used. You will need to rinse or wipe off the excess lube afterwards.
3. Take out your current jewelry and insert the tip of the taper into your piercing. Slide it forward until you reach the level end of it. It should take no more than a few minutes, and usually a few seconds, to get the taper in. If it's painful, stop. You may feel tingling or pressure, but there should be no real pain. Line the jewelry up with the flat end of the taper, and press it through the hole. If using plugs or eyelets, insert an O-ring onto the back of the jewelry. Your piercing may feel warm, but if there's pain, blood, or serious discomfort, remove the plug and wait more time before trying again.
4. Use PFTE (Teflon) tape for a more gentle, gradual stretch if you don't want to use tapers. It's sold at any hardware store, called pipe thread plumbing tape. It's cheap and one roll will last a long time. This method works best with plugs or other straight jewelry. Wrap 2-3 layers around your plugs every 2-5 days. Use a lubricant, emu oil works well, to get the tape to stick to itself. Use a lot of lube to get them into your piercing. You may need to lube them up again to remove them, since PTFE has a tacky feel. PTFE is very bio compatible, but you should remove all the tape and replace a few times a week. Measure your plugs each time you tape, until you are ready to insert your larger size jewelry.
5. The final method to stretch piercings is time. Wearing heavier materials, like glass, steel, and niobium, and jewelry like solid plugs and circular barbells will cause your piercings to loosen faster. Playing with and gently tugging on jewelry will also loosen your piercing. If you see a noticeable amount of air above your jewelry when you pull on it, you may be able to insert a larger size without a taper. Just lube the jewelry and gently slide it in. If there's resistance, stop and try it with a taper. Do not attempt this "dead-stretching" technique unless you know your ears are loose enough to accommodate the next size.

Tips & Warnings

• Take a hot shower or soak your piercing in warm water before stretching, to make skin more elastic.
• As you go to larger sizes, wait longer periods of time in between stretches.
• Only use surgical implant grade metals, glass, or PTFE jewelry in a fresh stretch.
• Do sea salts soaks on fresh stretches for a few days, and leave the jewelry in for the first month.
• Do oil massages with jojoba, emu oil, vit. E, or other moisturizing oil. This helps break down scar tissue and keeps your ears elastic.
• Wash your piercings and jewelry daily.
• Tapers should never be worn as jewelry. Do not use spirals, crescents, pinchers, or claws as tapers.
• Use single flared or straight jewelry to stretch with, never double flares.
• These are estimated minimum waiting times for earlobe piercings. Wait 2 months in between sizes up to 8g(3mm). Wait 3-5 months up to 2g(6mm). Wait 4 months or more for sizes larger than 0g(8.2mm). By 1/2"(12.7mm), it's a good idea to wait at least 6 months. The longer you wait, the easier the stretch will go. Other body parts will need more or less time, but listening to your body is most important.
• Stretching should be considered a permanent modification. Some times they will shrink, sometimes not. Stretching properly and massaging increases the chance that your piercing will shrink somewhat. If you aren't willing to stay at a size permanently, you shouldn't stretch to that size. Often 6mm is considered the point of no return, but this is relative for everyone.
• Don't skip sizes, or stretch too often, as this can lead to tears and blowouts. A tear creates scar tissue, and can lead to infection. You should downsize to smaller jewelry and do sea salt soaks daily to heal a tear. Blowouts happen when the inside of the piercing, the fistula, is pushed out the back and forms a lip around the edge. To heal, do sea salt soaks and oil massages. Insert jewelry from behind, gently pressing the blowout back into the hole. It may reabsorb after a few weeks, but if not, it can only be removed surgically.
• Don't wear organics, silicone, or acrylic for the first month. Acrylic should only be worn for short periods of time.
• Fast stretching causes scar tissue (whereas waiting and massages breaks it down) that can make future stretches harder.
• Weights can cause thinning, and should only be worn for short periods, not as a stretching method. Limit heavy weights to a few hours a day, or less.
• Never use household items as tapers or jewelry.