How to Stretch Your Piercing

Stretch your piercing to a larger gauge using insertion tapers.

Whether it's your tongue, eyebrow or ear, piercings come in various diameters, referred to as gauges. The lower the gauge number, the thicker the piercing, which creates interesting effects such as earrings you can stick your finger through and tongue piercings with huge studs. The process of gauging up your piercing takes just a short amount of time to do, but the healing process can take months before you stretch to the next size up.

Things You'll Need

• Anti-microbial liquid soap
• Latex gloves
• Piercing pliers
• Sterile insertion tapers
• Sterile piercing stud or ring

Instructions

1. Wash your hands thoroughly with the anti-microbial soap and put on a pair of latex gloves. Remove the previous piercing by unscrewing the ball on the stud or using a pair of pliers to remove the captive ball in the ring, then sliding the ring out of the piercing.

2. Unwrap the sterile package with the insertion taper. Put a dab of the anti-microbial liquid soap between your index finger and thumb and spin the taper in the soap, working the soap up and down the taper.

3. Stand in front of a mirror. Slide the tip of the insertion taper into the piercing and stop when you meet resistance. Look to see if the taper is at least halfway through, and if it is, proceed. If it's not, stop, as the stretch may hurt and may not take correctly.

4. Push the taper through the rest of the way with your thumb, until the end of the taper is level with the end of your piercing. Chase the taper through the hole using the sterile piercing, then attach the stud to the piercing or insert the captive ball using the piercing pliers.

5. Allow the piercing to heal for several months before stretching again. Clean the piercing by soaking it in hot salt water at least twice a day until healed.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't know the size of your current piercing, stop by your local piercing shop and ask them. Alternatively, you can find guides online referencing the sizes of each gauge.

• Take your time between stretching sessions or you risk damaging the skin or having the piercing fail entirely. The rule of thumb is to wait three times as long as the piercing took to heal after the last stretch; this way, you can be sure the skin has thickened up.

References

• Tribalectic: Body Piercing Stretching Guide