Why Are Stretched Earlobes So Popular?

According to archaeological findings, earlobe stretching has been popular for many millennia, so why has it been such an enduring means of ear decoration?

Or have earlobes always been stretched just for decoration, or have there been other more occult reasons for this practice. It certainly appears that in regions of Africa, South America and Asia, earlobe stretching has been a tribal practice, and that stretched earlobes were not always just a sign of affiliation to a specific tribe or religion, but also of power or supremacy.

The practice may also have been associated with quasi-religious beliefs, and a necessity to stretch ones earlobes in order to conform to the social and religious practices of the day. In other words, it was expected of people, whatever the reason, and that might also be a driving force for those seeking ear stretching today.

The Influence of Tattooing

Another reason for the increase in the popularity of stretched earlobes is the way that tattooing has now become ubiquitous among young people today, with most having a tattoo somewhere, and many sporting half or full 'sleeves. Tattooing was something originally done by westerners who traveled the world - in other words, sailors, who were exposed to this form of bodily decoration.

However, it became popular among the aristocracy during the 19th and early 20 the centuries, and then commonplace with young people as a means of bodily adornment until everybody that wanted it was having a tattoo anywhere on their body. It is no longer a visible sign of being different or 'modern', and neither are ordinary piercings, even of the tragus, septum, eyebrow or lips which are also commonplace in the 21st century.

Stretched Earlobes - A Matter of Degree

Today, ear stretching can be used as a fashion statement more than any simple piercing or tattoo, and stretched earlobes are another step onwards from the traditional ear piercing that extended into multiple piercings and then piercings of other parts of the body. One aspect of earlobe stretching is that it can be carried out in degrees.

That means that while one person may have a 4 gauge stretching at around 5 mm, another can have a 00 gauge at just over 10 mm. So it is not just 'I have a pierced earlobe and so have you', but I have stretched ears and 'Mine is larger than yours'.

It is no longer being a 'dedicated follower of fashion' but by how much! Stretched earlobes are popular not only because they display a willingness to adopt this new fashion trend, but that it can be adopted to degrees. In fact, the highest gauge is 20 g at 0.81 mm while the lowest is 00g at 10.4 mm.

As the gauge number reduces, the size of the hole increase. After 00 gauge sizes increase in mm or inches, so theoretically there is no maximum although most gauge charts show up to 1 inch or even 30 mm.

Is It Safe?

Is ear gauging safe? The short answer is yes, if carried out under hygienic conditions and instructions are followed correctly. The safest way is have your stretched earlobes done by a professional, using hygienic tools and practices. However, you can do it yourself if you are aware of the dangers and understand the procedures to follow.

Some of the problems associated with ear stretching are:

There is a point after which the hole in your ear will not return to normal. That varies according to your own physiology and the way the stretching has been carried out.

You can suffer a 'blow-out' when the flesh of your ear will blow out and extend beyond skin level. This can be dangerous and disfiguring.

If you decide at a later date that you no longer want this large hole in your earlobe, maybe for work or some other reason, reconstructive cosmetic surgery is very expensive. Not all employers appreciate these adornments, particularly when dealing with certain sectors of the public. It may be small-minded of them, but that's irrelevant.

What Jewellery Can I Use?

Forget the small-minded people and get some fabulous jewellery for your stretched piercing. Among the jewellery available for stretched earlobes are some beautiful flesh tunnels and plugs that can be adorned with any precious or decorative stones of your choice. There seems to be a lack of genuine precious stones for ear stretchings, and diamond, emerald or ruby jewellery is not easy to find.

However, there are loads of glass, stainless steel and plastic plugs and flesh tunnels, including many decorated with genuine amber and this is one reason why stretched earlobes are so popular Most people tend to tolerate organic or glass ear jewellery in the early days of their stretching, after which they can go on to silver, and even specially made platinum or gold plugs and flesh tunnels.

Stretched earlobes are popular in the 21stcentury because they are a step onwards from normal piercings, and with tattoos so ubiquitous there are few ways for young people to express their individuality. Stretched piercings is one way, and stretched earlobes are currently considered one of the safer forms of gauged piercings.

For more information on expanded piercings and related jewellery please visit our website http://www.fleshtunnel.co.uk/

Original article

Tips on Stretching Piercings and Gauging Earlobes

The following tips on stretching piercings are specifically aimed at gauging earlobes, where earlobe piercings can be enlarged to very large sizes to incorporate many different types of ear jewelry including awesome flesh tunnels.

Stretching piercings has been popular in many civilizations throughout history, taking many forms from gauging earlobes to stretching labret and septum piercings. In the very early periods of history the materials used were wood, stone, bone, horn, shells, claws and talons, shaped and carved to facilitate stretching piercings.

The oldest known incidence of humans gauging earlobes was discovered in 1991, in a glacier in the Otztal Alps between Italy and Austria, where a 5,300 year-old mummified body was found with tattoos and an earlobe piercing of between 7 mm and 11 mm diameter. Although the method used was known for definite, this may have been carried out by a method known as dead stretching, where progressively larger ear jewelry is forced through the hole that gradually increases in diameter.

Preparation

In preparation for gauging, make sure that you have a good anti-bacterial soap without perfume. Then you will need a sea salt solution - make it using three tablespoons salt in just enough water to dissolve it, and at least enough to bathe your earlobe in. Never use hydrogen or any other peroxide as antiseptic - the soap and salt solution are enough.

You will also need some warm water to bathe your ear with before each phase of ear stretching, or you could alternative have a warm shower first. This softens the ear and helps prevent tearing of the skin/scar that could lead to bleeding.

Finally, you will need some lubricant: avoid Vaseline or any other mineral oil or petroleum-based lubricant. Most tips on stretching piercings recommend emu oil and jojoba, each of which offers gentle antiseptic and skin conditioning properties while acting as a perfectly adequate lubricant.

Gauging Earlobes

When stretching piercings, the two recommended methods are the taper method and the Teflon method. The taper method involves inserting a tapered rod or pin into the piercing, the narrow end being of the same gauge as the piercing, and the broader end one gauge down. The size of the taper is that of the desired gauge of piercing. So if your piercing is 16g, the taper will be a 14g taper, ranging from 16g to 14g. These are equivalent to 1.2 mm to 1.6 mm.

Never use a taper any more than one step down. However, since piercing gauges are always even numbers, one step down is 16g to 14g or 12g to 10g. Also, as the gauge figures drop, the actual diameter increases. So while 16g is 1.2 mm, 10g is 2.4 mm.

There are a number of different types of taper, including a tapered pin on ear jewelry, so you simply insert ear jewelry tapering from your current gauge to the new one. The problem here is that a fully tapered pin will not stretch your ears evenly - the pin has to be of the same diameter all the way through, or your piercing might also be stretched with a taper.

To overcome that, you can use an insertion rod, which is a tapered rod of about 3 inches. After warming your ears with the warm water or shower, and washing them with anti-bacterial soap, apply the lubricant to the taper and slowly work it through. Once it reaches the thicker end, follow it through with ear jewelry of the new size, and you are done. Wipe off excess lubricant and clean the ear with anti-bacterial soap and then some of the salt solution.

An even safer way is to wind a layer of non-adhesive Teflon tape round the pin of your ear jewelry and push it through the lobe. If you can see any space at all when you pull on the ring, then you can safely do this. Wait until the ear has accepted it then do it again, and so on until you have reached the new size, when you can use larger ear jewelry.

If there has been any severe pain or the piercing bleeds, then you must stop immediately and allow the piercing to heal properly before trying again. If you try stretching piercings too soon, before they have fully healed, then you can tear the skin and even have a blowout, both of which will make it difficult to stretch again.

Gauging Earlobes: After-Care

After-care when gauging earlobes is fairly straightforward. It should not be so much a matter of tending after a piercing until it heals, but more keeping it clean, and turning the new sized jewelry now and again. You are waiting until the ear has accepted the new size of hole permanently so that you can perhaps change the hole diameter once more. The stretched skin has to be allowed to thicken and get harder - give about three times longer than your original piercing took to heal. If you want to use a flesh tunnel, then you can continue stretching piercings until the diameter reaches an appreciable size.

Done properly, and following the above tips, stretching piercings is safe and relatively easy to do. Many extend the diameter of their piercings this way, and gauging earlobes is likely the most popular form of pierce stretching carried out at the moment. Take your time - waiting is difficult, but if your ear is not ready for the next stretching it will likely be damaged.

More tips on stretching piercings can be found on Flesh Tunnel where you will also find a selection of Ear Stretching Tools and some great ear jewelry and flesh tunnels.

Original article

Some Tips on Stretching Earlobes

Stretching earlobes is becoming increasingly more popular as normal body piercings and cartilage piercings are becoming commonplace. Young people want to look different to their peers, and one to do this in a visible way is to increase the diameter of their piercings to hold increasing larger forms of jewelry. Ears are among the most visible, and the most suited to such decorations as thick studs and flesh tunnels.

One problem with respect to stretching earlobes is that it is recommended that you do it yourself, since only you know when you are not hurting - once it begins to become particularly sore, an earlobe gauging should be stopped, and held until either the pain stops or the piercing is properly healed.

Piercing earlobes is a standard technique that even amateurs can do (though not recommended) but stretching earlobes must be done either by a professional who fully understands the problems involved, or by yourself because only you know how much pain you are experiencing.

Here are some tips on stretching earlobes: they do not include the actual stretching other than a brief resume on the basic technique, but are intended principally to keep your earlobes healthy and clean during the procedure.

When Stretching Earlobes is Safe

Your earlobes are safe to stretch only once the original piercing has fully healed, and the same is true of each stage when stretching them. Stretching earlobes is also known a 'gauging' due to the terminology used in measuring the sizes of the hole through your lobe.

You would generally begin with a 0.8 mm to 1.0 mm, which are respectively 20 gauge - or 20g - and 18g. A professional can use a needle to give you a 16g hole which is ideal to start off with. This is about 1.2 mm - 1.3 mm. You can however, also commence gauging using a 16g taper with a 20g hole.

Gauge Sizes

Although a professional needle piercing is best for stretching earlobes a gun will do, but the hole will likely not be as straight as a with needle. Begin with the next size below that of your piercing. If you are not sure what that is, then you should be OK to start with a 16g taper. Basically, stretching is carried out using a tapered needle, one end starting at the size of your current piercing, and the other end one size above.

This is where it can get confusing, because for some reason gauges reduce with increasing diameter, and also do so in steps of 2 - so they are always even. Thus, if you start with a 16g as you should do, the thicker end will be 14g. Simple insert the narrow end into your piercing and work it through until the thicker end just enters your ear.

Taper Options

Now, you have three options: with an insertion taper, you will place the pin of a 14g earring, or some other jewelry, against the end of the 14g end as it is pushed through, and then follow the pin through and fix it as normal. Another form of smaller rod, known as a spike, is designed just to stay there until you are ready for the next size, and a third type is ear jewelry with a tapered pin. Simply insert the pin and you are set until it has healed.

The first option is best because the jewelry pin is the same diameter all the way, while tapered jewelry is thicker at one end and thinner at the other, so your hole may heal at different widths front to back.

Tips on Stretching Earlobes

However, this is not about the mechanics, but about how to care for your earlobes and for yourself, so here are some important tips on stretching earlobes:

1. Do not start until your piercing has healed, including any previous earlobe stretching carried out. Otherwise it will be too painful and can become infected.

2. Have a shower before starting - the warm water will soften you ears and will help prevent tearing of the skin that can lead to infection farther down the road.

3. Buy a non-scented anti-bacterial soap and clean your earlobes with it before and after gauging. 4. Use a solution of 3 tablespoons sea salt in enough water to dissolve it, and use that to soak your earlobes with. Doing this daily should prevent any infection that could ruin the stretching.

5. Never use plastic, silicone or double flared plugs for new stretches - gold, platinum, stainless steel, surgical steel or glass are suitable. Silver is OK, and anti-bacterial, but it can tarnish.

6. Turn the insert daily to prevent sticking or crusting - after a shower is best.

7. Never try to accelerate the process by missing a size.

8. Keep in mind that once you reach about 2g stretching earlobes is liable to be a permanent change, so you will always have to wear something in your ear

If you follow these tips on stretching earlobes, you should find it to be a fairly simple procedure. It might be slightly painful, but no more than that, and it is stressed that if it is, and if you see bleeding, then stop, insert your original stud and wait until your piercing has healed completely. This can take up to 3 months, and you may have a wait of 3 weeks to 3 months between earlobe stretching steps.

More tips and information on stretching and gauging your ear lobes can be found on Mark's website Flesh Tunnel where you will also find a selection of Ear Stretchers and some great ear jewelry.

Original article