Lobe stretching tips

bounty_hunter

Is it commonplace for one ear to be stuck miles behind the other? It's driving me up the walls!

Gauge

Yep. It's the "bitch ear", everyone seems have one! Mine is my right

Will

Yeah mine is my right ear also. Plenty of massages with holey butt'r or aloe vera. Time too, being patient is pretty difficult. Especially when your body doesn't do what you want it to

bounty_hunter

Weirdly enough mine is the right ear too. I've been doing oil massages at least once a day but it's still not budging. Just gotta sit it out I suppose

Thanks guys.

Will

What method are you using to stretch it? And how long have you been at your current size?

bounty_hunter

I've just been using spiral tapers cos they're at least pretty in the meantime and it's minimal hassle. I'm usually able to move them a little bit two or three times a week but one of them has been stuck now for over a week. The other one is flying along almost of it's own accord, I've almost been trying to hold it back a bit. Just to take it slow and keep them as healthy as possible ya know.

Will

Spiral tapers aren't really meant for stretching/continuous wear.

If you have any plugs wrap some ptfe tape (usually 1 wrap every 3 days) around them. It's way cheap and a lot less harsher on your lobes since you're stretching less than a mm every time.

Gauge

Yep, those spiral tapers are the devil if you have any unseen thin spots.

Melion

Ordered some silicone tunnels yesterday, has anyone used them before? They were cheap so i dont mind if they turn out to be crap.

Will

Kaos ones is it?
Don't use them to stretch, i have trouble with them since they don't let your ears breathe. Try them for a few hours, if you feel your ears are in any way different take them out.

Gauge

If they're kaos they'll be good- if they're knockoffs they could be rubbish.

The trick with Kaos is to oil them if you find they dry your ears out. Rub a little bit of oil on the wearable about five minutes before you put them in, and let them sit. I have to do this otherwise the damn things just ATTACH themselves.

Melion

Yeah they are Kaos ones. Ive been at 10mm for about a month now and i dont think ill be stretching anymore anyway.

bounty_hunter

Will wrote: »

Spiral tapers aren't really meant for stretching/continuous wear.

If you have any plugs wrap some ptfe tape (usually 1 wrap every 3 days) around them. It's way cheap and a lot less harsher on your lobes since you're stretching less than a mm every time.

Thanks for the tip but I don't like that method, the tape irritates my skin and I find that no matter how much I oil it up it always sticks a little bit, which is very uncomfortable. I keep forgetting whenever I'm up in Dublin to hunt for a different tape.

I'm stretching by less than a mm at a time with these as well anyway, I've been watching them like a hawk. I've been doing salt soaks and oil massages a minimum of once a day and leaving them out for an hour or two while I'm in classes as well and my lobes seem to be as thick as ever, if not slightly more so (since I wasn't doing massages before I started stretching).

Actually come to think of it I was only going up by two sizes and I'm nearly done now so I dunno if it would be worth the hassle trying to find new tape, I'll stick a reminder in my phone anyway though in case I want to backtrack and start again at some point.

Will

If it works for you then stick by it

Molberts

aww it finally happened

Popped a 8mm plug into my right ear last night in shower, just slid right in. My left one wouldnt budge though and it wasnt ready to be pushed.

So now I've a mahoosive plug in my right which looks bigger with o ring and a dainty lil 7mm IS single flare tunnell still in my left :rolleyes:

apart from moisturising and tugging a little, any other tips to help the left one along?

without sounding like a total gurl :rolleyes: ive a fancy party on friday and would love to be able to get a pair of purty matching plugs for it

Will

Something you don't wanna rush or push when it isn't ready...

if it doesn't fit by friday just stick with the 7mm

Léan

Sup g's.

Has anyone used bio-oil?

Does it actually work? I'm skint and don't want to go flaking out 15 quid on a tiny bottle and it doesn't work :rolleyes:.

I've heard people on about using jojoba oil and coconut oil too. Anyone here have any experiences with these?

I take my tunnels out when going to sleep once a week/every second week or so and usually throw on the body shop body butter moisturiser on. It seems to be working but i'm curious about the various oils etc. I'd invest in one of them if i thought it'd be worthwhile.


Cheerszors.

Will

I just use aloe vera gel, isn't as expensive and all natural. Never used bio oil, i heart my lobes and all but 15squid on a bottle of something is a bit much :-/

i think gauge has used it though, not sure

Léan

Aloe vera gel? Hmmm might try that one, we've a big aloe vera plant here, might bust it open. Very gooey though.

Will

Yup but awesomely fun

Gauge

My favourite oil is jojoba oil. It feels really nice and not greasy. I also use it on my face as a moisturiser/makeup remover. I think it's great for making your ears 'supple' for flared jewellery. Emu oil is a bit thicker, more expensive, and makes my ears feel moisturised but not as supple. Emu oil however is safe to use on broken or irritated skin so it can be handy to have around if you're recovering from a tear or something like that. Not such a great oil for vegans though Bio oil is great for breaking down scar tissue but I find it's not as moisturising as emu oil or jojoba; vitamin e oil is also good for this. I haven't tried aloe vera but it seems to be after getting pretty popular, haven't tried coconut either but I'm tempted because it smells so damn nice!

Edit to add random oil info: Holland and Barrett do a large bottle of Jojoba Oil for roughly €14. Just be careful when shopping for oils. I've had some health shops try and charge me upwards of €10 for the tiniest little bottles.

Oil should be stored out of direct sunlight and be careful of not contaminating it (by letting oil which has touched skin/hair/anything get back into the bottle... bottles are usually designed so this doesn't happen). Someone on another forum I'm on had pictures of their jojoba oil growing mould balls and it was soooo disgusting

Animal (emu oil) and certain food based/cooking oils (olive oil) eventually go rancid, so check the sell by date on emu oil before you buy, and don't use them to oil jewellery.

Molberts

Awesomely helpful post, cheers Gauge

Theres a holland and barratt in Dun Laoghaire, I'll pop up during the week

PinkTulips

hey, i'm thinking of stretching my lobes, nothing huge, maybe 6/8 just so i can buy some of the sexy jewelery i'm eyeing up.

i had gunned piercings done when i was 5 and stretched them to big enough to take a standard bananabell (so 1.6mm i guess) a few years ago. the one on the right has had a fairly heavy chunk of metal hanging from it for ages now and honestly the hole feels extremely loose around the bar of the jewelery (it's a naval piercing that i shoved through as my belly piercing migrated too far out to hold it so it's pulled sorta around te lobe which i think is what stretching it a little... honestly, if i could hook my camera up to the pc i'd post pics as this is making no sense at all!)

anyway, what i was wondering is, is there anyway to find out before i order jewelery what size the hole would take as it is and what i could stretch to easily? don't want to waste money on jewelery that will be too small and still too big to use in any other piercings!

Will

Simple answer: Go to a decent piercing studio and ask em to hook you up with jewellery fit for your ears

PinkTulips

and a decent piercer in roscommon or mayo would be.......?

might just get that stretching kit and see what fits in.

-lala-

PinkTulips wrote: »

and a decent piercer in roscommon or mayo would be.......?

Well if you happen to be in Galway/Cork/Dublin at any time in the not-too-distant future it wouldn't take too long to pop into somewhere.

PinkTulips

true, i'll be in galway in 6 weeks.... just not sure how keen a studio would be if i popped in with 3 kids under 5 in tow

things could get interesting when they start to run riot

Léan

Gots me some Vitamin E oil (and some Manuka honey while I was there, yum yum yum).

Got it in Holland and Barrett for around €7, a medium sized bottle.

I've massaged my ears with it a few times now over the last few days and can already see a difference, seems to be great for strength!

Was in another health food shop and they have a Vitamin E cream/moisturiser. Smelt so nice I might go get that too, and only €4 :O Yummers.

Cheerszors for all the info guys ^_^.

Gauge

Took advantage of the buy one get something half price offer did you?

I ended up getting some coconut oil- haven't used it yet, will report back when I have!

adamb92

Hey, what's the best studio to get my ear stretched up a size professionally in Dublin? thanks:)