Pattie's Stretching Guide
What is stretching?: Stretching is the process of expanding a piercing’s hole gradually in various ways.
How long before I should stretch?: After the piercing is initially done the general rule is to wait 3 times the healing period before your first stretch, however exceptions can be made depending on your body.
How long should I wait between stretches? Generally it should be 3 months, but that varies depending on your body, how big the jump is between stretches (e.g. 14 gauge to 12 gauge is only 0.4mm where as 2 gauge to 0 gauge is 2mm) and what piercing you are stretching. Listen to your body, if it hurts don’t do it. **Note discomfort/burning sensations are normal. (See risks for problems that can arise from stretching too fast).
How do I stretch my piercings?: There are a few ways to stretch a piercing.
Tapering: Tapering is the method of using a taper/expander/stretcher to slowly open the hole. The best way to go about this is get a taper of the appropriate size (e.g. if you are at 14 gauge then you would want a 12 gauge taper) and have a long steamy and hot shower then lube up the taper with a water based lubricant like KY. Then insert the taper slowly while also holding the back of the piercing, you should meet some resistance but just keep pushing until it’s at the flat end of the taper, then either let it rest for a day or two (which isn’t recommended for an acrylic/plastic or organic taper) or place the new sized jewellery at the end of the taper and follow the jewellery through.
Tape stretching: Tape stretching as simple as putting a layer of tape around your jewellery. The complex part is in obtaining the tape and timing things right. The tape you would need can be obtained from most hardware stores and is known as Plumbers Tape or PTFE tape. How this method works is by just adding one wrap of tape when your piercing is ready. (Stretching too fast through this method can be just as harmful as others). Then insert the taped jewellery back into the piercing. The biggest problem with this method is that any other tape can cause huge amounts of irritation and infections. Another problem can occur if the tape isn't even and begins to damage the tissue upon insertion.
Dead stretching: This method is arguably effective as it is only for very stretchy areas which show “daylight” (If you pull lightly on the jewellery you can see through the space between the jewellery and the edge of the hole). This method is quite simple, just lube up your jewellery and put it through the hole. The biggest problem is the jewellery possibly causing damage to the piercing if it isn’t ready for a Dead stretch.
Weight Stretching: As the name implies this method uses weight to stretch, which can be as easy as putting rings through a tunnel or putting a piece of jewellery with a lot of weight in it through the hole. This method is quite effective but isn’t recommended for anyone trying to reach sizes exceeding 25mm as it tends to thin out the tissue at the bottom of the piercing.
What are the risks with stretching?:
Permanence: Generally once you reach/exceed a certain size, usually around 2 gauge/6mm to 0 gauge/8mm it is extremely unlikely the hole will close or go back to ‘normal’ without rather extreme procedures.
Blowout: This is caused by stretching way too fast. When you stretch too fast you can push the fistula (The scar tissue that forms around your piercing) out of the piercing leaving you with an unattractive lump/flap of scar tissue hanging out of the piercing.
Tearing/Snapping: Is another problem caused by stretching too fast. When you feel strong pain in a piercing you are stretching that is usually because you are tearing the fistula excessively. This is never a positive thing as the scar tissue that forms when those tears heal is actually harder to stretch and ultimately it will take you longer to get to your ideal size. If this is continually done the surrounding tissue may thin out and lead to snapping that area (e.g. snapping your earlobe in 2). Weight stretching and bad placement are usually the most common culprits of a snapped ear.
Poor Circulation: When stretching an earlobe too fast you can reduce circulation which is, by default, already low in an earlobe. If the circulation gets too poor you may actually lose your entire earlobe.
The bottom line when it comes to stretching is take your time and listen to your body.