In Regard to Gauges.

[Babbsy]

I want to begin gauging my ears but I have to get one re-pierced because it's pierced weird and my gauge won't go through it without bleeding a lot. Would it be stupid of me to start gauging immediately after I got it re-pierced? I'm only starting with a 14 but I don't want to destroy my ears.

[IcarusTheFool]

[Dr. Bint]

Originally Posted by Babbsy

I want to begin gauging my ears but I have to get one re-pierced because it's pierced weird and my gauge won't go through it without bleeding a lot. Would it be stupid of me to start gauging immediately after I got it re-pierced? I'm only starting with a 14 but I don't want to destroy my ears.

What do you mean by "pierced weird" and how much are you stretching it? It shouldn't bleed unless you stretch too much in one go, force the taper through too fast or do a dead stretch. And yes, it would be retarded to start stretching before allowing it to heal properly. Unless you don't mind it looking like a butthole when it finally does heal, that is.

[Babbsy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Bint

What do you mean by "pierced weird" and how much are you stretching it? It shouldn't bleed unless you stretch too much in one go, force the taper through too fast or do a dead stretch. And yes, it would be retarded to start stretching before allowing it to heal properly. Unless you don't mind it looking like a butthole when you take jewellery out, that is.

Well when I put in earrings, I have to shift my earlobe around because it's pierced through different portions of my ear. I can feel it popping around through different layers of skin in other words. If that makes any sense at all. I put the gauges in pretty gently. Just, like I said, I have to pop it through all those different layers of skin and shift around my ear lobe so much that it makes it bleed profusely.

[Dr. Bint]

Originally Posted by Babbsy

Well when I put in earrings, I have to shift my earlobe around because it's pierced through different portions of my ear. I can feel it popping around through different layers of skin in other words. If that makes any sense at all. I put the gauges in pretty gently. Just, like I said, I have to pop it through all those different layers of skin and shift around my ear lobe so much that it makes it bleed profusely.

Sounds like you pierced the lobe yourself and did a terrible job of it. I'm guessing you pushed the needle through pretty slowly... if that's the case, my advice is to go to a professional piercer and get their opinion. They can have a look at it and tell you exactly what needs to be done. That just doesn't sound right at all.

[Babbsy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Bint

Sounds like you pierced the lobe yourself and did a terrible job of it. I'm guessing you pushed the needle through pretty slowly... if that's the case, my advice is to go to a professional piercer and get their opinion. They can have a look at it and tell you exactly what needs to be done. That just doesn't sound right at all.

Nah I got them done at Wal-Mart when I was eight. Hahaha. It's only the one ear though. The other one is just fine. I think the gun was up too high because the hole is nowhere near the middle of my lobe.

[HAS]

Twelve-gauge is the best. Another smaller is over-priced and wimpy. Anything bigger is not worth the added cost and scarcity, no matter how much more powerful it is.

[5024L]

Gauges look stupid.

[Necro[keely]a]

I agree that you should not try to stretch the pre existing hole.
Go to a professional body piercing artist and get it repierced, but pierce it at a larger gauge than the standard 16g (or 20g if you get it done at a place like Walmart. Lol)
Wait for that to fully heal, it should be about 4-6 weeks if you got it pierced at say, an 8 gauge, and then stretch after that.
Standard rules of stretching apply of course.
Don't stretch too fast, more than 2mm at a time or with household objects.

If you're really serious about stretching your ears, ask your piercer about a dermal punch or pierce+taper procedure.
Good luck

[Ron Burgandy]

Nigga, all you need to do is go to a professional and get it looked at or fixed. What i did to gauge my ears is wait for your piercing to heal than each 3-4 weeks, than taper it higher. If you go to hot topic you can get taper packs with a taper and a gauge. I got some of these, than once the taper was in i pushed the gauge on the taper so the gauge replaced it.

Goodluck

[Necro[keely]a]

/fights urge to go all Martin Bryant on everyone using the word 'gauge' improperly.

[vindicated]

Don't stretch a fresh piercing!!! God!
Let it heal, you'll have awful scar tissue later if you stretch too fast.
Also, the best way to stretch that I've found has been through using teflon tape. A layer at a time, giving your ears time to get used to it.
Many, many people have blowouts when they use tapers. Don't force your ear to stretch, if it's ready to go up to the next larger gauge, it will.

[Jukebox_Hero]

Wait until the piercing is fully healed before you start gauging it. The fact that you're trying it now and it's bleeding isn't normal at all.