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A public service announcement about stretching piercings.
12 years ago
SO, this past week I found out about a thing
Kids, for your own good, DO NOT USE SILICONE PLUGS TO STRETCH YOUR PIERCINGS. It is a BAD idea.
Silicone makes for great, comfortable jewelry for already-healed piercings because it's comfy and stretchy and soft. But for stretching ears it's probably the worst material possible.
First: Silicone can bond to your skin while it heals. This means that once your new stretch is healed, you might have to rip out all of that new skin to get the plug out. You should always use a non-textured non-porous material for healing, like glass, stone, or even acrylic (acrylic sucks but it's still better than silicone for healing).
Second: Silicone seems like a good idea because you can squish it down to fit in a smaller piercing and then let it stretch out. But the problem is that it's too fast. Stretching is a commitment; if you want to go from a regular piercing to a 0 or higher, you're going to spend at least a year, probably more, slowly going larger. If you go too fast, the stretch will have a LOT of scar tissue inside it which means when you take out your plugs the hole will bunch up and look like a cat's asshole. The goal is to have a nice smooth hole because that is stronger and healthier and looks way better.
One reason you use tapers to stretch is because if you're going too fast, your body warns you by feeling intense pain so you can go back and let it heal for another month or so. But with silicone, you don't have time to react to the pain, and more importantly, YOU CAN'T STOP IT IN TIME BEFORE THE DAMAGE IS DONE. The reason I found out people were doing this was that someone showed me video of a stupid kid who ripped his fucking earlobes in half stretching with silicone. Even if you don't get as damaged as that kid did, there's still major chance of a blowout and horrible damage that leads to your piercing being weaker overall and subject to tearing later.
So don't learn the hard way like that kid did. Stretch slow, use tapers, be patient. The reward is a stretched piercing that feels great when you tug on it because it's healthy and happy and strong.
Kids, for your own good, DO NOT USE SILICONE PLUGS TO STRETCH YOUR PIERCINGS. It is a BAD idea.
Silicone makes for great, comfortable jewelry for already-healed piercings because it's comfy and stretchy and soft. But for stretching ears it's probably the worst material possible.
First: Silicone can bond to your skin while it heals. This means that once your new stretch is healed, you might have to rip out all of that new skin to get the plug out. You should always use a non-textured non-porous material for healing, like glass, stone, or even acrylic (acrylic sucks but it's still better than silicone for healing).
Second: Silicone seems like a good idea because you can squish it down to fit in a smaller piercing and then let it stretch out. But the problem is that it's too fast. Stretching is a commitment; if you want to go from a regular piercing to a 0 or higher, you're going to spend at least a year, probably more, slowly going larger. If you go too fast, the stretch will have a LOT of scar tissue inside it which means when you take out your plugs the hole will bunch up and look like a cat's asshole. The goal is to have a nice smooth hole because that is stronger and healthier and looks way better.
One reason you use tapers to stretch is because if you're going too fast, your body warns you by feeling intense pain so you can go back and let it heal for another month or so. But with silicone, you don't have time to react to the pain, and more importantly, YOU CAN'T STOP IT IN TIME BEFORE THE DAMAGE IS DONE. The reason I found out people were doing this was that someone showed me video of a stupid kid who ripped his fucking earlobes in half stretching with silicone. Even if you don't get as damaged as that kid did, there's still major chance of a blowout and horrible damage that leads to your piercing being weaker overall and subject to tearing later.
So don't learn the hard way like that kid did. Stretch slow, use tapers, be patient. The reward is a stretched piercing that feels great when you tug on it because it's healthy and happy and strong.
though apparently the used it to make fake earrings and earlobes on Apocalypto.