Well, I first got my ear pierced when I was 16, I never really thought much about it, but My friend got His ear pierced, and It was like a dare. He told me that if he gave me an earring, that I would have to pierce my ear if I wanted to keep it. So, I went home, it was like the day before the last day of school my sophomore year, So I went Home, and ignorantly shoved the earring through my ear.

Okay so i started out at a needle size about an eighteen? I got 14s from a friend so i put those in. I waited about a week err two and stretched to an eleven? Then my mom found out and i put my fourteens back in. Then waited about a week and stretched to an eight. Talk about painful. Then after that i waited about two weeks and stretched to a six. None of this besides the fourtenn to an eight. during my six im very facinated with trying to look through my ear and i noticed white so i put a cotton swab through and it started bleeding. Dont know what that was all about.

I went yesterday and finally had both of my lobes done. Pierced them both with an 8 gauge and then did an immediate stretch to a 6g. Both were kinda painful but nothing super unbearable. The right was a more difficult pierce but the stretch and jewelry insertion went easier while the left was the exact opposite. My anatomy was just different enough in each ear to make the experience different for each one. I love them though!! Can't wait until April so I can get my next stretch!!

I got my first piercing in 1975. My next door neighbor did it for me and my best with one of her mom's sewing needles (same one for both of us without any cleaning in between as I recall - ah, the simplicity of life before AIDS). We went with pirate style hoops and it lasted for about 3 weeks. He got his torn out in a fight and I decided that I didn't need to be a social revolutionary that bad.

I have found that the best way to stretch ear lobes, when you are any size smaller than 0 gauge, is to either use spirals (picture a) or tapers (picture b).

Picture A:

Picture B:

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omg!i went from a 20g to a 14g.then i kept going on up from there.now im at a zero and i want to go up to 5/8.they really didnt hurt me at all.the only ones i would say that hurt were the 0g.cause i had to stretch it a little with part of a pen.which is kinda dangerous...but im a risk taker.anyway i used tapers from 12g and up.

got a pair of 10 gauge lob es done yesterday, Didn't hurt, and it barely bled. If you want them, why wait?

-scott

i had my lobes pierced at a 10 gauge years ago, and started to gauge once they healed. im at an inch now. the initial piercing didnt hurt too much but it did pich quite a bit because of the large gauge size. stretching is what sucked, but just dont skip sizes and dont take too long to get the tapers through; get it over with =]

Some thing not to do! I have a 2g in both lower lobes and 10g in both upper lobes. I like'em but it came with a price. I listened to an idiot that said i could stretch every 2 weeks. i went from a 16g to a 2g in 2 months! (not recemmended) listen to a pro. piercer not your buddies!

I have to say, when i had my ears done, it wasnt the "big" hype i thought it was going to be. It doesnt hurt that i had gotten to know my piercer Emily at Addictions here in Salem,Or pretty well, so i had a pretty good relationship with her by the time we did the deed.
I think She did my right ear first, then after about 5 minutes or so,the left. Instead of the CBR, i now have a Tribalistic LOOKING piece in each. ( pix to come as soon as i can get some taken:-P )