How can I fit bigger jewelry in my piercing?

Stretching a piercing

Updated Wednesday May 07, 2008

Brian Skellie
Member AAMI
Member ASTM
Committee F04 on Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices
Committee F04.12 on Metallurgical Materials

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We highly suggest that you do not tear your piercings by lubricating pointy items of jewelry or other such things. The stretch marks and excess scar tissue make the results unaesthetic compared to encouraging your body to enlarge the piercing naturally.

You should notice that your piercing will be more easily able to fit larger pieces if you work on softening the collagen and elastin bonds in the skin associated with the piercing.

You can remove your jewelry before each time you bathe.
You can rinse, dry and massage your earlobes with an oil such as Cocoa Butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or Jojoba oil. You are likely to find that the skin is smoother and more elastic after a few days of this.

Tapered jewelry such as the titanium crescent, claw or talon shaped pieces work well, with glass claw shaped tapered crescents performing even better for enlarging lobes starting at 8g and larger. Some allow you to take two gauge steps at a time over a week or two of gentle, natural displacement.