If you’re thinking about stretching your earlobes or already have stretched lobes you may have wondered… how far is too far? How far can I stretch them and still have them return to a relatively standard gauge if I remove the jewelry? Is there a size at which they will no longer return to standard and if so, what is it? There is, in fact, a size at which you have reached the “point of no return”, and your lobes will never shrink all the way back down to the gauge you started at. So, let’s take a moment to discuss how that works.
Physical Factors
Everyone’s skin is different. You’ll get a good idea of how elastic your skin is when you’re stretching your lobes. Some people find it far more difficult to upsize because their skin simply isn’t as stretchy as they would like. This may or may not be genetic, everyone is different. Age can also be a factor as younger skin tends to be more elastic than older skin, but this isn’t entirely clear-cut either.
Stretching Speed
The most important rule of stretching piercings is to take your time. Do not rush the process. Do not use tapers. Why does this matter for downsizing? Well, if you rush the process or use tapers to stretch, you are creating microtears in your fistula. These become scars. Scar tissue is not nearly as elastic as regular skin. If you are going too fast, you may notice that it becomes increasingly difficult to size up and by the same token, it’s going to be harder to shrink the fistula back down. Slow and steady really is the way to go here.
Gauge
This is one of the bigger factors when it comes to trying to shrink stretched lobes. The general consensus is that the “point of no return” is somewhere between 2 gauge and 0 gauge. The problem is that that means your point is between 6mm and 8mm and there’s no way to know in advance where your personal line in the sand is going to fall. This means that if your ears are already stretched to 0 gauge, you may have passed that point 2mm ago. Hopefully you knew that risk when you started stretching.
If You’re Not There Yet
You can still try to let your lobes shrink down naturally. This can be done in one of two ways: you can remove your jewelry entirely and leave it out or you can try gradually downsizing by putting in progressively smaller gauge jewelry. You’ll want to do frequent bio compatible oil massages to help stimulate blood flow and help improve elasticity. (Bio compatible oils include sweet almond oil, emu oil, and jojoba oil. Baby oil is a no-no.)
Too Late
If you’ve already passed your personal point of no return, you still have options. You can take out your plugs and simply embrace the new look of your stretched lobes. You can even stack some rings on them (a look that is currently super trendy) and while they will still not be the gauge you started out with, stacked rings tend to be less noticeable than actual plugs. If neither option appeals, you can see a plastic surgeon about earlobe reconstruction. This involves surgically removing the excess skin and then stitching the lobe back together. After the healing process is complete, you can even get them re-pierced. (This is generally considered elective surgery, and you will need to check with your health insurance provider if you choose to go this route because they may not cover it.)
So that should cover the basics of stretched lobes and the “how far is too far” question. If this sounds like more than you want to deal with and you were considering stretching your lobes, you can either keep them stretched to a smaller gauge or consider “cheater plugs” that give you the look but don’t require stretching. And if you’ve already stretched your lobes and think you’ve gone too far to return, you still have options. Those options, however, are for when you no longer love the look and feel of wearing plugs… and who knows if that will ever happen? Happy piercing!
