So I got my 6g taper and jewelry in the mail today. I took a nice hot shower, lubed up that taper and...nothing. I did NOT hurt myself or damage my fistula, but I could tell that taper was just not going through my ear. There is no scar tissue that I can feel and I've been at 8g in my second holes for almost a year. I had absolutely no trouble stretching those holes last winter, so what's the deal?

I have a pair of 7g mother of pearl plugs that I put in (they're right between 8g and 6g), so should I leave them in for a bit and then try again? Is it possible to tape stretch at such a small gauge? I really don't think this taper is going through without me really tearing the hell out of my ear

that's kind of odd... you could try a tape stretch, but what has worked for me in the past is wearing CBRs or pincers and tugging on / playing with my ears for a couple of weeks. don't pull, just yknow, doink around with them a little bit to hopefully loosen up the skin gradually.

if the taper is acrylic, that's probly a contributing factor. steel = smooth (yet i went and got a taper in acrylic for my next stretch... oof)

oh, and re: lube, instead of vaseline or whatnot, try out liquid soap. hell, bust out the KY if you needa.

I used vit. E oil in the capsules as lube, it's the only thing I've ever used for my stretches. I don't have vasoline or KY. I really don't like anything dangly larger than 10g (it gets caught in my hair and such and I'm just not strong enough to open the CBRs even with ring openers), so I don't own any CBRs or pinchers. I really can't afford titanium jewelry that I'll only be keeping for a couple weeks anyway (steel makes me *really* itchy).

I am using an acrylic taper due to the steel=itchy problem. The initial 6g jewelry I have is glass, btw. I can try fiddling with them a bit before I clean them to see if that helps in combination with the 7g's.

Since I am going up to 2g in these holes though, where can I get the tape? Is there anywhere online I can order it from that ISN'T a sex shop?

I don't see why you couldn't tape it. As long as you use thin tape (like teflon tape) it should work fine.

You can get teflon tape from hardware stores such as Home Depot or Osh.
Now if you want bondage tape... which is well prefered... lol. i think you can find THOSEEE at sex shops.

I've never had an issue with using an acrylic taper, though it is true that steel is the smoother material. Teflon tape is ok, but it does dry out and can stick to your fistula and be a pain to get out, so if you do use it, remember to use lube and do it slowly.

I'll be using bondage tape, which I don't believe has quite as many issues associated with it as teflon tape. (Please, do correct me if I'm wrong here, I've never used taping before!)

I'm honestly not a big fan of tapers in general, but I didn't have trouble going up to 2g with acrylic ones in my first holes at all.

I'm also looking at weights as an option, though I'd really rather not weight stretch all the way to 2g with them for fear of thinning my lobes.

might i suggest you use something other than vitamin E as lube--that stuff, in my personal experience, is WAYyyyyyyyyyyyyy too sticky and may be contributing to the difficulties you're having. something water based is ideal (hence the soap or the KY).

and i can't believe you manged with acrylic tapers -- i used acrylic for a little bit and if i left it in longer than a day all hell broke loose. ugh.

I don't think you'd have many problems with thinning lobes if you wore cbrs in your ears to let them just stretch out. It would depend on where your piercing sits on your lobe though. Any thinning could be built back up with wooden jewelry, massing your lobes and making sure your ears get a break from having jewelry in now and then.

Jess, I seriously doubt that you'll be able to wrap bondage tape around 8G or 7G plugs.

I would suggest leaving the 7G plugs in for a while. Then try stretching with the taper again, using KY instead of Vitamin E.

I agree.. I'd wear the plugs for a while and then try stretching again. I'm not sure what kind of taper you bought, but I had major problems with steel tapers when I used to stretch. The only tapers taht did not give me problems were acrylic ones oddly becuase they would stay lubed up better, plus they didn't get cold easily like steel did. Dunno, everyone is different so there's no set rule unfortunately.

I'll be leaving the 7g's in for a while...it didn't hurt to put them in (or even sting), but I'm gently "rocking" them in circles in my lobe for about 10 minutes before I clean them in hopes that that will help a bit too. I'm planning on trying again in a month or so. I'm definitely willing to take my time, and will even consider getting them scapeled or something if they just won't stretch. I also realized getting in between sizes from Tuflon wouldn't be a bad idea

As for the taper, I got a free taper from here. I also have problems with steel (my ears will itch and burn almost immediately if it put it in a fresh stretch), so I pretty much have to use the acrylic ones.

This may sound like a really stupid question, but is KY the same lube that's on condoms? It also makes me itchy, which is why I've avoided using it in the past. If not I'll pick some up, as I really don't want to use soap and the Vit. E certainly didn't do the job this time.

i think condom lube is similar, but i'm actually not sure what kind it is. ky is water based--any decent drugstore should carry small bottles.

why wouldnt you wanna use soap? i use my spectro-gel facewash (a non-soap detergent based wash) and it's suuuuuuuuuper slithery.

The only soap I have is dial and scented body wash, both of which I'm imagining would sting like the devil. I have cleanser from Onetribe, but I don't believe it's something that should be used as lube.

I guess I'll suck it up and buy a wee bottle of KY. I have to admit it squicks me out a bit, but I gotta do what's best for my ears

yup, plus i just remembered, many condoms have spermicide in the lube, which is probably what causes you to have a bad reaction to it. and actually, the cleanser from onetribe might work too, although i've never seen it physically so i can't guarantee it...