This is one of those times of the year where I actually have money, because Christmas and my birthday just passed. I go through stages where I'm totally broke, because I run a tiny hosting business and that's not steady income, it's sort of a crazy cycle of having money/being poor. Although I'm not complaining!

I was thinking about buying all the jewelry I'll need in order to stretch up to 1 inch. Meaning, I'd buy the glass for the fresh stretch and a few other "pretties" to wear when they're healed, in every size. I'm not sure if it's a smart idea though because I do not know whether I'll even be able to stretch to an inch because of my crappy placement.

Are there people who just can not go that big no matter what? I'm at 3/4 inch right now, so that's not too far from 1 inch, but I will be downsizing to 1/2 inch soon and then restretching (posted about this here:http://www.bodyartforms.com/forumsV9/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11172) and since I gave away all my "good" smaller jewelry, I will have to repurchase them for the restretch!

A photo of my lobe, right after removing my plugs:


Judging by how thin the bottom is, do you personally think I will be able to safely stretch to 1 inch, or even as far as 1-1/2 inches in the future, after the downsizing? Or do you have to be endowed with thick lobes and good placement to get that big?

I don't know if I should spend money on plugs I won't use for a long time, if I might not be able to get there. It's just a bad case of indecision, so please help! What's your personal opinion?

Personally I wouldn't get any large size plugs for the time being. Keep downsizing and thickening your lobes and see what happens, that's what I would do.

well its all up to you, but i say stretch as much as you'd like to go, as long as you do have enough room for it

but as for buying plugs for the future, i think you should just buy as you go.

i think before you worry about buying jewelry, you should fix your ear first and formost. thats way too thin to even be setting goals for bigger sizes.

Well, in order to fix the ear I need to buy jewelry, because I gave away most of my smaller stuff. I was just thinking about saving money on shipping by ordering the large gauge plugs with the small ones i need for downsizing, all at once.

Here is one more photo, which I posted in the other thread:
http://xs123.xs.to/xs123/08010/January4th2008.jpg

The skin inside your piercing looks healthy, but your lobe is EXCEPTIONALLY thin. I would downsize as much as you can before you stretch up. If your lobes can go smaller than half inch, LET THEM. It's a bit scary you let them get to that point :/ Hope the downsizing helps you. Maybe scalpelling would be a better route after you thicken them up?

why not just go without jewelry for a while? its not a bad idea.

Yeah Kara, I do plan on doing that for a good month or more, I want it to get as small as possible before putting plugs in. It's just that right now I'm visiting family out-of-state and I'd rather not start the process here. It's just more comfortable to "go naked" at home, and safer because no one will ask questions or poke at my lobes. I heard about some dude who got his lobe ripped apart because some asshole stuck a finger in his ear and then tripped. That scares me!

Edit:
For now, I just take the plugs out a few hours before I sleep and put them back in when I wake up, which adds up to about half the day naked/half with jewelry in.

holy shit that would scare me too. it seems like you got a good grasp on what to do. good luck with the thickening.

Lol, girl, I'd be scared your lobe would rip just by putting jewelry in it now. Can you make your hair cover it?

Quote:

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Originally posted by bodmod

Lol, girl, I'd be scared your lobe would rip just by putting jewelry in it now. Can you make your hair cover it?

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Is it really in that bad of shape? Dang. Look at this douchebag's earlobe:



That was on modblog, and the piercer wasn't even the topic. I was shocked no one mentioned his thinass ear in the comments!

I have long hair, so I could cover it if need be but I'd get oil and shit all over. If it is looking that bad, I will take your advice and leave out the jewelry starting now. I've been stretching since I was 17 (I'm 21), and never ran into trouble besides the thin lobes, which I'm sure are due to the awful placement of the holes, which were done when I was 9.

I just don't like the idea of jewelry putting stress on your already thin lobe. You don't have to do oil massages while you're visiting, just give them some air and time to shrink up. It will do some good just to let them breathe and relax.

And yeah, his lobe are eekk.

I see your point, bodmod. I'll leave them out, but I'll order some small plugs for my trip home next month. I am too scared to ride a train or bus with eyelets in, let alone completely bare. From 3/4 inch, I wonder how much they can shrink? 1/2 inch? 00g? Hmm.

Well I'm glad I posted this thread, and I hope more people comment! I'd like to read more opinions on my apparently atrocious lobes, haha.

Are they too thin to be scalpelled? I mean, could that help even everything out by cutting into the top and side or would I have circulation problems because of how thin the bottoms are? I wouldn't consider the scalpel procedure until after some extensive downsizing, of course.

I just wouldn't feel like myself if I had to go the rest of my life with tiny holes. I love them so much - it's so unfair. Damn you, Piercing Pagoda!!!

Don't worry about what size to buy before you begin the downsize. Just leave them out and order closer to the day you need the plugs. It's hard to tell how much an ear will shrink. Everybody's different. It can depend on a lot of things: how fast you stretched, whether you skipped sizes, nutrition, lifestyle, hydration, etc.