i got my lobes pierced from nothing to an 8g piercing with a tapering needle. ive had my 8g's in for a little over three weeks now and they are just fine. i want to stretch to 6g but don't know wether i should wait longer.. what do you think?

 At the very minimum 6 months from the original piercing.

 Almost everyone will tell you to wait for around 6 months to allow your hole to heal. Then you could stretch to six. They will also tell you its a tricky jump, but  seemed to be nothing for me. Everyone has different lobes. Lastly you may also hear that you should have had a 20 or 18G before you 8. But if its done its done so no need to scream "SHUN THE NONE BELIEVER...SHUUUUN," Just take care of them.

 Buy some fine grained sea salt mix it up with some warm water n soak your ears for around 5 minutes. Make sure you dont put too much salt. A pinch will do for a small cup. Other than that in a few months buy some emu oil n rub it onto your lobes. Before you know it time goes by n its time to stretch again! 

 If you have any questions let me know, here or via private message.

Mr.GuzbeKnot:

  Lastly you may also hear that you should have had a 20 or 18G before you 8. But if its done its done so no need to scream "SHUN THE NONE BELIEVER...SHUUUUN," Just take care of them.

No... you can have things pierced at larger guages. Pierced or punched. The 6 months is minimum. And you should wait at least 3 months after you stretch to 6g before you stretch again.

As far as the sea salt soaks, you'd put (I think) 1/4 tsp in 8 oz warm water and soak it for 10-15 minutes. Don't forget to wash it off when you're done or it'll dry your lobes.

What's a tapering needle?

the guy that pierced my ears used this needle that started at a regular piercing size ( i think it was a 20g) and got larger in diameter ( to an 8g) like a taper, dunno if its called a tapering needle just figured it be an easy way to explain how he pierced me from nothing to 8g with 1 needle..

6 moonths is suuch a long time to wait tho.. ive had friends whove just waited 4 weeks in between jumps and the havent complained about tears or weak spots =/..

oh well i guess ill just have to be paitent, im pretty sure you guys know what youre talking about =]

thanks for the help guys.

pato chuntaro:

 ive had friends whove just waited 4 weeks in between jumps and the havent complained about tears or weak spots =/..

LOL you think they would brag about screwing themselves up? No one wants to admit failure, ever.

wrinkledamanda:

What's a tapering needle?

amanda, all needles are "tapered" its just the way the points are they are beveled, and pretty much pierce then stretch the hole, not removing anything

Oh ok, that makes sense. I thought that's how they all were, but I was thrown off... haha

Mr.GuzbeKnot:

 Almost everyone will tell you to wait for around 6 months to allow your hole to heal. Lastly you may also hear that you should have had a 20 or 18G before you 8. But if its done its done so no need to scream "SHUN THE NONE BELIEVER...SHUUUUN," Just take care of them.

I got my ears pierced at 6 gauge and, after consultation with my piercer AND THE LOT OF YOU, I stretched to 4 after about a month and three weeks. I'm now at 2 g and my ears are perfectly friggen healthy. Even smart generalizations can be wrong.

To the poster, one thing everyone will agree on, listen to your body. If your body says you're ready to stretch, stretch. If you can pull on it and see day light between the jewelry and your skin, you should be ok. If you do that and hurt, wait a while. Massage daily. People here say sea salt soaks, I'm sure they're lovely feeling. I used hot water and Provon soaks. I can't say if it's the "right" thing to do, but I've had nothing but sucess.

For the record, no one one these boards ever told you to stretch up that fast. Just because you think they are ok doesn't mean they are. Proof.

ok.. so ive decided to wait on stretching them to 6's. (now im really kicking myself for not having just pierced to 6's when they gave me the choice haha)

I was wondering though, if its ok to switch the jewlrey to something different or do i still not want to take them out? is acrylic still a no-no? ive had these 8's for a month now and they dont give me any kind of trouble.

I'd wait a couple more weeks to switch out your jewelry, but everyone's body is different.

Most ppl are okay with acrylic in healed lobes.  I personally wouldn't change to acrylic just yet...  But that's me.

 from the poor person's stretching kit description:

- NEVER SKIP SIZES WHEN STRETCHING
- WAIT 1 MONTHS BETWEEN STRETCHES 14g thru 8g; 2 MONTHS BETWEEN STRETCHES 6g thru 2g; 3 MONTHS FOR 0g and 00g 

but i would say, the longer you can wait, the better.

 Since you were just pierced, let your lobes heal before stretching - at least 6 months and honestly, longer won't hurt.