Tapers and gauges

[Paix et Amour]

so im getting my ears pierced pretty soon, and im looking to gauge, eventually to a 00 probably, but for now im researching since my normal pierce wont heal for 6-8 weeks!

the thing is, im allergic to metal. only reason im using it for piercing normal is they dont let you pierce with plastic for some reason. i have tried every kind, including surgical steel, and after a little while (i cleaned them fine, i was pretty young so my parents did it lol) they would get infected! i let them close up but now im wanting to gauge. the thing is, my sister and her BF both have gauges, i think around 1" for her, and he has 1 1/4" i think. now they both said that i can wear tapers as normal gauges. i will be getting acrylic ones, because im not allergic to that.

after looking it up for a bit, all i see is "DONT wear tapers as regular jewelry! and dont use acrylic, it holds bacteria!" but the thing is, i dont get this! they have experience with it and said its fine, but all these sites say its bad!

i will be getting a 14g taper, so im going to be gradually working up to that size, and they are pretty light i would assume, so is it really bad for you? will i need to get plugs? i cant seem to find any plugs that small that arent metal or really expensive!

so can i wear these tapers as normal gauges, or will i have to buy really small plugs?

thanks, and sorry this is so long

[thefirstlady]

As for being allergic to Stainless Steel, if you got earrings from places like Claire's, Wal Mart, Target, etc, those are coated and and have other things in them (I'll write more about this later). But those sites are right. It is NOT good to use acrylic PLUGS right after you stretch. They are porous and can hold bacteria. Same with plastics in general which is why you're supposed to use metal. Once they are healed you can do whatever. I suggest before stretching your ears you do some more research. You also can't go from a normal ear piercing size (18g usually) to a 14g. That's skipping a size and is not good for your ears.

Some advice: stretch up slowly. Wait at LEAST a month before going up sizes and if a taper doesn't want to go through, don't push it because you will cause a tear or a blow-out and that is not good. I would also recommend getting your ears pierced by a professional piercer at a tattoo shop (this means getting it done with a needle which is better for you anyway and they will use 316L surgical grade stainless steel which is used in hip implants, etc. You shouldn't have issues with this kind.) I work in a tattoo shop and have stretched ears. Most problems I see with stretching ears is that people go up way too quickly and it causes irreversible damage.

[Paix et Amour]

ok well i just got my ears pierced today at the mall, i think it was just at claire's. the person said to clean it 3 times a day for 8 weeks before i start gauging. i also got a set at hot topic. its 14g tapers with the plugs, but it is acrylic. my sister and her BF know all about it and have always used acrylic with no problems, they just told me i will need to clean it more often. thanks though, but yea i found some small sized plugs in a set with the tapers, so im fine now with that. they have never had problems with acrylic and i know im allergic to all metals, im going to deal with this for the 2 months till i can gauge though.

[Thirteen]

There are other options besides Plastic (Acrylic) and Metal for jewelry, you know. You could get Glass, Wood, or even Bone jewelry. Those three are actually usually recommended for piercings, considering they don't get gunky, unlike the Metal or Plastic.

In fact, my ears are stretched to 6 gauge, and I wear different ones depending on what I want that day, and I have a glass pair that never get gross/gunky/etc., so I'd personally recommend glass jewelry based on my experiences. You can usually find different types at alternative shops, such as Hot Topic, Spencer's, or even some independently owned shops.

Since I've stretched my ears, and even helped my friend stretch hers, so if you have any questions about stretching, like jewelry, healing times, etc., don't hesitate to PM me!