Last Updated on February 18, 2022
Despite the fact that it is a rather ancient technique, stretching piercings is now quite popular among today’s younger people.
Even if your piercing was placed at a fixed size—typically 20 gauge, 18 gauge, or 16 gauge—you may stretch your ears to a greater one. Furthermore, it makes no difference how recently you got them pierced. It will still work if you got them when you were younger and want to elongate them now that you’re older.
How to Make Your Earring Holes Bigger?
There are a number of methods for increasing the size of your ear piercing. I’ll go through 6 strategies for enlarging the size of your earring hole.
Some of these techniques will need the assistance of a professional piercer while the rest are doable at home.
1. Use tapers to stretch your ear
Tapers are cone- or spike-shaped jewelry that are inserted into an earring hole to make it larger. They’re ideal for widening a piercing between 14 and 0 gauze.
Tapers are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Surgical steel, which is purest form of stainless steel, is the finest.
It’s a good idea to wash your hands and ears with soap before using tapers. If the tapers have previously been used, make sure to clean them as well. Before utilizing tapers, it is advised to take a hot shower. It would not only soften and relax your ear tissue but also clean it.
Apply lubricant to your ear and taper. Remove any extra lube from your hand so you can properly grip the taper.
Push the tiny end of the tapers gently and slowly into your ears. They’ll usually go in quite smoothly. Remove them if they cause any discomfort or bleeding, and check to see if your piercing is ready to be stretched. Keep wearing the same size earrings and wait a few weeks before stretching your ears if your earring hole isn’t healed yet.
Once the taper is in your ear, simply insert the large gauze jewelry into the ear behind it. Now just wait for the piercing to heal. Don’t push your ears before then.
2. Use Teflon taping for ear stretching
It’s a fantastic approach to stretch your ears beyond the point of zero gauze. Teflon tape is non-reactive and inert, so it won’t react with your skin.
How to use Teflon tape?
If you’ve already got your ears to 0 gauze and want to make the earring hole bigger, use Teflon tape.
Remove your jewelry from your ears, wash it with soap and let it dry. Cut a piece of tape in half and wrap it around your jewelry 2-3 times.
Insert it gently into your ear. It will feel somewhat tighter, which is natural. If it causes discomfort, you have applied too much tape. Remove it and change the number of layers for a better result.
Allow it to rest for a few days before repeating the process, this time increasing the number of layers of tape until your desired diameter is reached.
3. Tapered Claws and Talons
One of the simplest and safest ways to make the earring hole larger is to use claws or talons. They are curved around the ends rather than the middle, which distinguishes them. In short, a claw is a taper with a curvature.
How to Use Claws and Talons?
To stretch your earring hole, insert the claw or a talon from the smallest end to the thickest.
Claws or talons do not cause much damage to the skin; rather, they gradually expand the piercing hole. The good news is that you may use them at home to elongate your piercings.
You can also adjust the amount of stretch by moving your hands back and forth across the claws and talons. You have complete control over how much stretch you want to apply since you can see the earring hole as you push through the claw.
Make sure the claws are made of hypoallergenic material and don’t cause infections. Clean the claws before inserting them in the ears, and you’ll be OK.
4. Switching Gradually to Larger Jewelry
Start with what fits your ears. Continue to use it for a little while longer. Your earring holes will naturally loosen as a result of this. You can then insert larger gauze earrings into them. This process is time-consuming and can last for 1-2 years. It is, however, the safest and quickest method to stretch your ears.
5. Scalpelling
A professional is the only one who can execute scalpelling. It’s a body piercing treatment that’s frequently utilized to replace or improve existing piercings.
Scalpelling is similar to a surgical operation that uses a scalpel. A scalpel or a sharp blade may be used to cut a wound in the earlobe skin. You can make a larger hole that can fit larger gauge jewelry by using this method.
6- Dermal Punching
The technique of dermal punching is a difficult one that should only be done by an expert.
A dermal punch is a piercing instrument that removes part of the skin or tissue at the piercing site to make room for thicker gauge jewelry. Dermal punching leaves a big hole in the ear and almost destroys it.
Dermal punching is only for those who desire larger gauge ear piercings or cartilage piercing. A dermal punch, unlike a small piercing, does not require you to wear jewelry throughout the healing period.
