Afraid of tissue damage or permanently expanded lobes? Stretch your ears with tapers for smart, low-gauge tunnels, hygienically and safely.
Back in the 2000s and 2010s, men were stretching their ears way past the point of no return to accommodate huge, plate‑like plugs that dominated the face.
Nowadays, low‑gauge flesh tunnels are the popular choice. They’re as rugged as larger plugs and tunnels but work as an accessory rather than a statement. Or, put another way, they’re a more masculine alternative to earrings and just as mainstream.
Following the expert advice of a piercing studio and specialist jewelry retailer, I stretched my own ears using the taper method, which is ideal for lower gauges. Tapers are long, conical-shaped stretching tools, also called “stretchers” or “expanders” (see the image below).
This article explains how to stretch safely, with emphasis on hygiene and avoiding risks.
What You Need to Know Before Stretching Your Ears
Although it’s a form of body modification, stretching is harmless as long as you do it properly. It’s mostly a question of taking your time, so don’t rush things, no matter how eager you are.
But harmless does not mean non-committal. Therefore, give it a lot of serious thought before you begin.
What Is the “Point of No Return?”
The “point of no return” is the point at which a stretched ear piercing never shrinks back to its original size. For most people, it’s 00g (see gauge conversion table below), but it could be less or more for you—everybody is different. That means surgery might be the only way to close your stretched earlobes, even if you don’t go beyond what for most people is the “point of no return.”
If you know from the outset that stretched ears may one day be inappropriate in certain facets of your life, don’t stretch. Earrings are a better choice.
The Effects of Scarring
One reason a stretched piercing might not shrink or close up again is scarring, which is caused by stretching too fast and/or inserting jewelry that is too big.
The damage occurs beneath the skin, so you can’t actually see what’s happening— but you can feel it. If you experience pain, stop what you’re doing, put your smaller gauge jewelry back in, and wait a month before you continue to stretch.
Another problem is that scar tissue can make it difficult or near impossible to stretch further.
You can easily prevent scarring by stretching very slowly and gently.
What Is a “Blow Out?”
If you insert jewelry that is too large, the piercing can turn in on itself, creating an ugly disfiguration. This is what is called a “blow out.” The only thing to do is revert to smaller gauge jewelry and hope it corrects itself.
If there’s no improvement after a couple of days, consult a piercer.
Gauge Conversion Table
| Gauge | Millimeters | Inches |
|---|---|---|
| 20g | 0.8 mm | 1/32″ |
| 18g | 1.0 mm | 5/128″ |
| 16g | 1.2 mm | 3/64″ |
| 14g | 1.6 mm | 1/16″ |
| 12g | 2.0 mm | 5/64″ |
| 10g | 2.4 mm | 3/32″ |
| 8g | 3.2 mm | 1/8″ |
| 6g | 4.0 mm | 5/32″ |
| 4g | 5.0 mm | 3/16″ |
| 2g | 6.0–6.5 mm | 1/4″ |
| 0g | 8.0 mm | 1/3″ |
| 00g | 9.0–10.0 mm | 3/8″ |
| — | 11.0 mm | 7/16″ |
| — | 12.7 mm | 1/2″ |
| — | 14.0 mm | 9/16″ |
| — | 16.0 mm | 5/8″ |
| — | 19.0 mm | 3/4″ |
| — | 22.0 mm | 7/8″ |
| — | 25.0 mm | 1″ |
What You Need to Stretch Your Ears
- A taper in the size or gauge you want to stretch your ears to
- Flesh tunnels (use only non-porous materials like glass, stainless steel, or titanium, and don’t use double flared plugs until at least two weeks after stretching)
- Medical grade liquid antibacterial soap
- Lubricating gel of personal or medical grade
- Saline solution
- Wheat germ or jojoba oil
Piercing Your Ears
Before you can even think about stretching, you need to pierce your ears. Get it done by a piercer—a jeweler’s gun is likely to pierce askew, which makes stretching difficult.
You should never stretch a piercing unless it is fully healed, so get your ears pierced at least two months before you begin to stretch.
With Which Gauge Should You Begin to Stretch?
If a jeweler pierced your ears with a gun, your piercings are 18 or 20g. In that case, you can start stretching at 14 or 16g.
If your ears were pierced at a piercing studio, they’re probably 14 or 16g, which means you can begin at 12g.
Ask a piercer if you don’t know which size your piercings presently are.
Stretch your ears one gauge at a time, and leave at least a month between each stretching. If you start with 20g, it should take you eight months or mor to reach 4g, which is as large as you can go before your jewelry becomes a statement rather than an accessory.
How to Stretch Your Ears in Five Steps
Step 1: Soften Tissue
Start by taking a steamy bath or shower to soften the tissue. This eases the stretching process.
Step 2: Clean
Wash the taper, the jewelry, your earlobes, and your hands thoroughly with medical-grade antibacterial soap.
To be absolutely certain that everything is sterile, you can boil metal tapers and jewelry. Just make sure they’ve cooled down before handling or inserting.
Step 3: Lubricate
Apply personal or medical grade lubricating gel to your earlobe and the taper.
In spite of what you may have heard elsewhere, do not lubricate with oil or oil-based products like petroleum jelly—they propagate bacteria, which causes infection.
Step 4: Insert the Taper
Insert the taper into your piercing as far as you can without force, then move it slowly and gently to and fro. You should experience a slight tingling sensation as the piercing widens.
If you feel even the slightest discomfort, you’re working too quickly. In this case, fix the taper in place with its O-rings and wait an hour or two until your ear has calmed down.
If your ear starts to feel sore and inflamed, put your old jewelry back in and wait a month before attempting to stretch again.
Because they’re not of a balanced shape and weight, tapers are not suitable as permanent jewelry. If you want to use a stretching tool as jewelry, you need a spiral-shaped taper, which has more of a statement-making vibe than simple flesh tunnels.
Step 5: Insert the Jewelry
When the broad end of the taper is flush with your earlobe, use the flesh tunnel to push it right through.
When the taper drops out, the flesh tunnel should have taken its place in your piercing. Now you can secure it with either its O-ring or threaded back, depending on the type you’re using.
By the way: Externally threaded tunnels, like those in the image below, can scratch the inside of a fresh stretch. Choose internally threaded tunnels instead—the outside surface is completely smooth, so that the jewelry passes through your ear without causing damage.
Aftercare
If You’ve Stretched Your Ears Properly
If you’ve stretched your ears properly, there should be no blood or pain.
Leave your ears alone for a couple of days until the larger jewelry feels comfortable or doesn’t feel tight. After that, clean your piercing and the jewelry daily with antibacterial soap. If you don’t, a buildup of sebum and dead skin cells may cause infection.
You can also massage stretched piercings with jojoba or wheat germ oil to stimulate circulation and speed up the healing process, but wait until the new jewelry feels comfortable.
If You Experience Pain and Soreness
If you experience pain and soreness, it’s probably the result of stretching too fast or inserting jewelry that is too big.
Take the larger jewelry out immediately and replace it with the previous, smaller jewelry.
Clean the jewelry and piercing daily with antibacterial soap, as well as bathing the piercing in a saline solution for five to ten minutes. You can either buy the solution from a pharmacy or mix your own with ¼ teaspoon of non‑iodized salt in 240 mL (one cup) of warm water.
If the soreness persists after two or three days, consult a piercer or medical practitioner.
Don’t try to stretch again until your ear has completely recovered, which could take up to six weeks.
Ongoing Care
Once the stretch has fully healed, switch to washing your ears with your normal face and body wash, and clean the jewelry every few days rather than daily. Always dry the skin and jewelry thoroughly since moisture encourages bacteria and odor.
An occasional massage with jojoba oil or wheat germ oil helps keep the lobe supple and comfortable.
Stretching Your Ears with the Taping Method
After you’ve stretched to 6 or 4g, you might want to expand further using the taping method. Although tapers are available in sizes of up to one inch, the taping method is a more comfortable and gentle way of stretching. Just wind two or three layers of either bondage tape or PTFE tape around your plug or flesh tunnel, adding new layers once every two or three weeks.
Dead Stretching
Dead stretching means inserting slightly larger jewelry without using a taper or tape. Like the taping method, it’s more suitable for larger gauges.
In spite of what you may have heard elsewhere, it is not safer than the taper method.
Dead stretching only works when:
- you’ve allowed your last stretch six to eight weeks to heal
- the current jewelry feels genuinely loose
- the next size slides in with zero resistance
- there is no tightness, pressure, or discomfort
If you feel anything more than a mild widening sensation, stop immediately. Forcing jewelry through a tight piercing is how long‑term damage begins.
I didn’t go beyond 4g and when my tunnels no longer fitted my life, my lobes shrank back to their natural size. Do it properly and in moderation, and you can move on whenever you’re ready.
This updated article was originally published in 2014 and appeared on the now defunct tatring.com.
© 2026 J. Richardson
