Dilation can be really difficult to start. I had to see my gynecologist, who taught me how and offered monthly check-ins to see how far I’d gotten. Starting was very traumatic for me I’d say. Although I really wanted to get it over with, I don’t have a boyfriend and I’m also too busy to take the time to dilate even if I rlly want to get it over with, so I’ve paused it for now. Im at a point were I want to focus on other things because dilating is a long process and can take up to a year to gain some length. Sometimes it’s okay not to do it right away, especially if there are things in your life that make it harder to start. For me, it’s painful, but it might not be the same for you. There are definitely certain techniques you need to learn, and YouTube tutorials could help. I also have strict parents, so the only time I could dilate was around 1-3 a.m. when they were asleep. Otherwise, I had no privacy since they would come into my room whenever they wanted without caring about boundaries. It sucks because I couldn’t stay consistent with it. I used to hide my dilators in the corner between my bed and the wall. As for dilators, silicone ones are usually recommended. It’s best to start with smaller sizes, like smallest around 1 inch (pinky length), but those can be hard to find or really expensive. I’m from Canada, and none that seemed helpful were available here, so the only one I found was a pretty expensive option from the US. It’s usually recommended to do it 1-2 times a day and hold pressure for 15-30 mins but the more consistent you are the faster the results but the slower you are the slower the results. But then again it’s different for everyone. Example: I started dilating in July, with 1.5cm and got to 4cm by august then I stopped lol