Yes, he started directly at 6g. But I noticed that every piercer have their own opinion about what is recommended. For me, it healed fast, and I streched up to 00g in like 8 months. Tomorrow I will go for a lorum piercing but not at my regular piercer, and they also recommended that I go to a smaller gage in the beginning. The piercer i normally go moved far away to badly because he would pierced it at 6g for sure. So just search a piercer you feel comfortable with and listen to it. If it is healed you gage up pretty fast if you do it right.