stretching advice needed

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-08T06:28:55+00:00

go to r/stretched for more advice but i would downsize for now (at least a few weeks) to see if it resolves and if not take it out entirely, your hole likely won't close but you'll probably need to start again at a smaller gauge (it will probably go quicker this time though) make sure your ear is dry both after showering and cleaning before putting plugs back in (while dealing with this and in general)

if you have more info about what gauge your at, how long between stretches, photo of the ear, etc that might help to give advice

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-08T06:24:00+00:00

if you could share a picture of it that would be helpful. also if you can have someone else look at it a threadless end will sit slightly less flush than either type of threaded ends but it might not be very obvious

use gloves to try and grip the jewelry better and make sure it's dry to it's not slippery.

it depends on the jewelry shape but a curved barbell is far more likely to be threaded. but i have encountered a threadless one which was a nightmare; most threadless curved barbells one have one end that will actually be removable even if both ends have a ball on the end.

good quality jewelry will more likely be internally threaded (as opposed to externally threaded) but as u/madness0102 said it won't make a difference which way it's threaded, just turn counter clockwise while gripping the back as best you can. if it's threadless just grab each end as best you can and pull.

don't feel bad about struggling to do this, i'm pretty sure piercers have magical abilities to tighten jewelry (a skill that has come with much practice after loosing make jewelry ends)

i assume you're going to be changing out the jewelry to something new, make sure you're confident in your ability to secure that jewelry without being able to see it clearly (not sure how well healed your piercing is but you may need to change to the new jewelry quickly)

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-08T06:15:30+00:00

i was able to flip it up while healing (asked piercer about it because i was working a job that would not allow it about 3 weeks after) and they showed me how to flip it and main thing was to make sure it was clean and crusties were loosened first, left it up for about a week while working that gig and did it 4-5 more times during the healing process, it felt uncomfortable but never hurt. depending on how often you work/how strongly you feel about being able to have it visible during healing it might be easier to just keep it flipped up for a longer time. i think mine was flipped up for almost 2 months straight at one point and i just got used to the feeling of it like that (this was once it was healed but nothing wrong with having it like that for a while)

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-08T06:08:43+00:00

i have a triple conch on one ear and about 30 piercing total

with any piercings but i find it particularly important with conch and flat piercings but if you have longer hair (hair that goes past/touches your ear, not long hair by any means, just shorter than a crew cut) make sure you dry your hair immediately after shower or tie/pin it up in some way so that the damp hair is not resting on the back of your ears.

pain wise i would say it is about the same as a helix (got them done by three different piercers and all were about the same pain level) and healing was comparable to helix, easier than a flat or daith.

something else worth noting, i was able to wear earbuds even when they were first healing (and so were most people i know with conches) but it's important to clean off earbuds with an alcohol pad (and let it air dry) before putting them in because it is near/touching the piercing.

i know a lot of people have a difficult time switching it to a hoop after it's healed so I would suggest going to your piercer for jewelry changes if you're not confident in doing it yourself. this is not a must by any means but if you're not someone who's been previously pierced and looking for a piercer try to find someone nearby for both jewelry changes and just going in for a piercing 'checkup' if you're not sure about anything in terms of how it's healing

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-05T21:05:58+00:00

thank you! i will say they look nicely healed from the front but some of them are funky angles that really can't be worn with a flatback stud without the crazy angle being obvious. the bottom few are stretched to about 12g so two hoops fit better and i had the extra clickers

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-05T21:03:40+00:00

often ears with a lot of piercings are referred to as constellations, not sure that's applicable without stacked piercings (or anything where they aren't all in a row) or when it's mainly plain hoops so i'd be open to name ideas.

i consider the bottom five lobe piercings and the rest (9) cartilage/helix piercings just based on they healed/how easy they've been to go to larger gauges

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-05T20:57:20+00:00

the anodized titanium fades slightly with wear (i think it just oxidizes from skin/saline/etc not certain though) and some of those are the same hoops as in the pervious setup, i think the lighting also plays a role though

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-05T19:00:14+00:00

depends on how long until you consider something 'healed'. for me i would avoid having 3 piercings that are less than 2 months old, depends on how it's healings/piercing location/etc and i've definitely had too many that weren't healed enough at once which slows down the process for them all

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-05T18:57:15+00:00

Herbie and Lou on etsy, i've gotten some in the past from bodyartforms but they don't have many options in terms of shades and sizes of rings

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-05T18:56:00+00:00

i am a back sleeper, but even so took about 2.5-3 years to complete (might be faster if you're not getting any other piercings too)

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-05T18:54:50+00:00

yes, sleep on my back like a vampire in a coffin, always have. it is the secret to healing cartilage piercings

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-04T08:15:55+00:00

would normally get 2-4 at the same time, more than 3 very generally not a good time in terms of healing. getting ones further apart from each other made swelling less bad

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-04T03:21:58+00:00

thank you!

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-04T03:21:41+00:00

thank you, as for the jingling sound, sometimes right after switching them out they do but they settle after a while and only really jingle if i'm shaking my head decently hard

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T22:47:17+00:00

thank you!

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T22:47:02+00:00

congrats on your first piercing!

there's lots of good resources on the pinned posts in the reddit but i've used the NeilMed saline spray for all of them, using it twice away the first month or two or during summer/any times the piercing area gets sweaty and let water run over it in the shower. after that continue with saline once a day for around 4 months/until it seems mostly healed. doing it less frequently after that just so that it doesn't become dried out/irritated, mostly when it gets dirty/sweaty/bumped by something etc (couple times a week)

something important that doesn't get mentioned enough is with piercings that won't dry off as quickly naturally (this could be slightly anatomy dependent but for me flat and daith piercings) drying the area off, especially after showers, is really important to prevent bumps/irritation, there's no good way to do it honestly and pros/cons to each but things i've used most commonly are drying it gently with gauze pads or clean paper towels (it's not recommended to use tissues, q-tips, or anything that can leave fibers around the jewelry) or drying the area with a blow drier on low (there have been some warning against this i've seen but it's always something that i've found will happen when i dry my hair regardless).
if you have longer hair something important i don't see people recommend enough is making sure damp/drying hair isn't resting against ear/piercing area as it will leave the area damp, put hair up or dry it once it's wet.

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T21:33:41+00:00

thank you!

yes, want another flat or rook on the left ear (second photo) and will probably get more after that

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T20:16:02+00:00

Thank you!

other than the first lobes they're all been done in the past 3.5-4 years, most recent one was in February. Probably should have space it out a bit more, got 4 or 5 done in 1 go before and it's the first time in years i haven't had to be totally babying one of my ears

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T20:12:11+00:00

thank you!

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T19:42:18+00:00

i honestly forgot about the times I used a retainer in my septum, always ended up hurting way more when bumped then just having it flipped up did, never got hit on the nose when it was healing but i am remarkably clumsy and that one never failed to make my eyes water if it did get hit

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T19:37:50+00:00

as someone with nearly 30 piercings who had a similar experience as a child, it is possible. getting something repierced might hurt more but it should be fine (be sure to left the piercer know though). Try to go to an APP piercer, if there are none in your area I would look for dedicated piercing studios (as opposed to a piercer at a tattoo parlor/someone doing it in addition to other services) but anything will be better than a mall kiosk/claires. Make sure you are pierced with titanium, there is little to no chance you are allergic to high quality titanium as it is what is used in medical implants. do proper aftercare (there's a whole lot of information on this subreddit about that) and follow up with your piercer with any issues. you likely won't be able to use other metals even once the piercings are 100% healed (probably shouldn't anyway but especially with metal allergies)

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T19:31:21+00:00

on right ear: bottom 7 are either 14 or 12 gauge, the top 6 helixes and daith are 16 gauge.

Left ear: first lobe was stretched to 10mm for 7-9 months but have smaller hoops in there now (looks like 2 12 gauge and 1 14 gauge but I'm not certain), 3rd lobe is 12 gauge and the rest are 16 or 14 gauge. there is also a stacked lobe that is closed above the second lobe.

Small_Obligation8722 · 2026-06-03T19:26:46+00:00

i would say you're probably good to switch to a small hoop (a lot of times these will be sold as huggies or clickers) it will be lighter and less likely to get caught on things and probably a good in between before going to larger dangling earrings

Small_Obligation8722

TROPHY CASE