How to stretch your ears safely

I've seen WAY too many people on tiktok lately stretch from 20g to 00g in a month and whine when their ears get blown out, so here's a guide on how to... not do that.

ANECDOTE - my stretching journey, feel free to skip.

I started stretching in may 2025, and had a fair few blowouts when I started stretching, but haven't since I actually started listening to the old people on reddit. I'm currently at 6.5mm, which is a quatrer size between 2g and 0g. 

GETTING STARTED

Make sure your ear piercings are fully healed before starting. At minimum, wait 4 months, but 6 is ideal. Most piercers will pierce at 18g, but some places use 20g. If you can check with your piercer, it'll make things a lot easier. That said, the jump between 20g and 16g is only 0.4mm, so it isn't the end of the world if you skip a size. 

JEWELRY

I cannot stress how important material is in stretching. I started with one of those shitty acrylic amazon kits and every stretch was SO painful. Avoid acrylic, silicone and organic materials like wood at all costs, as they are not only really hard to stretch with, but trap bacteria and put you at risk for infection. Glass, titanium and surgical steel are all hypoallergenic and fairly cheap. For sites, (especially if you're in the UK) I recommend stretch it body jewelry. They have a great range of sizes and aftercare, although for quarter sizes you'll have to stray. Another word of advice, buy single-flare gauges. Double flair requires you to stretch your ear beyond the size you want in order to put it in. 

SIZE JUMPS AND HOW LONG TO WAIT

0.2 mm jumps -> 1.5 weeks

0.5mm jumps -> 2.5 weeks

1mm jumps -> 1.5 months (this is where i recommend half sizes)

2mm jumps -> 2.5 months (this is where i recommend qauter sizes)

These are the absolute minimums, please listen to your body. If your ears are throbbing, red and painful, wait for them to fully heal before stretching up again. 

BLOWOUTS AND MICRO TEARS

For blowouts, downsize 1-3 sizes to relieve pressure and clean the area with saline solution daily for 1-2 weeks. Once everything looks normal again, SLOWLY, stretch back up. For micro-tears, STOPPPP. Treat it like a fresh piercing, clean it and wait until it's FULLY healed. 

PAIN

Stretching should not be painful, discomfort it normal but outright pain is not. If it starts to hurt, stop, and buy a half or quarter size. It is not worth it to suffer through the pain just to end up with butthole lobes.