You may come to a point in your life when you will have to make your gauges less obvious. This could be for work or a job interview or any number of other reasons.

Many people find themselves needing to know how to close stretched ears fast. In fact, many people find them self wondering if this is even possible.

Well, people, I’m not going to lie to you and tell you this is the fastest method, but many people can return their ears to normal size without the need for surgery! This is definitely, without a shadow of a doubt the number one safest method!

Before taking any drastic measures in an attempt to shrink them lobes, try following the instructions you are about to read. Give this a go – you can’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!

Take Your Time

For those of you who are still in the stages of stretching your ears, take my word, you do not want to rush this part. You will regret it if you do!

Make sure you wait at least a month in between stretches, never stretch without lubrication and avoid acrylic tapers, plugs and tunnels (I recommend titanium or stainless steel).

Check it out: Ear Stretching For Beginners – A Complete Guide

Read the article I posted above and follow it step-by-step. That way you will make your life a heck of a lot easier when the time comes to start shrinking your stretched ears.

Gauging Down Your Ears

To put it simply, “gauging down” is the act of decreasing the size of your plugs gradually.

This is the safest and most effective way of shrinking your ear lobes back to their original size.

What you will need

• Plugs in all the sizes previous to your current gauge (lightweight jewelry works best). You basically need a complete ear stretching kit.
• Jojoba oil, coconut oil or vitamin E oil
• Cotton pads
• Bio-oil or Haemorrhoid cream for scarring

Reducing your Gauge Size

Once you have gathered all your supplies, you can get to the bit you’re here for – shrinking your ears!

The first step is to simply remove your current tunnel or plug.

Now whilst your plug/tunnel is out, massage your ear with jojoba oil, coconut oil or vitamin E oil. This will help moisten the skin and reduce scarring.

Now, simply insert a plug or tunnel which is one gauge size down from your current one. or example if you are currently 00G, then you need to switch to 0G.

You should wait about a week until you next gauge down. You need to allow your skin to shrink to the size of the plug you have put in.

Speeding up the Healing Process

Whilst you are waiting for the week to pass so you can gauge down again, there are other steps you can take to help your ears to close up that little bit quicker.

Here are some ways to heal up quicker:

Keep your ears clean

You will want to cleanse your ear holes using a saline solution. You can apply it to your ear using a cotton pad.

To make saline solution, all you need to do is mix a quarter of a teaspoon of sea salt into a cup of luke-warm water.

You could also use one of the specially designed piercing aftercare solutions available here.

Massage your ears daily

It has been proven by science that certain massage techniques can help scar tissue to heal by stimulating blood-flow to the area.

For this massage, your best bet is to use the jojoba oil/coconut oil you use for gauging down. Like I said, you should do this once a day, I would recommend doing it in the morning but it doesn’t matter too much.

Simply apply the oil to your ear and massage the lobe in a circular motion. Just do this for a couple of minutes, that should be enough.

You should also massage your ears whilst you are in the shower. This will also help to stimulate blood-flow.

Use Bio-Oil or haemorrhoid cream

This may sound bizarre but haemorrhoid cream is one of the best topical solutions you can get for reduction of scar tissue. Bio-Oil is highly effective too. Take your pick which one you use out of these two easy to find solutions.

All you need to do is massage the cream/oil into your ear, make sure to cover all the areas of hardened scar tissue. This will soften it up and allow easier and quicker healing. Hard scar tissue prevents the skin from healing back together properly, this is due to the skin being less elastic.

Do this at least every other day, preferably daily and you will start to see results. It will be worth it and it will make a big difference.

Use light-weight plugs or tunnels

Heavy plugs will only weigh down your ears and stop them from being able to shrink properly.

You should opt for tunnels as they are hollow and therefore lighter. Acrylic is fine to use whilst shrinking your earsbut I would still suggest wearing stainless steel or titanium.

If you need to hide your stretched ears in the meantime, you could always use flesh coloured ears plugs.

To Summarize

Take your time and follow this guide closely and it won’t be too long until your ears are back to their normal size.

Once your ears are back to normal you will be able to wear normal and dangly earrings again, like the old days.

You will need to allow a good few weeks or even months for your ears to look normal again, depending on how large you have stretched them. You cannot rush your body’s healing process.

If you really cannot wait this long, the only other option is to have surgery to correct your ear lobes.

I hope you found this guide helpful and have found all the information you need. If you have any tips or questions on closing stretched ears, please leave a comment below.

In Order to Close Stretched Ears You Will Need an Ear Stretching Kit – Buy One Here

Here is a beautiful chart I have made for you. This chart is about as accurate as you will get.

Hope this comes in handy for you.

What size are you up to? Let me know  in the comments.

This ancient form of body modification has made a massive comeback. What was once done for religious and traditional is now used as a form of self-expression and an form of body art.

If you have made the decision to go ahead and stretch your ears, you are going to need to know the correct procedure. Stretching your lobes too fast or too big can cause permanent damage to the skin.

Follow this guide to ear stretching for beginners to make sure you are doing it right and not causing yourself any unnecessary damage.

What you need

You can buy complete ear stretching kits with all the items you need. This is usually the cheapest way and can actually save you good money.

If you want to buy the pieces separately then

here is the list of you will need:

• Oil or lubricant
• Steel or titanium tapers. No not use acrylic or any organic materials for stretching. Same applies to plugs.
• No-flare or single-flare plugs
• Anti-bacterial non-scented and non-alcoholic soap
• Saline solution. You can make your own from sea salt and warm water or purchase on the web or from your piercer.
• PTFE or plumber’s tape or bondage tape (this is only needed for stretching to larger sizes)

Make sure you buy your stretching supplies from a reputable source. Also do not use tapers or plugs which have been used by someone else already.

Once you have acquired all the bits and bobs you need you may continue.

Know your gauge sizes

Ear gauging jewelry sizes are measured in Gauges, which range from 20g as the smallest and 00g as they largest. Anything of a larger size than that would be measured in inches or millimetres.

If you are serious about ear stretching you should probably learn the different Gauge sizes.

This will really help you to understand and follow each step of the process as closely as possible.

Here is a chart I made to help you out with learning your gauge sizes:

Ready to get stretching? Here we go then!

Step #1: Figure out your gauge size

Think back to when you got your ears pierced. Was it done with a gun or a needle?

If you got your ears pierced with a gun then your current gauge size would be between 20g and 18g, in this case you should start on a 16g. If a needle was used to pierce your ears, your current gauge would be 16g and you can begin your stretching with a 14g.

Word of advice: If your ear piercing is not completely healed then you should not begin stretching until it is!

Also, wash your hands before you start.

Step #2: Prepare your ear

You need to smother your ear in oil or lube. I recommend you use Jojoba oil, Holey Butt’r or surgical grade lubricants. Any one of these can work well.

Do NOT use any water based lubricants as they can hold bacteria. This includes vasoline and lotion.

Apply the same lube or oil to the taper you will be using. This will help prevent friction between your ear and the taper. Friction can cause pain and other problems.

Step #3: Time to stretch that lobe!

This is the bit you’ve been waiting for!

Now all you need to do is take your lubed up taper and just gently insert it, smaller end first. It should slide in with ease. Keep pushing it until you get to the thickest part. Once it is all the way through to the thickest part,

Do not force it or rush it! Just take your time and pay attention to any signals your body gives you. It might sting a bit but if the pain gets too much you should stop immediately. Severe pain is not normal and may imply that your ear is not ready for stretching.

Step #4: Insert your plug

Tapers are not suitable for day to day wear, they are designed to be used as tools only due to the weight of them, which could cause damage to the skin.

To replace your taper with your plug:

1. Align your plug up directly with the thick end of your taper, like it is an attachment.
2. Once you have pushed the taper in up to the thickest part you will want to continue to push until it comes out the other end.
3. You should still be holding the plug attached to the end of the taper, the plug should go in as the taper comes out.
4. Repeat the process for your other ear.

Hopefully you are happy with the plugs you have chosen. If not you will just have to get used to them. You will be leaving these plugs in your ears for at least a month before moving on to the next gauge size.

Step #5: Aftercare

If you have performed your stretch correctly, there should be no need for any immediate aftercare.

A couple  of days after the stretch you can massage your ear with a small amount of the oil you used for the stretch. This will help to stimulate blood flow to your ear lobe, therefore assist the healing process.

Do NOT apply alcoholic solutions to your ear as it can cause irritation and slow the healing.

Whilst your ear is healing there should be no bleeding and very little pain. You may feel a slight stinging or tingling sensation, which is not a cause for concern.

If you notice any more serious symptoms, remove the jewelry instantly. Return to you previous gauge size.

Get your timing right

You should wait at least a month before attempting to step up to your next size.

In the mean time, after a couple of weeks you can try out different plugs in your current size. Have some fun with it! You can get some really cool plugs for any size.

Questions and Answers

What is the point of no return?

This is a commonly debated subject but most body modification experts agree that most people can get away with stretching up to a 2 to 0g without permanent damage. Once you stretch your ears beyond 2g to 0g it becomes more difficult for you ears to return to their normal size.

This may vary a bit from person to person. Afterall, everyone’s body works differently!

Also, if you skipped sizes and stretched too fast it will be less likely that you ears return to normal.

Have I got an infection?

If you take your time when stretching your ear and care for it properly the likelihood of infection is very low. It is perfectly normal to experience some redness and swelling whilst a freshly stretched ear is healing.

If your symptoms are worsening or last for more than a week,  this may be a sign that your ear is getting infected.

Some of the symptoms to watch out for are:

• Severe pain, redness or swellin, symptoms that persist for more than a week or worsen.
• Oozing yellow, green or grey puss or foul smelling fluids.
• Fever like symptoms such as weakness, dizziness or nausea.

If you happen to experience any of these symptoms you should seek medical help immediately. The infection could cause long-term damage to the skin or worse, spread to other parts of the body.

What types of ear stretching jewelry are there?

About two weeks after your last stretch you can start safely experimenting with different jewelry.

There are many types of jewelry available here are some of the main types:

• Tunnels – When tunnels are worn in a stretched ear you are able to see through the ear lobe. These are more common in larger gauge sizes. These are held in place by two O-rings
• Single flared Earlets – Similar to a tunnel except they are held in place with an O-ring on one side and a flare on the other side.
• Double flare earlets – Do not come with O-rings. Held in place by a flare at each end.
• Plugs – The solid, non-see through option. Held in place by O-rings, much like Tunnels are.
• Flared plugs – Solid piece of jewelry which is kept in the hole via a flare at each end.

Conclusion

I know stretching your ears properly may feel like a slow process.

At least this way you won’t get a nasty infection though!

When you do achieve your goal gauge size you will be proud of yourself for doing it properly. If you rush the process you will end up with a deformed ear and a head-full of regret!

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask in the comments.

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