stretching your ears, for beginners;

First of all, do not use the phrase ‘gauging my ears’, a gauge is a size therefore you will look a tard. Its ‘stretching your ears’ ;)
so, if you want to start stretching your ears the first thing you are going to have to do is go out and buy yourself a taper or go to a piercing store where they will do it for you; which really seems like a waste of money to me but its up to you!
Your ears will have been pierced at either an 18 gauge or a 16gauge, so i would recommend your first stretch to be 12 gauge which is quite a reasonable size, however if you have a very low pain tolerance you could just stretch to 14gauge.
I always found my first stretch the most painful and hardest to push through, so to make it easier you should stretch right afew a warm shower or bath, massage your ears for afew minutes to increase your blood flow around your ears which will make your ears softer and make it easier to push your taper through. To make your taper slide in easier use sudocrem (not recommending it, but this is what i use and it works a treat just make sure to wash your ear after its through as sudocrem could dry or irritate your ear), or oil e.g. jojoba oil, emu oil or bio oil i actually use rescue oil which i got from poundland :L but havent had any problems with it; iv added a picture to show ya:’) and rub all over your taper and ear lobe.
Once you have the taper through, you should change your jewellery to either a plug or tunnel the same size as you just stretched too ( preferably straight after, because tapers should not be worn as jewellery). I would recommend not stretching again until atleast 2-3 weeks, i know its hard to wait but it is worth it in the long run as stretching to fast can increase scar tissue which means your ears may not heal/ close up properly later on if you want to go back to normal.

It is normal that your ears will swell up and be slightly sore for afew days after stretching so dont panic if they do like i did, your ears will be fine as long as you take good care of them and maintain them well. Also if you dont take care of your ears they will stink, reeeeally bad.

< HERES THE STUFF! 1 POUND! :'D

why tapers are bad for stretching your ears over 0 gauge....

-Tapers increase the chances of getting a blowout.
-Tapers are a way of rushing your ears, which will probably make them thinner the bigger you go.
-Using tapers to skip sizes will increase scar tissue, which will make it harder and take much longer for your ears to downsize or close up.
-Wearing tapers as jewellery is putting uneen weight on your ears.

the pro's and con's of stretched ears;

Pro’s;
-To me and alot of others they look amazinggg.
-Great conversation starter.
-Can be a sorta hobbie.
- Some people find them attractive.
-Can be used as an accesory.
-Alot of different jewellery for stretched ears.
-Form of expression.
-Something for people to buy you as a gift.
-Can get positive attention, respect from others who have stretched ears.
-Can give people confidence!
Con’s;
- People can often judge people with strethed ears in a bad way.
-Some people find them unattractive.
-Can cost alot of money(when all the money spent on plugs, tunnels and tapers that no longer fit your ears, and are useless are added up)   :/
-Can be a danger ( ripped out, blowouts, tears etc)
-Can be time consuming ( cleaning and maintaining)
-They STINK really bad if you forget to clean them.
-If they are not cared for properly, you could damage your ears.
-If you go past the no return gauge and no longer want them, you will be left with saggy ears or have to get them stitched up.
-They can possibly get frost bite if they are not kept warm in winter and get damaged or even splitt.
-If you have low pain tollerance you could find stretching painful.
-School will force you to take them out.
-Most employers will not employ people with stretched ears.