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Ear gauging- opinions?

#44
OK, so a few of the guys in the shop I get work done in have had 30+ tunnels and gone back to normal, they just wear normal ear rings now, or have a hole *slightly* more noticeable than a normal pierce.

The most important thing is stretching them out. Don't use tapers, use tape. Take it very slow. If/when you want them out, same thing but in reverse. Go down sizes by tape and take it slow. That's what from I've been told/seen (about going downsize).

I'm at 10mm now, I do want to go bigger but my left one was damaged bad when someone ripped it (not so) clean out of my ear at a gig so it'll be a long time to consider.

In any activity where there's a chance you could have one pulled out (if there is any), then wear flat plugs and keep them in with o rings. That way if they do get pulled, there's no taper or lip that is going to get pulled through that is bigger than the hole already.

Also, they smell like crap. If you don't want them to I recommend using wooden plugs when you're at the size you want as wood doesn't smell and lets the ears breath. If you use metal you can start to smell them after a few days or so.
 
#45
When I was a kid I had a 2 and 4 guage in my left ear and a 1/2 inch in my right. It was cool then I guess, but what concerns me is that if this was cool ten years ago, how is it still being done. I got lucky and never devolped those unsightly lumps, even though I did all the guaging myself. It ws cool to put 9mm rounds in my ear and let my friends find random objects to jam into the hole just to see if it would fit, but the novelty wore off. When I got a real job at 17 I had to put 8 guage hoops in all three, and it looked kinda dumb. Now I am in the military and the two smaller holes have closed, but you can see where they were, and the bigger one is about a 6 guage now. I don't particularly care about it, but there will come a time when guaged ears no longer appeal to you or are no longer viable in your daily life. At that time, you will still have them.
 
#46
get them peirced small don't have them take the whole chunk out at the same time.
Reason being if you get it peirced small say 14ga when you stretch them out, you may decide you don't want them anymore and the skin is able to shrink back down.
Also I wouldn't go for bigger the 1/2" for the same reason.

I was one step up from 1/2 but they shrank down back to less than a 0 and you can barely notice. Before I let them shrink for a couple years and they went back to the 14ga.

oh and don't ram the tapper through all the way at once that hurts like a bastard.



edit: damn thread I need to stretch mine out again, "F" the man.
 
#47
I think they look bad. I think they look especially bad on women. If you are going to wear something in a hole in your ear, especially if you are a female, it should be ridiculously expensive. Cramming a grommet through your ear is neither fashionable, nor expensive. It's not like you need to route cables or hydraulic lines through your earlobe. What's the deal with the grommet?

Of course, the usual disclaimers apply; IMHO IME YMMV.......
 
#48
Phalex said:
I think they look bad. I think they look especially bad on women. If you are going to wear something in a hole in your ear, especially if you are a female, it should be ridiculously expensive. Cramming a grommet through your ear is neither fashionable, nor expensive. It's not like you need to route cables or hydraulic lines through your earlobe. What's the deal with the grommet?

Of course, the usual disclaimers apply; IMHO IME YMMV.......
Click to expand...

to each his own, personally hoops or studs look like crap to me.
 
#52
Fassa Albrecht said:
my uni wouldn't be too impressed stops me from going too mental.
Click to expand...

Really? Does Newcastle Uni have a dress code or something? Because I've never heard about a university caring about the appearance of it's students.



EDIT: My opinion on the gauging thing is that some people can pull it off, but many people make it look horrible. Smaller is better. And I have never seen a girl with stretched ears that I found attractive.
 
#53
If you have a future plan outside the corp world, by all means, indulge.

"The man" likes to look for things that you and I aren't bothered by, like neck tattoos, sleeves, dangling earlobes, etc.

I've sat in to consult on plenty of interviews for 100K+ jobs and a Harvard degree doesn't cancel a neck tattoo in the world of business.
 
#55
southernrocker said:
Don't do it, you'll look like a freak. If you don't want anyone decent to hire you, then be my guest.
Click to expand...

I've seen plenty of people in corporate jobs with 'unusual' piercings.

6jase5 said:
If you have a future plan outside the corp world, by all means, indulge.

"The man" likes to look for things that you and I aren't bothered by, like neck tattoos, sleeves, dangling earlobes, etc.

I've sat in to consult on plenty of interviews for 100K+ jobs and a Harvard degree doesn't cancel a neck tattoo in the world of business.
Click to expand...

Difference is that as people in this thread have stated, you can simply take earrings out- you can't take a tattoo off.

Happynoj said:
Really? Does Newcastle Uni have a dress code or something? Because I've never heard about a university caring about the appearance of it's students.
Click to expand...

I phrased that badly, what I should have said is that with the more visible and publicised parts of uni life, you're unlikely to be selected/hired/chosen for these with tats/weird piercings/etc.


EDIT: My opinion on the gauging thing is that some people can pull it off, but many people make it look horrible. Smaller is better. And I have never seen a girl with stretched ears that I found attractive.[/QUOTE]

True...

Phalex said:
I think they look bad. I think they look especially bad on women. If you are going to wear something in a hole in your ear, especially if you are a female, it should be ridiculously expensive. Cramming a grommet through your ear is neither fashionable, nor expensive. It's not like you need to route cables or hydraulic lines through your earlobe. What's the deal with the grommet?

Of course, the usual disclaimers apply; IMHO IME YMMV.......
Click to expand...

In some cultures it's pretty much mandatory for women to stretch their ears....
 
#56
And in some cultures its mandatory for women to be subservient to men, to be sex slaves, to stretch their neck a foot, and to castrate themselves. Culture be *%$^ed, what part of English cultural heritage contained ear guaging?

Its your call, whatever, but face it, its a thing young people do, its a fad or trend like anything else kids do. Like I said, I did it and I don't really have regrets per se, but even if I could put my guages back in, I wouldn't. Just not my thing anymore.
 
#57
Phalex said:
I think they look bad. I think they look especially bad on women. If you are going to wear something in a hole in your ear, especially if you are a female, it should be ridiculously expensive. Cramming a grommet through your ear is neither fashionable, nor expensive. It's not like you need to route cables or hydraulic lines through your earlobe. What's the deal with the grommet?

Of course, the usual disclaimers apply; IMHO IME YMMV.......
Click to expand...

The grommet is to keep the plug in. Your ears still collect and produce all sorts of things, mainly dead skin. It gets slimey if they're not kept clean, and a little bit of moisture in there can loosen them right up. They either need a taper, lip or grommet/o ring to old them in.

As for not being expensive, I've paid $50 for most sets, and around $100 for a pair of nice ones. Mine are all wood or metal, I'm sure you can get ones out there with real diamonds and what not.

I've seen some real beautiful women with tunnels or plugs in their ears, they definitely don't look cheaper than some slapper with massive hoop earrings hanging off the side of her head ;)
 
#60
I'm not anti modification or an old stuffy fogey. (I am 45 years old though). I love tats. I have 8 of them and will get more.

I'm not anti piercing. I think some can be damn sexy on girls, especially eyebrow and nose.

I think ear stretching is one of the most disgusting and unsightly things you can do to yourself. I've never seen anyone it looked good on. Just my two cents.
 

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