ear piercing

[voodoo]

what is a good size to start out with if im going to stretch it to a size 2 hole? 8g is what was rec. to me as the largest to start with.

[gremlin]

My ear started like a lot of folks with a simple starter wire stud from walmart. a few years later I was playing around with my wifes jewlrey
(she has gauged ears) and i got an 18 gauge to go into the hole. I wore it for about 6 months and bought a 14gauge and got it to go in. I repeated this until now 2 1/2 years later i am wearing a 4gauge. and it wasn't that uncomfortable even though it took a long while to do. Adam probably is the best one to ask about this have you sent him a Pm yet?

[MontanaPiercer]

There is no reason you couldn't start with a 2 gauge. I have done initial insertions as large as 5/8". If you wanted 2 gauge I would probably pierce you at 4 gauge and do an immediate taper to 2, or just do a scalpel insertion. I can't imagine the reasoning behind limiting your initial piercing to 8 gauge, unless the piercer you spoke to just wasn't comfortable doing it any larger than that based on your particular anatomy. In the piercing world, the limits are based purely on the skill of the practitioner and the anatomy you have to work with. You want two gauge, there are some skilled piercers out there who could do that for you easily. The downside to large needle piercings is that there is sometimes a small skin tag that doesn't cut cleanly via the needle bevel, that must be removed. I generally do it with a pair of surgical scissors.... snip snip.

[stealthninjamark]

i dunno anything about this but am interested. sorry if this sounds stupid.
but, if you pierce a hole that big in your ear, does it ever heal back together if you decide to one day take them out.
ive heard for ages that even if you start small and guage your ears, they dont ever close up if you take them out.

[MontanaPiercer]

There is no hard rules when it comes to this. Everyone is different in their experience with this topic. It is generally accepted among professionals that any hole stretched above 0g will probably not close. It will shrink as any piercing will but you will still have a visible hole. Most times we expect about a 50% shrinkage when the jewelry is removed. No hole once well healed will ever close completely. Think of it this way, once skin has formed in the fistula, then short of abrasion there is no way for the skin to connect...just as no matter how long you hold your hands together they will never grow together. However if you remove the jewelry while healing, then yes, it will close.

[stealthninjamark]

lol. that seems like common sense now that i think of it the way you put it.
that would suck if hands could grow together.

[gremlin]

and if hands could grow together, think about it other things could grow together like um something to the side of your leg....... :roll:

[Unnerving]

I have pierced with a 2g dermal punch. But the hole will never fully close. But, some people don't want their holes to close and want to go big, directly.

[MontanaPiercer]

Dermal punching isn't the best way to go with soft tissue like lobes. Yes, it gives a big hole, but you loose that tissue. Tissue that can be used for later stretches. A scalpel is a much better instrument for large gauge insertion in soft tissue. Keep the dermal punches for cartilage, cause there is no good reason to give up that tissue in your lobes, when a simple flick of the wrist, and a good sharp scalpel is all you need.

[Talon]

Montana you said about using a scalpel. i was wondering if this is medical training or what you would learn from a profisional that does this in his/her shop?

[MontanaPiercer]

Tattooing is the only thing I have done an actual apprenticeship for. All other modification procedures, such as piercing, branding, scalpelling, cutting, and suspension, I am self taught. I learned through research, and many times experimentation on myself or close friends. My medical training definitely doesn't hurt, but no... it wasn't something I was taught....I simply applied my previous knowledge to the new procedures....