Hey guys!
There's lots of cute labrets, clickers, hoops, and other types of piercing jewelry that looks FAB in lobe piercings, but most lobe piercings (if done with a gun or by certain piercers) are done at a 20 gauge size! 20 gauge is a great deal smaller than 16 gauge, so this poses a problem for you piercing addicts who want to rock some awesome jewelry. To learn more about piercing gauges, click here.
Our partner, Brooke, has fallen in love with many of our jewelry pieces and has two 20 gauge lobe piercings. She asked if I would stretch them up to a 16 gauge for her! Of course I agreed, and decided to make a blog and youtube video sharing how to do it as we are often asked if it's possible to increase the gauge size of your lobe piercings.
You should only increase by one gauge at a time, so initially we are taking Brooke's piercings from a 20 gauge to an 18 gauge. You will need a taper, and a labret in the correct gauge size. The jewelry you use for this should be suitable for initial piercings.
Start by taking a hot shower. After you're done, wash your ear lobe area well with an antibacterial soap and massage your lobes with your fingers for a few minutes. This increases blood flow to the area and will allow the new jewelry to slide in more easily.
Next, thread your labret onto your taper! Insert the taper with the labret attached from the back as shown in this video:
Then screw the front of the jewelry on, and you're done!
Here is Brooke's look with two new 18 gauge size labrets:
TROUBLESHOOTING:
- If you can't find the back of your earring hole, have a friend help as I am doing in the video.
- If the new jewelry doesn't slide in easily, you can use a water based lube to help out! Just be sure to wash your piercing afterward.
- Once you stretch your lobes, you WILL still be able to wear smaller gauge jewelry if you'd like! The lobes are pretty elastic. Mine are all four stretched to 16 gauge and I often still choose to wear little 20 gauge studs or hoops in them, then can switch back to 16 gauge jewelry whenever I wish to.
NEXT STEPS:
You should not expect to feel much or any pain during this process. Brooke said that she could just feel slight pressure through the stretch, and that her lobes felt a bit itchy for a few hours afterward, but soon returned to normal.
Waiting between stretching gauge sizes is important so that you do not end up hurting your flesh.
We waited two weeks and then stretched her four lobe piercings up to 16 gauge using the exact same method outlined here. Here is the finished look!
She is thrilled that she now has the ability to wear almost any of our piercing jewelry!
I hope you have found this article helpful! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop them below and I will get back with you!
Until next week,
Kourtney @ Spirit Adornments 🖤