Stretching (body piercing)
Encyclopedia
Body piercing
Body piercing, a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice...
, is the deliberate expansion of a healed fistula
Fistula
In medicine, a fistula is an abnormal connection or passageway between two epithelium-lined organs or vessels that normally do not connect. It is generally a disease condition, but a fistula may be surgically created for therapeutic reasons.-Locations:Fistulas can develop in various parts of the...
for the purpose of wearing body piercing jewelry
Body piercing jewelry
Body piercing jewelery is jewelery manufactured specifically for use in body piercing.Originally, hardly any other jewellery than circular earrings were used in modern Western body piercing. As the body piercing became more of a fashion, a vast amount of specially crafted jewellery became available...
. Ear piercings are the most commonly stretched piercings, with nasal septum piercings, tongue piercing
Tongue piercing
A tongue piercing is a body piercing usually done directly through the center of the tongue, and is the most popular piercing site in the western world after the ear and nostril.-History and culture:...
s and lip piercing
Lip piercing
A lip piercing is a type of body piercing that penetrates the lips or the area surrounding the lips, which can be pierced in a variety of ways.Approximate healing times for most lip piercings are between 1 to 2 months, however there is a possibility of serious infections developing if the piercing...
s/lip plate
Lip plate
A lip plate, also known as a lip plug or lip disc, is a form of body modification. Increasingly larger discs are inserted into a pierced hole in either the upper or lower lip, or both, thereby stretching it...
s following close behind. While all piercings can be stretched to some degree, cartilage piercings are usually more difficult to stretch and more likely to form hypertrophic scar
Hypertrophic scar
Hypertrophic scars are a cutaneous condition characterized by deposits of excessive amounts of collagen which gives rise to a raised scar, but not to the degree observed with keloids. Like keloids, they form most often at the sites of pimples, body piercings, cuts and burns. They often contain...
s if stretched quickly. Dermal punching is generally the preferred method for accommodating larger jewelry in cartilage piercings.
Stretching is usually done in small increments to minimize the potential for damaging the healed fistula or creating scar tissue. In North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, most stretching methods go up by a single even-sized gauge
American wire gauge
American wire gauge , also known as the Brown & Sharpe wire gauge, is a standardized wire gauge system used since 1857 predominantly in the United States and Canada for the diameters of round, solid, nonferrous, electrically conducting wire...
at a time. In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and most of the rest of the world, jewelry is metric
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
, but the increments between standard sizes are similar.
Health issues
There are few health issues directly related to stretching piercings. Most stretching methods do not create a wound. If an individual's skin elasticityElasticity (physics)
In physics, elasticity is the physical property of a material that returns to its original shape after the stress that made it deform or distort is removed. The relative amount of deformation is called the strain....
and vascularity
Blood vessel
The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart; the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...
allow, most piercings can be stretched far beyond their initial size. Anywhere from 2g (6.5 millimetre (0.255905511811024 in)) to 13 millimetre (0.511811023622047 in) is normally given as the "point of no return" for earlobe piercings, as over this size there is a significant risk that the hole will never shrink back to the size of the original piercing. Many variables affect whether or not a stretched piercing will return to its original size, such as the length of time taken to stretch and the amount of time the piercing is fully healed at a particular size.
Jewelry for stretched piercings
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
, fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized materials, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, bone
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
, horn
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
, amber
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
, bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, silicone
Silicone
Silicones are inert, synthetic compounds with a variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant and rubber-like, they are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medical applications , cookware, and insulation....
, and glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
are not uncommon in stretched piercings. Some of these materials "breathe" better than metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
s or plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
s, preventing the buildup of sebum in the enlarged ear lobe. Jewelry, however, is still often made of acrylic or metal. There are dangers associated with wearing porous materials such as acrylic, stone, wood, bamboo, horn, bone, or other materials with small or microscopic holes, in a freshly stretched piercing. These materials not only have microscopic holes that will trap bacteria and can cause infection, but also can not be autoclaved or properly sanitized, and are therefore unfit for a fresh stretch or piercing. The best materials for a fresh stretch that is not vulnerable to bacteria are surgical steel, titanium, and glass. This is because these materials are non porous and can withstand the heat and pressure of an autoclave, so they can be properly sanitized before insertion.
The typical jewelry worn in a large stretched piercing is a plug
Plug (jewellery)
A plug , in the context of body modification, is a short, cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings. Because of their size—which is often substantially thicker than a standard wire earring—plugs can be made out of almost any material...
. It is solid and usually cylindrical, and may be flared out at one or both ends (saddle-shaped), or kept in place by o-ring
O-ring
An O-ring, also known as a packing, or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a disc-shaped cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more parts, creating a seal at the interface.The O-ring...
s fastened around the ends. A variation on this is the flesh tunnel
Flesh tunnel
A flesh tunnel is a type of body piercing jewelery. It is also sometimes referred to as a spool, fleshy, earlet, expander or eyelet.Flesh tunnels are hollow tunnels, usually used in stretched or scalpelled piercings. Flesh tunnels are made in smaller gauges however the smaller the gauge the...
, which is shaped in the same way, but hollow in the middle. Claw-, talon-, and spiral-shaped pieces are also commonplace. Ear-weights in varying degrees of size are also worn, commonly made from silver or bronze, though other metals such as copper or brass are occasionally used. However, some people are easily irritated by some metals; therefore, care should be taken when metal jewelry is worn. Ear cuffs (such as the gold ones utilized in South India provinces) or wrapped bead work (common amongst the Maasai of East Africa) are other options, though are not usually seen in modern Western contexts.
There are several common methods used to enlarge piercings, of various origins and appropriate for different circumstances.
- Tapering — The most common professional technique for stretching piercings, tapering involves the use of a taper, a conicalCone (geometry)A cone is an n-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a base to a point called the apex or vertex. Formally, it is the solid figure formed by the locus of all straight line segments that join the apex to the base...
rod usually made specifically for this purpose. It is lubricatedLubricationLubrication is the process, or technique employed to reduce wear of one or both surfaces in close proximity, and moving relative to each another, by interposing a substance called lubricant between the surfaces to carry or to help carry the load between the opposing surfaces. The interposed...
and pushed through the fistula until the widest part of the taper is level with the skin surrounding the piercing. Larger jewelry is then pushed through, parallel to the back of the taper. Tapers come in a variety of sizes and are usually identified by the gaugeAmerican wire gaugeAmerican wire gauge , also known as the Brown & Sharpe wire gauge, is a standardized wire gauge system used since 1857 predominantly in the United States and Canada for the diameters of round, solid, nonferrous, electrically conducting wire...
of the large end. They can vary in length, but most tapers are about 2 –. Most tapers are made of surgical steel or acrylic and some have threads extending from the wide end to allow the attachment of barbellBarbell (piercing)Barbell style piercing jewelry is composed of a straight bar and with a bead on each end, one or both beads unscrewable for removal and/or changing of the beads. Often one of the beads is fixed, either via epoxy or welding, so that only one bead is used to install or remove the jewelry...
jewelry, to make insertion easier. Improvised objects like knitting needleKnitting needleA knitting needle or knitting pin is a tool in hand-knitting to produce knitted fabrics. They generally have a long shaft and taper at their end, but they are not nearly as sharp as sewing needles. Their purpose is two-fold...
s and porcupine quills or cocktail sticks are sometimes used as tapers by people stretching at home; however, this is not recommended by professionals, as their gauge cannot be exactly determined and sterile practices are rarely followed at home. Tapering is discouraged at sizes above 2g (6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in)).
- Dead stretching — Any stretching where no equipment is used and larger jewelry is forced through an existing piercing is considered dead stretching. This can lead to injury if the fistula is unready: either a tear of the skin, or a "blowout", in which the fistula is pushed out through the back of the piercing. A buildup of scar tissueScar tissueScar tissue can refer to:*Granulation tissue, a product of healing in major wounds*The tissue of a scar*"Scar Tissue", a Red Hot Chili Peppers song*Scar Tissue , the autobiography of Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers...
may be created, which will weaken the fistula and can make it more difficult to stretch in the future. Some piercings will stretch slightly on their own and larger jewelry can be inserted without the potential for unpleasant side effects, especially piercings that see a lot of "play", such as tongue piercingTongue piercingA tongue piercing is a body piercing usually done directly through the center of the tongue, and is the most popular piercing site in the western world after the ear and nostril.-History and culture:...
s.
- Teflon tape stretching — The existing jewelry is removed and a thin layer of non-adhesiveAdhesiveAn adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin materials...
Teflon tapeThread seal tapeThread seal tape, or teflon tape can be used in many ways, the most common use in America is to seal things. Thread seal tape — commonly known as "Teflon tape", "PTFE tape", "tape dope", or "plumber's tape"–is a polytetrafluoroethylene film cut to specified widths for use in sealing pipe...
(PFTE tape), which is inert and safe for piercing use, is wrapped around the jewelry. Non-adhesive bondage tapeBondage tapeBondage tape is a 2- to strip of thin plastic material that adheres only to itself, without any adhesive; it is typically intended to be used in erotic bondage...
and heat-shrink tubingHeat-shrink tubingHeat shrink tubing is a mechanically expanded extruded plastic tube ordinarily made of nylon or polyolefin, which shrinks when heated in an effort to return to the original relaxed diameter as when it was extruded...
are also frequently used. The jewelry is then re-inserted, and as the piercing adapts to the new diameter of jewelry, the process is repeated with increasingly thicker layers of tape.
- Weights — Large, heavy jewelry or weighted objects can be used to stretch piercings. This method is not widely used in modern-day, as it tends to cause piercings to migratePiercing migrationPiercing migration is the process that occurs when a body piercing moves from its initial location. This process can be painful or go unnoticed, until it has progressed. Given enough time, a ring may migrate entirely outside of the skin, although it may only migrate a small amount and come to...
and can, especially in earEarThe ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
s, lead to a thinning of tissue that is disfiguring or requires reconstructive surgeryReconstructive surgeryReconstructive surgery is, in its broadest sense, the use of surgery to restore the form and function of the body, although Maxillo-Facial Surgeons, Plastic Surgeons and Otolaryngologists do reconstructive surgery on faces after trauma and to reconstruct the head and neck after cancer.Other...
. However, it is a method that has been traditionally utilized by various tribes, such as the DayaksDayak peopleThe Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...
in BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, that practice extreme earlobe elongation.
- ScalpellingScalpellingScalpelling is a body art procedure similar to body piercing for the creation of decorative perforations through the skin and other body tissue, and is most commonly used as a replacement for or enhancement of ear piercing...
— Rather than expanding a healed fistula, this method involves extending the size of the piercing by using a scalpelScalpelA scalpel, or lancet, is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, and various arts and crafts . Scalpels may be single-use disposable or re-usable. Re-usable scalpels can have attached, resharpenable blades or, more commonly, non-attached, replaceable...
to cut the edge of the fistula, expanding its diameterDiameterIn geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
. It is often used in earlobe piercings. This technique is also often used to alter the placement of a large piercing, combine two existing piercings into one larger one, or achieve a higher-gauge piercing when scar tissue is preventing stretching, or when tissue has thinned too much to make stretching too risky.
- Scalpel and taper or pierce and taper — After piercing or scalpelling, a large taper can be inserted directly after, allowing skin to instantly be stretched to large diameters; several inches can be achieved. This method is much rarer and can be extremely painful, causing formation of large amounts of scar tissue. Because of this, it is generally discouraged. The use of a dermal punch followed by tapering is also used in this procedure.
- Dermal Punch — A circular razor of the desired diameter is pressed against the skin of the area (typically earlobe or cartilage). The blade is then pushed down upon and twisted by the piercer to "punch" out a small disk of skin. The razor is then pulled out of the skin and the jewelry (usually a non-flared or single-flared PyrexPyrexPyrex is a brand name for glassware, introduced by Corning Incorporated in 1915.Originally, Pyrex was made from borosilicate glass. In the 1940s the composition was changed for some products to tempered soda-lime glass, which is the most common form of glass used in glass bakeware in the US and has...
Glass plug) of the same size is inserted into the hole created by the razor. This is useful for achieving large-gauge cartilage piercings, and often discouraged for soft tissue that can easily be stretched. It is also described as being less painful and less damaging to tissue than using a hypodermic needle of the same gauge.
- Silicone Plugs — These plugs are soft and malleable, allowing a relatively large plug to be inserted into the fistula. Once folded and inserted into the ear, they expand, stretching the earlobe. However, stretching with silicone is often a dangerous decision. Its not recommended to use silicone plugs to stretch, due to the tacky, porous surface. The stretched fistula can adhere to the silicone if the lubricant used is pushed out by the pressure of the stretch, and an airtight seal can be created, trapping infection and causing it to spread internally. Also because silicone expands and contracts in temperature change, they can swell and potentially blow out a newly stretched fistula.
History and culture
Ear stretching has been practiced by people all over the world from ancient times. Bone, horn, wood, and stone were generally carved for ear stretching, but other organic materials that had the right shape naturally, from shells to teeth and claws, were also used.The Iceman
Mummified bodies with stretched earlobes have been discovered, including the oldest mummified body discovered to date: Ötzi the IcemanÖtzi the Iceman
Ötzi the Iceman , Similaun Man, and Man from Hauslabjoch are modern names for a well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived about 5,300 years ago. The mummy was found in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, near Hauslabjoch on the border between Austria and Italy. The nickname comes from the...
(3300BC). This mummy had a stretch of somewhere between 7 – in diameter.sam has 1 inch
Gautama Buddha
Gautama BuddhaGautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, an aristocratic and wealthy prince, had long stretched ears. He wore heavy gold earrings or precious stones as a status symbol, and the weight stretched his ear lobes dramatically. When he finally renounced his wealth and discarded his jewelry, his ear lobes were permanently stretched. As a way of remembering Buddha's act of personal self-sacrifice in walking away from his wealth, all succeeding images of Gautama Buddha show his stretched ear lobes sans jewelery.
Measuring systems
| 14g | 1.628mm | .064in | - |
| 12g | 2.053mm | .081in | - |
| 10g | 2.588mm | .102in | - |
| 8g | 3.264mm | .128in | - |
| 6g | 4.115mm | .162in | - |
| 4g | 5.189mm | .204in | - |
| 2g | 6.544mm | .258in | - |
| 0g | 8.251mm | .325in | - |
| 00g | 9.266mm | .365in | - |
| 000g | |11.11mm | .438in | 7/16" |
| 0000g | 12.710mm | .5in | 1/2" |
| - | 14.288mm | .563in | 9/16" |
| - | 15.875mm | .625in | 5/8" |
| - | 17.463mm | .688in | 11/16" |
| - | 19.06mm | .75in | 3/4" |
| - | 22.225mm | .875in | 7/8" |
| - | 23.813mm | .938in | 15/16" |
| - | 25.4mm | 1in | 1" |
| - | 26.988mm | 1.063in | 1 1/16" |
| - | 28.575mm | 1.125in | 1 1/8" |
| - | 31.75mm | 1.25in | 1 1/4" |
| - | 34.925mm | 1.375in | 1 3/8" |
| - | 38.1mm | 1.5in | 1 1/2" |
| - | 41.275mm | 1.625in | 1 5/8" |
| - | 44.45mm | 1.75in | 1 3/4" |
| - | 47.625mm | 1.875in | 1 7/8" |
| - | 50.8mm | 2in | 2" |