Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So a couple of weeks ago I upsized my lobes to 9/16". They'd been just under 1/2" for a year before that, so it wasn't a big deal, the new plugs just went right in with minimal effort. But I've now noticed that one of my lobes is kind of numb on one side. I can feel it if I pinch it, but there's no sensation at all if I scratch it or anything.

I Googled around a bit and it seems like it's just one of those things that can happen, and the feeling might come back in a few months. So I'm not worried that my ear is completely without circulation and is going to fall off. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

Feel free to use this thread to discuss other stretching-related things, including your delightful odours (because what would the PPK be without extensive discussion of our various stenches?).

I haven't noticed increased numbness when going up in size, but the ear lobe is kind of nerveless now- suppose from the pain of stretching them. If the smell bothers you (maybe some people like it?) you can reduce it by having steel jewelery I have found. Less gunk than plastic or wood or something. Also, leaving them out for a day or two helps. I personally haven't been bothered by the smell until I take them out though, so it is a bit bad, because I dread cleaning them ever, and so therefore don't. Good thing I do not seem to get infections from any of my piercings, or else I would need to change my ways.

I miss having stretched ears! I took them out when I decided I needed to start looking more "respectable" for job hunting, plus I was sick of getting dirty looks from old ladies. They aren't closed up but they're not really that noticable anymore. I just had to chime in about the smell! I usually look back on when I had my ears stretched with rose tinted glasses and forget all about the smell but now you've reminded me... damn, it was gross. I used to take my plugs out (almost always stainless steel tunnels) in the morning when I had a shower, they would go in a sink of hot water with some mild disinfectant-y type stuff and I would shampoo my ear holes along with my hair in the shower.

I'm thinking about getting it done again. Has anyone shrunk down then gone back up before? Is it any more painful second time round? (I'm thinking because of scarring it might be worse the second time.)

Many people intentionally downsize then re-stretch in order to thicken up their lobes.

That said, stretching shouldn't hurt.

Okay, I could Google it but I'm afraid of what I would find. Why to stretched ears smell? Is that normal?

mine used to smell when i wore metal plugs. it's just some crud that builds up and this is super gross, but it smells just like belly button gunk. but i've been wearing wooden plugs for the last few years and my ears never smell anymore.

Mine get stinky when I upsize. After a while they calm down and I don't need to clean them every day. I pretty much only ever wear surgical steel, sometimes onyx/quartz when I have to meet important people at work. I tried wooden tunnels once and wasn't a fan.

I've never been good about cleaning them often, so these wooden ones work out really well for me because they never get crusty or smelly at all. The reason I switched to wood wasn't for the smell though, it was because my ears were freezing in the winter when I had metal in them. It took me two winters in NY to figure that out. Switching to wood has made me a lot less miserable in the winter (although I'm still pretty miserable)

Imagine a tiny, little armpit in your earlobe that never gets washed or sees the light of day. Yum!

you have such a way with words...

i've never noticed any numbness but my earlobes have been at 0g for 5 years sooo yeah. I also wear wood plugs and they never smell. What type of plugs do people wear for nice occasions? I have one pair of sparkly ones that are just okay.

I used to have some for nice occasions that looked like big diamonds kind of, they were glass, and cut so they shined iike that. They fell out a lot, and usually on tile floor, which cracked one of them after I lost the other. I have had another pair of rose quartz ones for nice occasions, also fell out and I lost one or both in time. I really can't keep track of them unless I have the kind that screw together, otherwise if I sweat or something they will slide out. Anyone else know how to combat this expensive and annoying issue? (Taking them out for a day or two to let them get a little smaller works---for about an hour.)

My ears are at 1/2" currently with plenty of chubby lobe left to upsize without getting too thin. I'm partial to taping, rather than using tapers to stretch up, since it's less invasive and decreases the chance of an accidental blowout or tear. I've been taping since 2g.

I don't have an issue with ear cheese or odours, since I wash my lobes and plugs when I shower, which is bi-daily at the very least. The smell comes from a build up of bacteria that like nomming on the dead skin cells that accumulate in her holes. This happens in a lot of places on the body... corners of toenails, belly buttons, regular size ear piercings, etc. If you clean them out regularly, no issue. I've noticed it's worse with porous materials like silicone. I don't wear acrylic so I can't vouch for that, but I wear polished stone/glass often and have very little issue. I hear wood blugs do't get as much gunk/ordour, either (possibly because you need to take them out often to oil them, ergo removing the built up crub as you do so?)

If your worried about cirrculation, massage your ears regulary if your not already... not only does it help reduce scar tissue to make future stretching easier, it also helps circulation to your lobes. The thinner your lobes, the worse the circulation is, generally.

The numbness is gone! I don't massage my ears, but I do play with my plugs all the time at work, putting them in and out and rolling them around on my desk (I do work hard, really. I just fiddle with things a lot). Maybe that made the circulation come back. I don't really know.

interesting...i've never oiled my wood plugs. although now that you mention it i vaguely remember someone telling me to at the shop when i bought them. they've never smelled and I almost never wash them.

When I bought wooden plugs, I was told to oil them with emu oil (gross) or jojoba (much better). I can't remember how often I was supposed to do it.

what the fork is emu oil? please tell me it's not what i think it is?

mine closed up ages ago. I think it was about 3/4"

Hey kids.

So, I've had both lobes stretched to about 10mm for, I don't know, maybe a year or so now? All done very slowly over at least a year and via tapering and then wrapping my plugs with bondage tape every so often and in no rush. In other words, nothing MBM could get mad with me about I don't think! So, all this time I've pretty much only been wearing double flared surgical steel tunnels in them. Tonight I was all 'hey! I think I might stretch up again! And took the left one out, wrapped one wee bit of tape round it, oiled it up and slid it back in. Presto chango, everything was good. And then I took the right one out... Now, I'm not saying I religiously take them in and out and oil my lobes every day (well, it has been about a year since I messed with them), but I do tend to take them in and out when in the shower most days and give them a wee swoosh about. But I took the right one out, wrapped a wee bit of tape around it and tried to put it back in... and it would. not. go. I took the tape off and just tried to put the tunnel back in by itself... no dice. I looked in the mirror and the 'hole' was not a hole, rather kind of a wee red slit? I dunno, it doesn't look happy at all. I found a single flared tunnel and slid that in (easily) in the meantime, but it's bugging me that it has gone a bit odd. Has anyone else had this happen after such a time? Should I downsize for a bit? I'm not sure what's going on!

When I bought some wooden ones for my boyfriend, they said to rub them with jojoba oil and to take them out before showers. He never did any of that either, but the wood seemed to darken a little. They were super nice and they didn't smell.

I was at 00 in high school but took them out in college. I can still touch my ears and it smells a little sometimes. I can even smell the normal sized piercings in my ears if I try. My industrial/scaffold and tragus don't smell at all. It's just lobes. I don't mind it.

Mine did this a few times. It was just irritated, but not in the infected sense. Just let it cool down for a while and try again but I wouldn't force it. I never experienced tearing but I can imagine it'd be awful.

Yeah, sometimes your ear holes can get a little pissy even if you don't do anything wrong, just make an extra effort to keep them clean.

I mostly wear glass plugs, but I have some wooden hanging pieces and a fancy pair of titanium bling eyelets.

Ok, so I really like how stretched ears look on other people, but if I was ever considering doing it myself, I've been officially talked out of it!

So, I am reviving this thread!

I stretched up to 4mm (teeny tiny) after months and months at 3mm, I can't actually remember how long but before Halloween anyway. No problems with the stretch, a little bit of resistance with my left lobe but no pain. A couple of mornings ago I woke up with a pretty swollen and red left lobe (not so swollen that people would stare but it was noticeable to me) but I guessed it was just irritated from sleeping on that side and I was right because I woke up on the right side the following morning with the same problem but they eased over the day. I don't know why I am telling you this, it's pointless scene setting!

Anyway, right now for absolutely no reason my left ear is feeling pretty hot, a little swollen and pretty red. Both ears are weeping a little plasma, no pus or anything. Any advice? If there was puss or bleeding or pain I would just take it out but I don't know if it that bad. I haven't been playing around with them (I am terrible for doing this) so I don't really know what is up.

Sarah-Jane, what kind of jewelry are you wearing in them?