How long does it take for stretched ears to close?
July 8, 2022 / by Alex Peace
One of the biggest questions/concerns our customers have when trying to decide if they should stretch their ears or not is "How long does it take for stretched ears to close?" We get it. We are all human, and we all change our minds from time to time. If you are thinking about stretching your ears you should know that if you go down this path your ears will more than likely always have some sort of larger elasticity than it does for your normal stretched ears.
A regular pierced ear is done between 20 gauge to 14 gauge. The gauges will vary depending on how you pierced your ears. Professionals often pierce a 14 gauge or 16 gauge, while a piercing gun is usually 18 gauge or 20 gauge.
The answer to How long it takes for your stretched ears to shrink back to "normal" depends on a few factors we will discuss below, but they most likely will not get back to smaller than a 14 gauge.
Factor 1: How large are your ears?
If you just stretched your ears and have made it up to 6mm (2 gauge) and you now want them to shrink back. The amount of time it takes to reduce back to normal will be a lot quicker than if your ears are larger, for example, 25mm (1 inch).
Factor 2: How quickly did you stretch your ears?
Customers who take their time while stretching their ears will find that their holes will close up on them quicker than someone who rushed their stretching journey or forced plugs into their ears.
Factor 3: Did you damage your ears during your ear stretching journey?
Have you experienced a blowout or damaged your ears during your ear stretching journey? If so chances are scar tissue has developed causing issues with downsizing your stretched ears. Another good reason to STRETCH SLOWLY.
So how long does it take to close my stretched ears?
Now that you understand the factors let's summarize this all up. If your ears are above the point of no return (2 gauge - 00 gauge) chances are your stretched ears will not return back to normal. To find out more about the point of no return click here...
Stretching your Ears - The Point of No Return
If you are below this gauge and stretched really slow you could have your ears go back to a normal piercing of 14 gauge in about 1 week to 1 month. If you forced your ears from 20 gauge to 2 gauge it will be tough to close up. They might return back to normal after a month, but scar tissue might cause the hole not to close completely.
If your stretched ears are giant (pretty much over half inch) and you are trying to get back to a normal pierced ear it is going to be really tough. That's not to say it has not been done, but your chances are getting slimmer the larger you go. Even if you try to downsize back to "normal" pierced ears the smallest you might get is 5 gauge or 10 gauge. Which will just be your new "normal."
Elegant Black Heart Plugs (Pair)
Alien Iridescent Teardrop Tunnels (Pair)
Jasper Stretch Plugs (Pair)
What are our customers saying when asked
"How long does it take for your stretched ears to close?"
Sammi
I was at a 4 gauge, they shrunk down in one day to a 10 gauge, now a week later I'm probably at a 12 gauge but I don't think they're gonna go down much more than that but that's the price to pay for stretching. Each body is different but there's a certain point they will stop shrinking without surgery
Linsey
I got to a 2 gauge and 4 years later it's still not back to normal but it's not gaping either, hoops work, and studs will still go through the holes though.
Mimi
My stretched ears are at 11/16 inch. If I have a naked day I'll shrink to a size depending on the weather. After my kidney transplant 2 years ago I went a month without jewelry in and my stretched ears shrank down to between 7/16 inch -1/2 inch. I've been stretching since 2006
Niki
Depends, I think each person is different. My stretched ears were at 5/8 inch and I haven’t worn anything for almost two years, and I’m down to a 00 gauge. So my stretched ears will not close.
Daphne
My stretched ears were a 00 gauge. I took them out for about 5 years. I just put different plugs in for the first time a couple of weeks back and now am a 2 gauge. So in my honest opinion, it depends on how long you had them stretched and also the size but I will most likely never shrink back to just regular post size earrings.
Flubious
They don’t close. They will never look normal again. Just get that out of your head right now.
Sonya
I never ripped when stretching my lobes. My stretched ear got up to 9/16" and I stopped wearing them at lockdown (March 2020) they are now 3/8" - now I can wear some of my favorite ones from when I was smaller.
Caitlin
I stretched my ears to a 0 gauge. When I took out my jewelry and my ears closed a lot seemingly overnight. I gave up on stretching them after that. They aren't fully closed, but I can wear regular earrings without much trouble. Some hoops will spin all the way through. I miss my stretched ears, but they didn't like it I guess.
Amy
My lobes are at 1.5 inch (38mm) and I can leave them out for like two days and they are still the same size. Any longer and they would shrink more. However, I have no intention of doing that. My girlfriend was also the same size as me but screwed up her lobes somehow, so they shrank back down to maybe slightly smaller than 5/8 inch gauge.
Alicia
I took out my 00 gauge 7 or 8 years ago and they only shrunk to a 2 gauge. They aren't going to get any smaller though.
Chrissa
They never go back I was a zero gauge it's prob half the size now it's been like 5 years
Taunie
Mine were gauged to a 0 gauge and after 8 years of putting nothing in them, I can still fit a 0 gauge in them. So they don’t if you went big enough. You’d have to get them sutured back together.
Chris
I'm at an inch and can usually go a few days before they start to shrink. They'll never completely close.
Karah
I’ve stretched and reclosed my stretched ears 5 times in the course of 2 years. I keep losing plugs. It takes my ears one full month to completely close down to a 10 gauge /12 gauge that’s the smallest they get. The biggest they were stretched was a 00 gauge. I kept them that size for a year. Hopefully will stretch back to 00g soon.
Madison
Depends on how you stretched, skin elasticity, and a bunch of other stuff. I was at 7/16 inch and my stretched ears shrunk in almost a year back down to what I think is 18 gauge. You can barely tell they were stretched
Kelley
I was at a 0 gauge years ago, for a few years. Took them out and within a few months, I was able to wear normal earrings. You can’t even tell I stretched at all. Prior to that, sometimes I’d have trouble putting regular studs in. I haven’t had issues since stretching and shrinking.
Carey
I had my stretched ears at zero gauge and have had them out for 2 years. They are only at a 12 gauge so I don’t think they will ever close fully and I can’t decide if I want to go back to stretched ears or not.