If you were to give advice to someone just starting to stretch their ears, what would it be

Warm ears, lubricant, and Advil are your absolute best friends.
The easiest time so start working your way up to the next gauge is right after a warm shower or bath. Your skin is more loose and stretchy at that point and will hurt a lot less as a result. Always use some kind of oil that’s appropriate for your jewelry when putting them in, as well (vitamin e oil, coconut oil, and argan oil are my personal favorites. Try not to use anything with a lot of ingredients or fragrances to avoid irritation and damaging your jewelry.) so that your skin and jewelry aren’t causing friction. Last but not least… Advil. In this case I use it mostly for avoiding swelling, but it does help with discomfort at night, too.

TAKE IT SLOWWWWW. O didn’t start stretching my ears until I was 35. With my age and my skin less pliable than younger people’s, I was very careful not to go fast…I waited this long, what’s another year or two?! I very gradually stretched from 18 to 0 over the course of 2’5 years without any problems at all. If it hurt, I stopped. I sized up with tapers, after showers and using lots of gauge balm. I never had a tear or infection. If it felt hot or red for more than an hour, I went back down and waited. This is a process about patience. It was good lesson to learn for me…all good things take time!

Take your time. Patience is important in the process. So is care, use clean hands and materials. Keep your lobes moisturized.

My advice is to always use some type of lubricant to stretch. Preferably coconut oil because it is natural and has anti bacterial properties. Another thing you should do is only use water to wash them! When they no longer feel sore after stretching up, take them out and wash them everytime you’re in the shower. I currently use oil everytime I put my gauges in, and I havent gone up In 3 years!

Go slow don’t rush and end up with a blowout it’s worth the wait