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

The best advice I can give anyone is to go slower than you think you should, and always listen to your body. I’ve stretched my lobes twice now. The first time I went from a standard piercing size to a 4 gauge size. It took about 6 months for my lobes to return to their original state. Now, on my second round of stretching I’m happily at 1/2" . I learned a lot from the mistakes I made the first time around. Primarily, you should never have “pain” when you’re stretching. You may have a dull ache on rare occasions, but never “pain.” If you get to the point where something hurts, go back down a size and let the area heal. Slow and steady definitely wins this race. Also, when it’s time to go up a size, it’s helpful to change jewelry while in a hot shower, that way the tissue is relaxed. I also always like to follow up a jewelry change with some good hygiene practices. My go to is brushing some slightly dilute tea tree oil around the outside of the piercing and then gently wiggling the jewelry to help work the oil in and around the site. It hasn’t failed me yet! Find what works for you though, and go with that. Just always keep in mind that your body knows best, so listen to it while you’re on this journey. Good luck and happy stretching! :)

LUBRICATE AND CLEAN. I also put in bigger tapers at night so i could sleep through the pain

If it hurts, stop! Slow down and listen to your body, stretching occurs naturally and shouldn’t be forced

You should always use steel! Use a certified stretching kit with sibgle flares. Never rush your ears if they feel tight or sore. Use ear stretching safe creme, and use sea salt solution to clean

Go slow! If you stretch your ears to fast you have a chance of blowing out your ears. Just take it slow.