Why You Should Never Stretch Your Ears with Silicone Plugs / Tunnels
Some of the trendiest, well priced plugs and body jewelry is made of silicone. While we love the stuff - quality silicone body jewelry can be a great piece for everyday wear in a healed piercing – you should never stretch your ears (or any other body piercing!) with silicone. Here’s why!
When stretching any body piercing you need to take your time!
Silicone plugs can be super comfortable! The material is very stretchy and soft. But don’t be fooled. Although you may think this is a great tool for bunching up into a small ball in order to insert into your stretched ears to go up a size very quickly, this is most likely going to result in over stretching!
It’s important to look after your piercing which includes taking your time to make sure your stretched ears are healing entirely between sizes. Each time you stretch up a single size you are essentially left with a healing piercing. It should be treated in the same respect with sea salt soaks and care just like any new piercing.
This can lead to...
Silicone is bacteria friendly
When stretching any body piercing it’s best to stick to the safest piercing materials that are used in initial piercings. This is because your piercing at this point is a healing piercing. Silicone is not on that list of initial body jewelry as it has a habit of trapping bacterial in between the ear and the plug itself. Ear stretching with silicone can lead to blowouts, bacterial issues including intrusions and infections.
Don’t get us wrong! Silicone plugs are great for healed stretched piercings and other large piercings because they’re so comfy and lightweight. But always make sure you wait until after the piercing has calmed down and properly healed after stretching!
Disclaimer: if you think you may be dealing with any of these issues including blowout, thinning of the ear, intrusions and infections head to your nearest piercer immediately. They will know how to treat it, what is actually causing it and will be able to give you the proper advice for your situation!