My Stretching Timeline

Tumblr is a community of blogs. But sometimes, often times, the former outshines the latter. I’m a case study. I get so excited about the people using tumblr, (one in particular that I fell in love with) I forget to create awesome content for my blog. Well, what follows is a post of all my own content. A timeline of lobe and nostril stretching, as previously published right here on tumblr. Each image is linked to the original #new jewelry post if you want to read more/see more images. 


  • July 19, 2011. My very first stretching experience - an amber glass colorfront in 12g that I had done at a piercing shop in my 2nds. It was one of the most sensational stretches I ever had, I felt that tingle for days. My ears were initially pierced when I was 16, that’s about 18 years ago. My seconds followed a couple summers after, but hadn’t gotten much use, despite being 16 years old. They were barely open. A few days later this was followed by 12g pinchers in my firsts. The twins were born. That’s a 12g threadless flat back labret in my nostril. The first time I wore proper jewelry in it. That hole is also roughly 16 years old.

  • August 17, 2011 Glass colorfronts in 10g by Glasswear Studios. This was my first time buying jewelry from BodyArtForms.com and online in general. I had previously bought pinchers and a couple pair of CBRs from Hot Topic in a local mall. Click through to see why I called this set “Reese’s Pieces”


  • September 15, 2011 More GS colorfronts from BAF. “Mint chocolate chip” is the name of this set. 8g


  • October 13, 2011 Black coated steel tunnels by Half Tone in 6g. I wasn’t aware at the time I placed the order, of the differences between anodization and PVD coating. Many sources say PVD isn’t safe to wear in newly stretched piercings. I wore these for a little less than a week before I got glass tunnels. There was a small amount of seeping with the PVD coating. I could tell it wasn’t the best choice. I never stretched over black coat steel again. I stretched my nostril for the first time, to 10g just a couple days prior. If you want to know how my nostril got to 12g to begin with, you can read a little about it here. 

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    November 7, 2011 4g glass tunnels from BAF. Gorilla Glass is the brand this time. This wasn’t my first time buying glass tunnels from GG, but the first time I stretched over them. 

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    December 8, 2011 This was by far my most comfortable set of jewelry, immediately following a stretch. So much in fact, I surprised myself in the mirror several times over the next few days. The lack of sensation caused me to forget I had even stretched. These are 2g gold-plated tunnels, also by Half Tone. Just four days earlier, I stretched my nostril to 8g and I got a tunnel to match with this order. 


  • January 25, 2012 0g had long been a pie-in-the-sky size in my eyes. It was a trial goal size for a long time and it’s also a size of validation to me. Chances are, you didn’t get to 0g with healthy lobes if you didn’t take the journey seriously. These are more Half Tone titanium coated tunnels. I have them in 4g and liked them so much, they stayed on my radar. Half Tone is an economy brand, but I’ve bought several sets from them with no problems. They run just a teeny bit small, and the color of the anodized titanium coating is inconsistent once you get inside the tunnel. For the price, this is perfectly fine to me. 

As you can see, there’s less than 8 weeks between my 2g and 0g stretches. It’s a 2mm jump and some people find the need to wear 1g glass to help make the trip. In my case, I have a bit of a story. Basically, I ordered 6 pair of double-flare stones at 2g and the slight variances in size (my Amazonite pair is the smallest, Opalite the biggest) plus the act of changing them out a couple times a week limbered up my lobes significantly. With that 6-pair order, from BAF, I had a total high enough to pick from a list of free gifts. I chose a 0g steel taper. One day while taking out the Opalite plugs, I decided to give the taper a try. I passed it without discomfort. That’s a week before the date you see here. 

This post shouldn’t be considered a guide to stretching. It is simply my stretching timeline. When I started in July many of you weren’t following me, so this is just a way to kinda catch you guys up. There are, however, a few things I’d like the people reading this to take away from it:

  • You are never “too old” to express yourself. I have friends, including one I consider to be a very good friend that shamed me for starting to stretch my lobes at (then) 34. As if one can age-out of personal expression and adornment. 
  • Self expression is not a clique. A clique, in its most optimistic form, is a group of people that have similar views on life and the world. But realistically, a clique insulates itself from other views of life and the world, so it never has to withstand any scrutiny. Opposing views are jeered, ridiculed, and labeled as “not cool.” Members of the clique use this as a way to manufacture status they don’t enjoy in other parts of their life. Responsibly wielded status is important, so I can’t speak against status holistically. But all too often, status or the pursuit of it, increases the incentive to put-down others. 
  • Clever is just as good as grand. In my case, I enjoy being subtly and cleverly modified. I plan to continue this theme through all of my mods and my personal style in general. I’m not speaking against grand, being heavily modified may be what you want for your own reasons. But, those reasons do not trump me, or anyone, that chooses to be less modified. I feel this applies to all parts of life. Is that guy at the show/game less of a fan because he isn’t wearing a band/team shirt? No. And you’re an asshole if you say he is. Perhaps he has his team/band on his keychain? The lining of his wallet? The wallpaper of his phone? Clever is just as good as grand. 

If you’re still reading, thank you. Like this post, reblog it, reply or send me a message with any feelings you may have. I can’t promise to care if you don’t like something I said though. Hell, I may not care if you did like what I said, but the chances are higher. :-)

3 Notes/ Hide

  1. treobenny posted this