You can stretch your tragus, conch, flat, as well as any helix piercing. BUT, when stretching cartilage you need to be aware that once it heals, the stretch is permanent! It will not shrink back down to its original size.
Likewise, can I put a 16 gauge in my cartilage?
Even if you have a piercing that was pierced to a standard size—generally 20 gauge, 18 gauge, and 16 gauge—you can still stretch your ears to a larger size. … Other commonly stretched piercings include the inner conch, septum, nose, belly button, tongue, and ear cartilage.
In this manner, how long does it take to stretch cartilage?
Waiting long enough that jewelry inserts easily is crucial. Do not use tapers at home, they are a tool meant for professional use and can easily cause tearing. We typically tell people to wait 6-8 weeks between lobe stretches, 2-3 months for non-lobe soft tissue stretches, and 3 months minimum for cartilage stretches.
Does it hurt to stretch your cartilage?
Stretching should be a fairly painful process, and you should only feel some mild sensations when stretching up to the next gauge size. Once you have your larger jewelry in your cartilage piercing, you should leave it in for at least 3 months before moving to the next larger gauge.
When can I put a hoop in my cartilage?
Most piercing points suggest 4 to 6 weeks for changing cartilage but it’s better to wait at least 8 to 10 weeks.
Can you pierce cartilage with 20G?
If you‘ve been pierced with a needle in a piercing shop, most likely you‘re at a 20 or 18 gauge. No worries! The smaller the gauge the bigger the hole, so any standard size earring can be worn in addition to 20 or 18 gauge captive rings, cartilage studs, etc.
How do I know what gauge my cartilage piercing is?
The gauge size chart of your piercing is the thickness of the bar that goes through your piercing. In other words, it’s the barbell’s thickness. Note that the thicker the barbell, the lower the gauge size. So a 12 gauge (or 12G) barbell is much thicker than a 20 gauge (20G) barbell.
What piercings can you stretch?
Stretching, in the context of body piercing, is the deliberate expansion of a healed piercing for the purpose of wearing certain types of jewelry. Ear piercings are the most commonly stretched piercings, with nasal septum piercings, tongue piercings and lip piercings/lip plates following close behind.
How do you widen a piercing?
Simply wrap one layer (or more) of tape around the jewelry and re-insert it into the piercing. You will repeat this method over time, gradually adding more tape and thus increasing the size of the hole. But not just any tape will do.
Can I put a normal earring in my helix piercing?
In some cases, you can use any type of earring for the cartilage piercing, such as hoops and posts. Yet, earrings made for cartilage are generally more comfortable. … Cuffs: Cuffs work well for helix piercings. The cuff part of the earring curves around the ear cartilage.
Can you put a 16g earring in an 18G hole?
If I pierce with a 16g needle, can I use 18g jewelry? Yes you can, in fact that’s typically what a piercer will do, especially with cartilage piercings. They pierce with a gauge size bigger than the actual jewelry. It allows room for swelling and placing the jewelry.
Can you downsize a cartilage piercing?
Your original jewelry should stay in until you are ready to downsize, which for a standard helix piercing and most cartilage piercings, is 12 weeks.
Can I put a 14g in a 16g piercing?
Can I put a 14g belly ring into a 16g hole? Potentially yes if your piercing is fully healed. But it’s going to be a tight fit. If you want to experiment then it usually works better if you try after you’ve had a bath and dried off, as its usually easier to put piercings in at this time.
