Tattoos, plastic surgery, tanning, teeth bleaching, hair dye, body building.
What do we alter our appearances for? Fakir Musafar, body modification expert and icon, once said “By using your body, modifying your body, you can go into [different] states of consciousness and discover the true nature of life and yourself.”
Ear stretching is one of the earliest forms of body modification used to make a statement. It was, and still is, used as a rite of passage in many cultures.
The oldest record of stretched ears belongs to “The Iceman,” a mummified body with about ½ inch stretched lobes. Gautama Buddha, spiritual leader whose teachings Buddhism was founded from, also wore his ears down to his shoulders clad in gold earrings. It was a status symbol, but when he rid himself of his riches and got rid of his jewelry his ears still drooped.
Seeing Africans in National Geographic with their ears and lips stretched makes many cringe, but in their culture it’s considered attractive. Women stretch their lips six months before marriage in some tribes and stretching is a rite of passage into adulthood for others.
In our culture piercings are used as a fashion statement in most cases. And recently at ALHS there’s been a few ears stretched with bright jewelry.
“It’s really different and a way to express myself,” said Jayde Bower, junior, about her ½-inch plugs.
Stretching is a serious commitment; it requires patience and a high tolerance for pain. Bower said lately some people have been stretching their lobes just to hop on the band wagon.
“If you feel like it’s not you, don’t even try,” Bower said.
There are a few risks with stretching as there are with any type of piercing.
Allowing the lobe to heal after going up a gauge size is the most important health factor to consider. If you don’t wait 4-6 weeks it could result in a “blowout”. A blowout looks like a “‘lip” around the jewelry and feels like tingling.
Even though a stretched lobe might look nice, they don’t always smell the best. Cleaning the jewelry and lobes is an important step to a healthy stretch. Neglected, dirty earlobes often result in “ear cheese” or dead skin cells that fall off the healing ears. No one wants to smell a piercing, so stretchers must be sure to clean their ears daily.
There’s the myth that if a lobe is stretched in the slightest, it will never look the same. Well, that’s not always the case. Most lobes go back to looking decently normal if they don’t stretch past ¼-inch. Surgery can fix ears stretched past the point of no return, but that is rare.
If you’re looking for a job or have a job that has a lot of interaction with people, it might be safe to keep your lobes small. Not every employer will appreciate your creativity either.
With the right tools, commitment and patience anyone can stretch their ears. But there are many factors to consider before you take the leap. It might look awesome, but stretched lobes can be permanent. So if you’re considering following the trend, weigh the consequences, risks and rewards first.