Cleaning:
I clean my ears in the shower, like most people with stretched ears. I slip out my plugs, use a little bit of soap (or shower gel, or antibacterial wash) and clean the entire lobe, get it all sudsy, then rinse with lovely warm water. Then I clean my plugs.
Generally just running them under the shower head does the job, but from time to time I give them a good wipe over with surgical spirits to make sure they're totally germ-free. Then I pop my plugs back in. All clean.
Moisturizing:
Anyone with stretched ears will tell you, moisturizing is a key part of the maintenance of stretched ears. I use Vitamin E in a few forms.
After showering and whenever I feel it's necessary, I use Kelkin Vitamin E Cream. Now I use this on my face but any time I use any creams, I take them from the pot with cotton wool buds, so I don't contaminate the pot with my icky finger germs! I pop a little on my lobes after showering or if I'm going out in the cold for the day to keep my ears looking lovely. I even bring a mini tub of Vitamin E cream and some cotton buds in my handbag in case I might need to pop a little cream on them during the day.
Massaging:
A couple of times per week I burst a Sona Vitamin E capsule and rub the oil on my lobes before bedtime. Vitamin E encourages new growth and healthy skin, a must for anyone with stretched ears!
If you've little lobes like me, massaging them helps to promote blood-flow and new cell growth. When I'm moisturizing my ears, I massage the lobes for a minute or two to stimulate the flow of blood to them. This helps to thicken them up over time which is great if you want to stretch your ears to bigger sizes.
Other Stuff:
If it's cold, keep your ears warm. Don't wear steel, wear wood or glass. Wear a hat that covers your ears if you can! Some people I've seen on YouTube with bigger stretched lobes are able to wrap them around their ears near their face, which allows their body heat to keep their lobes warm - while I can't do that, I can say it's a good idea for those who can!
Wear nice stuff in your holes. I favor stone, almost exclusively, but I also really like to wear glass too. Glass can be made into spirals and fancy shapes, where stone cannot, so it's nice to have some fancy glass plugs for special wear. I also really like the satisfying weight that you can feel with stone and glass.
So there you have it, how I look after my stretched ears. Hopefully you found this useful if you are new to stretched ear care and if you're more seasoned than I am, please do let me know your tips!!
Amy
xo