Can you stretch your ears using an ear weight?

Can you stretch your ears using an ear weight?

The simple answer to this is yes you can.. but you probably shouldn't. Although people throughout history have stretched their ears using ear weights or heavy earrings, it is probably not the best or healthiest way for you to stretch your ears.

The problem is that a heavy ear weight will stretch the lobe at the bottom of the ear more than the surrounding skin. This might lessen blood flow and lead to a thinner and less healthy lower lobe. For a long term healthy stretched lobe you want to stretch the skin evenly around the hole. So the best way to actually stretch your ear would be to use tapers or plugs and tape. See our section on healthy ear stretching.

Ear Weights are an Ear Adornment not a stretching tool

Ear weights look pretty damn cool but like other jewellery they are not something you should probably wear around the clock, especially heavy weights. They can be worn out in the evening or on special occasions but you should make sure to rotate wearing them with your standard plugs and tunnels. 

Lighter weights are less of an issue for stretching the ear, but they can have an alternative issue. If they are too light and you don't wear anything else your ear may end up shrinking. This could be a problem if the design of the weight meant your ear shrunk and you could no longer remove the weight!  So again it is a good idea to rotate wearing hanging designs with plugs of your usual size to keep your hole at the size you want it. Here is a link to our selection of Ear Weights

Ear Saddles

Ear 'saddles' were originally designed and called 'platform spreaders'. their purpose was to enable wearing ear weights while spreading the load further around the bottom of the lobe. Weights were intended to by hung over the spreader or saddle. So if you want to wear weights or heavier earrings on a more regular basis then investing in some ear saddles is a good idea.

Ear saddles have become very popular and lots of people now wear them without hanging anything though them. They have become an item to wear on their own. Here is a link to our selection of Ear Saddles

We love ear weights and are certainly not discouraging you from wearing them! Just encouraging you to think about how often and for how long you wear them. As with all body mods and piercings you owe it to yourself to educate yourself.

Weight though an ear saddle by @rachelrrriot

Ear Hangers

Ear hangers are essentially hanging designs for stretched ears which are not heavy enough to be called ear weights. They usually have the same weight as a regular pair of earrings.