Conch stretching, not for the faint-hearted // jspr

Conch stretching, not for the faint-hearted

One of the reservations I originally had about getting pierced (and the subsequent inclination to stretch even the most innapropriate piercings. No, not that one) was that it might, in some way, decrease my chances of getting a job. I have since realised that the decent companies hire on enthusiasm, talent and personality (not necessarily in that order) and not personal appearance. Obviously if you’ve got poor personal hygiene then it’s going to affect you wherever you go, but if you choose to dye/dread your hair or get piercings or tattoos, does that really say anything about you as a professional?

Since I dreaded my hair and got pierced, I’ve worked for a FTSE Top 100 company, an HR and Payroll software provider and now a fast-growing creative agency. None of these companies even mentioned my piercings or dreads, and there were people at the former two who were obsessed with how you dread hair and how you stretch piercings. Why is it, then, that when I speak to people about work the first thing the majority ask is if I find it difficult to get work looking the way I look? If I were more self-conscious, this might have started to get to me but I always assume they’re talking about the hair and ears. I guess we’re in pretty radically changing times right now with regard to body mods. I see so many people around with pretty large stretches (I would say that my lobe is above average, but I’ve seen some people in the street with at least 35mm) and this is indicative to me of a wider acceptance of body modifications and a general ability to separate an individual’s personality and the trinkets with which they choose to adorn themselves (thanks, Howard).

For me, what it comes down to is that I have enough confidence in my skills and professionalism for my appearance to remain irrelevant. This coupled with the fact that I honestly wouldn’t want to be part of a company who were that fixated on the personal appearance of their employees. After all, they would be benefitting from having me on the payroll, and if they can’t see that then that’s their problem. This piece of rhetoric is something that’s very important to me. A lot of my friends say that their only reservation about getting stretches is that they think it would have a negative effect on their ability to get work in anything other than a tattoo parlour, but I strongly believe that that’s not the case anymore. I also believe that life is too short to not do something as personally gratifying and empowering as self-modification just because some buttoned-down, traditionalist HR type can’t see past whatever stereotype they associate with a pierced individual.

All that aside, don’t even stretch your conch. I really mean this. It looks amazing, and it’s easily tied for first place with my lobe, but it isn’t worth the pain, lost sleep and probably permanent scarring that I seem to have been blessed with with mine. What looks like a relatively healthy stretch on the surface:

Can sometimes be causing its owner a lot more discomfort and, in some cases, mental anguish (I’m deeply dreading the inevitability of a dermal punch!) if you delve deeper.

tagged body modification dreadlocks pain piercings work

in body mods, me

Sam

One of the girls on my rugby team has her conch piercings stretched, and it causes her a lot of trouble. Since we’re forbidden to wear jewelry in the match, she has to painfully remove the plugs and cover the angry-looking holes with athletic tape. She refuses to go through with a dermal punch or take out the jewelry altogether, saying they’ll stop almost literally festering in the off-season. Such is the logic of an American college student, I suppose. I will admit they look very nice when she’s got her plugs in, though.
Oh, and props to you for believing in ability over appearance in the workplace and the world in general. We need more people like you.

Jasper Tandy

Thanks Sam.

You’ve just reminded me to follow this post up. I had my conch at 6mm for around 8 months. I do very little sport (though it did get knocked a couple of times during basketball) and it just didn’t get any better. I eventually gave up and dropped it back to 2.4mm and it’s still playing up. I’m hopefully going to get it punched in the next few weeks, though.

I really hope your friend has better luck than I did with mine. As you said, they look great with tunnels in, but the actual holes are so horrible-looking and tender all the time, it’s simply not worth it. I know some people have successfully stretched cartilage but, from what I’ve seen, they appear to be in the minority!

echohelloworld » Blog Archive » 133 111008 - Dermal punch

[...] Anyone who wants an oversized hole in their body (careful), I really recommend dermal punches over stretching, which just did not work for me. [...]

Nicole

You should just get them punched! I have mine punched to a 0g and while the healing did take a while, its totally worth it. Do it

Skye

i’m seriously considering getting a dermal punch, and i also work in an office (formal call centre).

i already have my ears streched to a 2g, and it’s quite openly accepted here. people around the office give me many compliments on my unique hanging styles and plugs. i also sport some spiky black emo hair, and no one seems to have a problem with my level of professionalism.

if i did get a dermal punch, i would aim for a 2g, (6mm) or a 4g (5mm). i was wondering how bad the pain was for the straight punch (i imagine that a stretch would be quite painful as that part of the ear is cartilidge) and how long did it take for yours to completley heal? as far as my tolerance goes, i have 2 tattoos on my wrists which hurt like hell, but it healed in under 2 weeks.

Hey Skye

The pain from the punch was pretty bad. It’s not the worst I’ve felt, but it’s certainly the worst I’ve inflicted on myself. I’ve only got a tattoo on my forearm and multiple ear piercings and it was way worse than those. It also bleeds like crazy and takes ages to heal. I had mine done in October 08 and it’s still not fully healed. Depending on if I sleep funny, it’ll open up and go all plasma-y like piercings do.

That being said, it’s the best piercing ever! I think it just looks so amazing, but the thing they don’t tell you to expect is your hearing will probably take a hit. It will also whistle when it’s windy so those are things to bear in mind. You may also (depending on the thickness of your cartilage) find it difficult to get jewellery with a large enough wearable area. I personally go for a silicon plug now, because if it does go a bit plasma-y in the night, there’s plenty of give in the lip. Also remember that you won’t be able to wear anything with a stiff lip as there’s no give in the cartilage when putting jewellery in (I have a straw that a fold my plug into so I can put it in my ear!).

Hope that answers your questions and any others you might have!

Conch dermal punch, nearly healed // jspr

[...] just wanted to take a little bit of time to confirm to anyone who also read Conch Stretching; not for the faint-hearted that you should not stretch your conch (or any other part of your body that’s made of [...]

The Now Movement

Funny you all should be talking about conch piercings and gauging them… i do indeed have both conches pierced… had them both done the same day too… but i do plan on stretching them out.. THE RIGHT WAY! lol, i feel dermal punches are just way out of the norm for a bigger hole… and really, i feel that stretching your conch should NOT be done like your lobes! People dont seem to realize that conch/cartilage piercings heal like a snail compared to lobes cuz there is hardly any vascularization in cartilage! when you gauge that stuff, remember that itll take like 2-3 months in between stretches… Cartilage is a real bitch im realizing to heal, but just like any piercing… gauging can be done painlessly, and right… its just gonna take time… something many should realize they have a lot of and no rush is needed!

Thanks for your comment! My main problem many-fold as I’ve recently discovered. Even with a now-healed dermal punch, I still have quite thick cartilage in my ear. A <1mm stretch required me to keep a taper in until the swelling of a very small, slow stretch had gone down. This taper kept getting caught on my hair, clothes, anything really and was hindering the (as you know) very delicate healing process. I couldn’t put a regular plug in it because I couldn’t find any that were long enough. As a result, it was blowing out and generally causing me loads of grief.

The decision to get it punched wasn’t one that I took lightly. I was totally petrified to do it, but I thought really hard about it and I’m so glad I did it. I have a lovely, perfectly circular hole and there is no evidence of my preliminary fuckup! You seem like you know what you’re doing, but if I was recommending to anyone, I would say to get it punched. I’ve had it nearly a year and it’s only just healed, but I now know that a year is probably the amount of time you should wait between stretches if that’s the method you’re choosing.

What are you at right now?

About 5 months ago i got my conch stretched, and i must admit it really wasn’t as bad as what i thought it would of been! I am only at 3.2mm at the moment but i want to get up to about 5 or 6mm, How long do you reckon i should wait until i get stretched again? If anyone is over 4mm do you find it uncomfortable or normal?

Like I said, I stopped because it just wasn’t working for me. Only stretch again when it’s totally healed – like you can touch it and bend it without it hurting at all. I have 8mm in my conch (from a dermal punch) now and the only annoying thing about it is when it’s really windy you can sometimes hear whistling!

dom

i stretched my cartledge 2 a 3 2day pretty painful but honestly grow a pair

A 3 what? Gauge? Millimetres? From what? See, the problem with your request that I grow a pair is that I can’t just will a body-part to grow. I can’t will my shattered cartilage to grow properly if I stretch too fast.

I’ve spoken to so many piercers and pierced people about this, and the general consensus was to not stretch cartilage because of the pain and permanent undesired problems it can give you. Even after I spent nearly a year with my conch piercing stretched to 8mm and it not healing (not getting worse, just not healing) and basically being a chronic pain in the ass. So, how about you put down your little keyboard warrior attitude and come back when you’ve successfully stretched your conch to 8mm without any trouble, and it’s healed fine. Mmmkay? OK.

p.s. see here

Ryan Rebirth

I had my conches punched at a 2 and immediately stretched to a 0 (to control bleeding) worst pain I have ever been through..But so worth it….Didn’t fully heal to a comfortable level for about 8 months to a year…Since then I have rapidly stretched to a 16 mm conch.Yes stretching does suck and you do get a little extra growth but there are a few options to take care of that pretty painlessly ie:cutting or a few rubs to disolve them Mail me for info.The bigger your conches get the more comfortable they are.You can fiind proper jewelry from a few reputable companies form stone to glass from 1/2 inch to 1″ in length……

Jasper

Hey Ryan, thanks for the comment! I got mine pierced at 8mm (0 gauge?) and have just left it that way. I had such a bad experience with stretching that I can’t be bothered to risk it and deform my ear like I nearly did last time. It’s a hobby and I don’t want to get to the stage where I just hate it because it’s all pain and no reward! Judging by your site, though, the pain aspect appeals just as much as anything else