A few years ago I started stretching my ears. I’ve always had a thing for piercing and used to have a lot more but now my ears are all that remain. I started stretching my ears because I was curious about the process, liked the look of the smaller ones and never wore earrings anyway. Matt has big tunnels, about 20mm but mine are only 6mm and 4mm (my second hole is also stretched)
I still love them but occasionally I’d like the best of both worlds and be able to wear fancy earrings on a night out. I’d been thinking for months about trying to convert some earrings and finally got round to it when I found some lovely ones to match my gown for the Miss Viva Las Vegas competition.
They turned out so well that I decided to do it again with the earrings for this set I bought in Guangzhou Airport. I thought there might be some of you out there who would like to know how to do it too!
What you need:
Stainless Steel Tunnels in your size
Earrings of your choice
Quick Dry Epoxy or Resin Glue
Pliers
Sand Paper
Start with your tunnels and if you have access to a metal grinder, use it to grind down the end that doesn’t screw off. This means the earrings won’t sit out so far from your ear but if you don’t have access to one, it’s not the end of the world. Luckily my dad has one at his work and can do them for me.
Now prep your earrings. Use the cutting part on your pliers to snip off the end or in this case, I cut it down to the small flower so the back of the tunnel would be hidden.
Now to ensure the glue has maximum hold, use the sand paper to rough up the surface of both the earring and the tunnel. I forgot to do this step with these but luckily the back of the earrings are a little rough anyway.
Mix up your epoxy, following the instructions and be quick about the application- these 5 minute epoxy’s go too tacky quite fast.
Apply the glue to the back of the earring.
Press the tunnel to the back of the earring. Make sure it’s in a stable place and can be left untouched for 24 hours to make sure the glue is completely set.
And there you go! It works really well and I’m so happy that now I can buy the lovely earrings I see! The only downside is that the tunnels are around $10 each (I buy mine from Purely Piercings) so it bumps up the cost of each set.
x Miss Victory Violet
Categories: DIY, Pinup Life Hacks
Hey Ella if you plan to do this to a lot of earring you should buy the tunnels in bulk online!
That’s what my sister does for herself,
They end up being around one or two dollars each 🙂
Yes I’d love to find somewhere cheaper! Please pass on the link if you know it! X
Another option is to buy flesh-colored silicone plugs and then just make a small hole for the earring post. Then the plugs are reusable. This is what I did before I let my 0g lobes (mostly) close up.
Thanks ! I have 0g lobes and sometimes I find really cute earrings that I would love to wear. I’ve thought about flesh-colored plugs but did not think that the finished look would be good enough, so thanks again, that’s a great tip.
When I read you, I think we may have had a similar path leading up to the pin up style we both love now.
Loved this post! Any tips for hoop earrings besides just using them through a tunnel? I don’t like how loose the hoop is when used through the plugs. I’ve always wondered if there’s any way to keep it steady in the ears
Thanks!
This is FANTASTIC!! Thanks for sharing!!
GREAT article! Love this for my 10-year-old 00’s!