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'Kay so I know Shout went to the board about this. But Lance since you seem interested you, join us

Okay, I'm going to try to clear this up. xd

First, Tapers are long plastic or metal pieces that thin off on one end. They are used for stretching. You put the thin side in and slowly stretch until it's at the full thickness of the taper.

Like this


Gauges are the sizes of tapers/plugs/tunnels/etc. They go in increments of 2, starting at 20, 18, 16, 14, etc, until 00, and then it is continued with imperial measurements. 1/2", 5/8", so on.


Now, the act if TAPING is when you wrap layers of tape, most commonly electrical tape (The black plasticy stuff) to move up in size without over stretching at a time. You start by adding one layer of tape, not overlapping, and lubing it up and sliding it in. Personally when I'm taping I leave it for at least 12 hours before adding a new layer. So one in the morning, and if I feel up to it, one before bed.

As for going to fast, you may have gone a little bit, but it shouldn't have any major damage. Once you get in to larger sizes you'll want to slow down. I'm at 1/2" right now, and I'm waiting 4 months until my next size, just to be sure. For going from 10 to 08 you should probably wait a month or so? But it's all about a personal pace.

Also, BEWARE OF HOT TOPIC EARRINGS. They very often miss mark their sizes, so what you may think is the next size up and an easy stretch, could be as much as two sizes to big. I bought was was marked as a 00, but was actually a 0, and when I took it back to be exchanged (I hadn't even opened it, I saw through the box on the way home) I was given a ton of s**t from the snobby employees and told that I was wrong, and it was the right size, and whatever.

As for sizes varying, a lot of plugs are hand made, and aren't exact. Mostly naturals like gemstones, wood, bone, and horn are hand made, so it's good to double check. I can't remember the name of it, but there are these things used for measuring and it gives you an exact size. They're normally used in carpentry and plumbing, so you can pick them up at any hardware store, but not essential.