All right, so I've been thinking about gauging/stretching my ears (lobes). I bought these tapers from hot topic, they're the ones with the bar in the middle, and that you twist on, so I'm guessing they aren't the real deal... (lol). But anyway, I was doing some research on them and they say you shouldn't wear them as jewelry, is that true and why? And how long should I keep them in if I can't wear them as jewelry. Also, I have a regular ear piercing so I was wondering if I really DID gauge my ears what size should I start with? I don't want to do something stupid like skip sizes or anything, I don't mind starting little. Another question is, what is the maximum size that if I decide to take the gauge out, will my ear lobe go back to "normal" ear piercing size? Sorry for so many questions :X I just want to make things clear so I don't do something stupid and screw up my ear. Thanks.

1) I can't see why you can't wear them as normal jewellery, I wear mine everyday (real ones, not trick ones).. I guess the problem is they can get ripped out playing sport or something but I play women's hockey and its fine for me..
2) start with something small.. 2mm maximum then go up a mm each time so your ear isn't put under too much strain.
3) when I was around 16 mine were 10mm and I took them out so I could wear these gorgeous earrings to my prom and they went down to normal size but it depends on the person.. some people say 6mm some say 8mm but id say anywhere between 6mm-10mm will stretch down all the way.

Hope this helped!