Stretched ears are a big commitment, but small gauges are perfect to enjoy the style and still have discreet body jewellery options. Most people agree that small gauges in ears can look fantastic.

Shop our collection of small gauges

We sell gauges of all shapes and sizes, stocking plenty of plugs and tunnels in a huge amount of sizes. So, if you have small gauged ears or are thinking of small ear stretchers to start with, we’ve got plenty for you to choose from.

What is the smallest gauge size?

The sizing can be a bit confusing when you start out, since the smaller the gauges number, the larger the piercing size.

But for example, when you go for a standard ear piercing, you’ll usually get one of the following two sizes:

• 20g (0.8mm / 0,032") 
• 18g (1mm / 0.04")

When you start stretching your ears, you’ll go for smaller ear stretchers in different g sizes, which translates to larger plugs and flesh tunnels. So your next small gauges for piercing would then be:

• 16g (1.2mm / 3/64") 
• 14g (1.6mm / 1/16")

After that, you’d go for even smaller tunnel plugs sizes: 12g, 10g, 8g, all the way to 0g, 00g, and 000g. It’s important that you don’t just rely on the g size because some plugs will have the same g size but be different in millimeters and inches. For example:

10g can be: 

• 2.588 mm or 0.102" 
• 3.175 mm or 0.125"

6g comes in: 

• 4.115 mm or 0.162" 
• 4.762 mm or 0.188"

4g is available as: 

• 5.189 mm or 0.204" 
• 6.350 mm or 0.250"

2g is divided into: 

• 6.544 mm or 0.258" 
• 7.938 mm or 0.312"

00g can be purchased as: 

• 9.266 mm or 0.365" version 
• 9.525 mm or 0.375" version

While the differences are not that big, it’s useful to know which version you’re getting, as the jump from the larger 4g to the smaller 2g might be a bit too much during stretching.

What is the smallest Gauge size gauge that will shrink back?

The majority of professionals recommend stopping at 2 gauge to be sure you can shrink your earlobes back when you want to and you should not go larger than 0g which is a definitive point of no return.

That said, there are always exceptions to keep in mind! Everyone is different and reacts differently to body modification, and there’s a small percentage of people whose earlobes never shrink back, even from small gauges.

To give yourself an idea, if you’ve had piercings without jewellery for years and the openings have never shrunk (you can still easily get jewellery in) you may be one of the few that will struggle to shrink them unless you keel a smaller gauge.

How do I know what size my gauges are?

If you already have piercings, you can measure the gauge size with a ruler and then consult our ear gauge size chart to find the exact gauge size.

If you have a fresh piercing, you should wait for at least six months to a year before you start stretching, so it has enough time to fully heal otherwise you may tear or permanently damage your lobes.  View our ear stretching size chart for more info on product sizing.

Got a question about our small gauges?

Questions about our small gauges? Not sure how many inches specific small ear stretchers are? Drop us a message, and we’ll get back to you within a day or two!