You see them everywhere. When we were kids, everyone had pierced ears. In college, and beyond, it seems that more and more people have stretched that hole in their ear to be a little bigger than the standard earring.

You've found yourself realizing that you'd like to do the same, but have no idea how. However, for every person that has stretched their ears successfully, there's someone who has done it wrong, and sported the ever-disgusting "blow-out." Here is a step-by-step guide to doing it properly, to save your skin.

1. Understand the proper terminology.

First of all, it's not called "gauging" your ears. Say that to any piercer or modified person, and you'll likely be corrected. The gauge is the size of the hole. It begins in the double digits-most people with pierced ears are an 18 or a 14.

There are also different types of jewelry that you can place into your ears. Tunnels refer to the kind with holes in them. If you can see through the jewelry, you've got yourself a pair of tunnels. Tapers are cone shaped, and meant for stretching. More about that later. Weights are the long type, which can be used aesthetically or to tug on your ears. Plugs are the standard type, the ones that look like large earrings.

2. Get a taper kit.

Tapers are not meant to be worn long-term. That is, do not wear them for days at a time, or even sleep with them in. They are meant to do the actual stretching. In order to stretch your ears, use a taper that is a size larger than your current size. DO NOT SKIP SIZES. If you are currently a size 10, do not jump up to a size 6 or 4. This can lead to tearing, which is not what you want to do.

3. Begin stretching

Remember, you are gently stretching the skin, to ripping open holes. It should never hurt (too much), and if the pain is too much, give your ears a break and try again later. You should also always use some sort of lubricant on your ears. I suggest using E-oil, which can be bought from any sort of drug store, like Rite Aid or Walgreens. The more lubed up your ears are, the better your stretching experience will be. I would also suggest stretching after a hot shower, because your skin will be more stretchy and soft.

Once your ear feels comfortable and not in any pain, gently remove the taper, and replace with the actual jewelry (tunnel, plug, etc.). Take your time with this. It isn't a race. If you have somewhere to be in 20 minutes, it probably isn't a good time to be stretching your ears. Do it when you can relax, pop in a movie, and take your time. Don't wear the taper for more than a few hours.

4. Find your jewelry material

Just like with any other piercing, your body will react differently to different materials. Personally, I prefer my plugs to be stone or wood, because they are more comfortable for me. I think it's because your body reacts better to natural materials, but that's my opinion. Some prefer to have acrylic (plastic), metal, or silicon. Whatever is the most comfortable to you, go with that. Just keep in mind, during the winter months, metal and stone jewelry may feel cold, and can even cause frostbite. Make sure to keep your ears warm, and bundle up!

5. Wash your ears

I cannot stress this enough. Y'know that stereotype about how people with stretched ears smell bad? It's true when people don't wash their plugs. Pop them out while you're in the shower, and gently massage the hole with soap and water. To clean the actual jewelry, any sort of jewelry-cleaning liquid works fine.

6. WAIT to size up

Do your ears still hurt from the last time you stretched? Then it isn't time to size up. The biggest mistake a person can make while stretching, besides skipping sizes, is stretching again too early. Most piercers and experts recommend waiting up to 4 weeks in double-digit sizes, and 6-8 weeks for sizes bigger than that. However, I would wait as long as possible to size up. There's no rush to get to your dream size, and in this case, patience will definitely be your ally. I won't gross you out with pictures of extreme blowouts, but Google them if you feel so inclined.

7. Have fun with it

There's so many styles of stretched ears, that you really can't go wrong. Some prefer to wear a more artistic, fancy style, while some prefer the plain colored acrylics. You can all out, or subtle. Whatever you choose to do, do it correctly, or you'll end up with painful, smelly, blown-out ears.