Stretching, in the context of
body piercing, is the deliberate expansion of a healed piercing for the purpose of wearing certain types of
jewelry.
Ear piercings are the most commonly stretched piercings, with nasal septum piercings,
tongue piercings and
lip piercings/
lip plates following close behind. While all piercings can be stretched to some degree, cartilage piercings are usually more difficult to stretch and more likely to form
hypertrophic scars if stretched quickly.
Dermal punching is generally the preferred method for accommodating larger jewelry in cartilage piercings.