Question: I’ve had an 8 gauge Prince Albert piercing for 3 weeks. It seems to have healed nicely, but I’m still keeping it clean. My question is, how long do I need to wait before I can stretch the piercing? Also if you recommend I buy a taper for the next size or if I should go back to my piercer to have it stretched. I am used to the process of stretching earlobe piercings; I buy a taper, lube it with vitamin e oil and slowly stretch the hole, usually taking an hour before putting the next size jewelry in. However, I’m a little intimidated by the thought of taking the CBR out of the PA and changing the jewelry.

Answer: I would recommend that you wait until your piercing is at least 4-6 months
old before you attempt a stretch. I know it seems healed now after 3
weeks, but there is a lot of tissue on the inside that still needs time to
mend. The penile glans is much more fibrous and dense than an ear lobe,
and it’s obviously also a much more sensitive area – damage to the tissue
from a premature stretch could cause a lot of pain with regular movement
and urination, which is something you kind of can’t avoid!

Once you’re ready to stretch, I would suggest going to your piercer at
least once and see how they do it. It’s not a straight shot like through
the earlobe, and again – the last thing you want to do is cause any
damage.