Plugs and Tunnels

Plugs and Tunnels are large gauge jewelry pieces made for stretched piercings. Typically used for stretched earlobes, these jewelry styles can look very effective. There are some specialized large gauge jewelry types that are ideal for stretched lobes and other stretched piercings, such as ear plugs, flesh tunnels, earlets, spirals and claws. All these jewelry types are made in larger gauges though those with stretched piercings can also use regular body jewelry types in large gauges.

Ear plugs are solid pieces that are inserted into the piercing. Depending on the design, they can be flat (without flares), single flared or double flared plugs. The flat ones resemble cylinders and they are easily inserted into the piercing. They need O-rings on both sides to keep the jewelry inside the piercing. Double-flared plugs have a widening on both ends so you don’t have to use O-rings. These are very attractive but much more difficult to insert. Single-flared (also known as one flared) plugs have one flare and one flat side so they are easy to insert but they use an O-ring in the back to keep jewelry in place. Another popular stretched jewelry type are flesh tunnels. Flesh tunnels resemble ear plugs but they are hollow, with a hole in the middle. It means that you can see right through the piercing if the gauge is large enough, which can produce interesting effects. Flesh tunnels also come in flat, single flared and double flared designs.