i really gotta say. when i was stretching to 3/4 i had a problem with my left ear, as per usual, and it got infected and i had to stop stretching, but i took an old gauge from one of my friends to keep it opened, and i think my ear went down to a 6. pretty tiny. i had must less problems stretching up to the 5/8 again, obviously, but i had to go back up is the point. your ears will likely close, and it depends on how long you've had them for. who knows in 10 years it might be a different story.
i think it really depends on your body past 00. it's good as a general rule that if you want to one day close it up then fine, but i don't know. i'm pretty sure that if i took out my gauges they would definitely close up, obviously not all the way, but to a much much smaller size. my body seems to close up like magic sometimes. it seems to reject piercings and etc, but for some reason i can heal like no other when i take it out. i had a nose ring for 5 months and it closed over night when i lost my jewelery while sleeping. that was a bummer. some people often suggest is stretch up a bit before closing that way your body's reaction will be to shut the hole.
when and if i never want my gauges gone, will be a bridge i'll cross when i get there, and i'm more than certain when i'm 45 i'll be able to put away a couple of grand for surgery if i really need to(provided i hadn't started saving). i'm not really concerned with where i'll be at my life in 30-40 years, and i'm really annoyed with people saying what about when you're old. well fuck do you think? i'll be an old bag with saggy boobs, saggy lobes, and greasy tats. that's not your lifestyle choice, and i respect that, so stop asking such stupid questions. as if i didn't spend 3 years before actually getting inked, and even as much i had wanted a tattoo since i was a small child. go figure i'd one day get one. every decision i made about my body was made over a course of time, and i chose to be the way i am, and i'm not going to bitch about it later, because fact is, that would make me a shitty individual. i value integrity. and life is about living.
