Ear gauge sizes run backwards. The higher the gauge number, the thinner the jewellery. A standard lobe piercing is usually 20g, around 0.8mm. By the time you reach 00g you are at 10mm, and that is where the gauge scale stops. Above 00g, sizes are given in millimetres or inches instead.
What most size charts leave out is what actually changes as you go bigger. At the sizes most people wear, nothing does. It is much further up, well beyond 00g, that three things shift at once: the jewellery gets heavier, the choice of designs narrows, and prices climb. This guide covers the sizes in order and what to expect at each stage, including measured weights from pieces made at Baltic Dew.
In this article
- How ear gauge sizes work
- What size comes next, and why many people stop at 00g
- Why larger plugs feel heavier
- Weight and everyday comfort
- Why bigger sizes cost more and come in fewer designs
- Sizes that are not on the standard chart
- Looking after wooden plugs and tunnels
- Frequently asked questions
How do ear gauge sizes work?
The gauge scale is descending. A larger number means thinner jewellery. It runs from 20g at the small end down to 00g, and then it ends.
The sizes in order, from smallest to largest:
- 20g (0.8mm), 18g (1.0mm), 16g (1.2mm), 14g (1.6mm)
- 12g (2mm), 10g (2.5mm), 8g (3mm), 6g (4mm)
- 4g (5mm), 2g (6mm), 0g (8mm), 00g (10mm)
- Above 00g: 11mm, 12mm, 14mm, 16mm and upwards, often written as 7/16", 1/2", 9/16" and 5/8"
Once you pass 00g there is no gauge number left to use, which is why larger jewellery is nearly always listed in millimetres or inches. If you know your size in one system and need it in another, the ear gauge to mm conversion chart has the full table.
What size comes next when you stretch?
The steps are not evenly spaced. Most of the gauge scale moves in jumps of around 1mm, but the last two are bigger: 0g to 00g takes you from 8mm to 10mm in a single step.
That 2mm jump is the largest on the standard scale, and it is the point where a lot of people stall. Half sizes exist to bridge it. A 9mm plug sits exactly between 0g and 00g, and the same applies further up, where 1mm steps are common well past 16mm.
Above 00g the numbering gets simpler, because you are working in millimetres and can move in whatever increments your lobes will take.
Why do a lot of people stop around 8mm to 10mm?
Because it is commonly treated as the last point where you can change your mind. Up to roughly 8mm to 10mm, lobes will often shrink back close to their original size if the jewellery is left out, so the decision still feels reversible. Beyond that it is usually permanent without surgery.
How much a lobe shrinks back varies from person to person, and there is no size that guarantees it either way. But it explains why 0g and 00g are where so many people settle: it is the largest size that still feels like a decision you can undo.
Why do larger plugs feel heavier?
Two things compound as sizes go up.
The first is volume. A plug's weight follows the amount of material in it, and that rises far faster than the size number suggests. Going from 10mm to 20mm does not double the material, it multiplies it several times over.
The second is what the piece is made from. Density does most of the work here. Maple sits at roughly 0.62 to 0.75 g/cm³, while 316L stainless steel is around 8.0 g/cm³. For the same shape at the same size, steel carries roughly eleven times the mass of maple. Glass and stone are lighter than steel, but still around three to four times the density of maple.
These are weights measured from Baltic Dew pieces on kitchen scales:
| Piece | Each | Per pair |
|---|---|---|
| 16mm wooden plugs | 2 to 2.5g | about 5g |
| 28mm wooden tunnels | about 3.5g | about 7g |
Worth noting what that second row means. The 28mm tunnels are nearly twice the diameter of the 16mm plugs, but each one only weighs about a gram more. Wood is what makes that possible.
Does weight matter for everyday wear?
At common sizes, no. A 10mm plug is small and light in almost any material, and the difference between wood and steel at that size is a couple of grams that nobody notices.
It becomes a real consideration much further up. Many people at larger sizes find that heavier jewellery makes their ears feel tired by the end of the day, and some find it becomes irritating with long wear. That is where the weight gap between materials stops being marginal and starts being obvious.
This is one of the main reasons Baltic Dew makes plugs and tunnels from wood rather than metal. Customers at larger sizes kept raising the same thing: the pieces available to them were heavy.
If your ears feel fine in what you already wear, weight is not a problem you need to solve. If they do not, a lighter material at the same size is the straightforward change to try.
Cut from recycled skateboard maple, in six colour combinations. Single or pair.
Why do bigger sizes cost more and come in fewer designs?
Both come down to how the market works rather than anything about the sizes themselves.
Larger pieces use more material and take longer to shape, so they cost more to make. Fewer people wear them, so fewer are produced, and mass manufacturers concentrate on the sizes that sell in volume. The result is familiar to anyone shopping above 20mm: the same few designs, at higher prices, with long gaps in the size range.
Baltic Dew prices plugs and tunnels by the piece rather than by the size. The 10mm plugs and the 16mm plugs are both £15 to £25 depending on whether you buy a single or a pair. Going up a size does not put the price up.
What if your size is not on the standard chart?
Standard charts stop where mass production stops. Wood is cut and shaped by hand, so the size range is set by the material rather than by tooling.
The practical limits at Baltic Dew:
- Smallest: 8mm. Below that the wood becomes thin enough to snap, so smaller gauges are not made.
- Largest: no fixed limit. The biggest pair made so far is 72mm. Larger is possible.
- Anything in between. Odd millimetre sizes and half sizes are made to order from the skateboard wood currently in stock.
Current listings are double flare, because that is what has been asked for. Single flare can be made on request.
Wooden plugs are for fully healed lobes only
Wood, bone and other natural materials are porous. They are worn once a stretch has completely healed and settled, not before, and they should never be used to stretch with. Baltic Dew plugs are not stretching jewellery. If your lobes are sore, tender, still settling at a new size, or you are moving up a size, take advice from a piercer and use jewellery intended for that purpose.
Your size and colour tones, cut from the skateboard wood currently available.
How do you look after wooden plugs and tunnels?
Wood behaves differently from steel and needs a little more attention, but not much.
- Keep them dry. Take them out before showering or swimming. Wood does not like prolonged soaking.
- Re-oil from time to time. Baltic Dew plugs are finished with a skin-safe natural oil, with no hardwax oil or chemical coatings. That finish wears down with use and is easily topped up.
- Wipe rather than scrub. A dry or barely damp cloth is enough for everyday cleaning.
The full routine is on the jewellery care page.
Frequently asked questions
What are the ear gauge sizes in order?
From smallest to largest: 20g (0.8mm), 18g (1.0mm), 16g (1.2mm), 14g (1.6mm), 12g (2mm), 10g (2.5mm), 8g (3mm), 6g (4mm), 4g (5mm), 2g (6mm), 0g (8mm), 00g (10mm). Above 00g the gauge scale ends and sizes are given in millimetres or inches, starting around 11mm.
Is 0g to 00g a big jump?
Yes. It moves you from 8mm to 10mm, a 2mm step, which is the largest single jump on the standard gauge scale. Most other steps are around 1mm. A 9mm half size sits between the two and makes the jump easier to manage.
What is the most common ear gauge size?
Most stretched lobes settle somewhere between 6mm and 10mm, which covers 2g, 0g and 00g. Jewellery choice is widest there, and it is also commonly treated as the last point where lobes will often shrink back close to their original size if you change your mind. Beyond roughly 10mm, stretching is usually permanent without surgery.
What size gauge is best for ears?
There is no single best size. It depends on how far your lobes stretch comfortably and what you want to wear. Weight only becomes a practical consideration at much larger sizes, where the same shape in steel or stone carries considerably more mass than one in wood.
Can you stretch your ears with wooden plugs?
No. Wood is porous and is worn only in lobes that have completely healed and settled at their current size. It is not stretching jewellery, and using it to stretch with risks damaging the lobe. Move up a size with jewellery intended for the purpose, let the stretch heal fully, then switch to wood.
How can you tell what size gauge your ears are at home?
Measure the widest part of the jewellery you currently wear, not the hole itself. Use digital callipers if you have them, or lay the piece against a ruler with millimetre markings. Then match the figure to a gauge conversion chart. Measuring the lobe directly is unreliable, because it changes shape as soon as anything is removed.
Are wooden plugs suitable for larger sizes?
Wood is most useful at larger sizes, because that is where weight differences become noticeable. Baltic Dew's 28mm wooden tunnels weigh about 3.5g each. The lower limit is 8mm, below which the wood becomes thin enough to snap. At any size, wooden plugs go into lobes that are fully healed and settled.
Wooden plugs and tunnels from 8mm upwards
Cut from recycled skateboard maple. Ready made sizes, or made to order in yours.
See the collection