We natural ladies (and ladies in general) love some big, dangly earrings to compliment our big beautiful hair. But, as with some things fashion related, it can cause permanent damage : to your tender earlobes. I remember my mother having very elongated holes in her ears. I still see this problem when out and about.
I’ll post my references at the end of this post, but here’s the breakdown:
Why does this happen?
The hole from the piercing stretches with extra weight causing the lobe to sag or the hole to split the lobe in two. The lobe can sometimes even stretch down to the jaw before it splits.
Split Lobe
What can I do to prevent it?
- Abstinence. So to speak. The best option is to not wear earrings at all.
- Stick to light weight earrings if you do wear them
- Do not wear heavy earrings around young children who might grab them and pull
- Do not wear heavy earrings if you’re doing to be doing a lot of movement.
- If you are hard core and have the money, you can have a medical procedure done where the doc performs injections to make the lobe stronger by plumping it up (think lip enhancement).
What can I do to fix it?
A plastic surgery can repair a split lobe and it can be re-pierced after about 2 months. Though I’d personally stick to studs or just go bare-earred after all that 
If surgery is not an option for you, try a product such as the Piece Companion that aids in hiding the damage and (supposedly) preventing more.
