You've probably seen them many times: stretched earlobes that are so stretched you can see right through them. This works when the person wearing the piercing uses a very popular stretcher instead of plugs: the flesh tunnel. Anyone who stretches their lobes (the regular ear piercings, the kind you get for studs and earrings) naturally wants to show off the result. While this is also possible with a plug (and there are some really great earplug designs!), the focus with a plug is usually on the wood grain, a specific design, or an inlay. An inlay could be a gemstone, a shell, a rhinestone, or something sculpted in three dimensions. Furthermore, with a plug up to 10mm in size, you can never be entirely sure whether the lobes are actually stretched or if the wearer is using fake plugs. With a flesh tunnel, it's clear: the earlobe is truly stretched, and this is clearly visible.
This doesn't mean, however, that the design of a flesh tunnel is irrelevant or only minimalist – no, you can still experiment with different materials and patterns. A popular option, for example, is a flesh tunnel with a rim. The rim is a thin ring that runs down the center of the tunnel. This is created either by an inlay of another material (e.g., a different type of wood or crushed turquoise in a wooden tunnel) or by a ring-shaped arrangement of small rhinestones. Depending on the material, the front of a flesh tunnel expander can also be intricately carved, decorated, or, in the case of metals like brass, bent into delicate patterns of thin arcs and spirals. A current trend is for the tunnel to have embellishments extending far down the earlobe, making it truly eye-catching.
Flesh tunnels come in various shapes to ensure a secure fit in the piercing channel. For example, they can be ribbed or straight, meaning the tunnel itself is completely straight but has small ridges at the front and back to prevent it from slipping out. The double-flared shape also provides stability: here, the tunnel is slightly curved, becoming narrower towards the middle while the front and back are wider. A combination of both—a flesh tunnel that is curved and flared at the front and straight at the back for easy insertion—is called a single-flared tunnel. This single-flared shape is secured with a rubber band at the straight end.
As you can see, flesh tunnels can be very versatile, and even more variations arise from the different properties of the materials used, such as brass, stainless steel, acrylic, stone, wood, horn, bone, and silicone. Each material offers different advantages in terms of design and comfort. Ultimately, which flesh tunnel becomes your favorite is a matter of personal taste. At CHICNET, we ensure that you can choose and discover your perfect match from our huge selection.