Got to My 0g Goal! (Inspo vs reality story)
I was originally inspired by the style image attached (likely Photoshop/AI, but I didn't know it at the time) and really liked the hoop-through-tunnel look. I thought it added a lot of interest with a relatively small gauge and you could still swap out hoops to mix things up.
Well, after receiving a baby's-first gauging kit, I was surprised to discover how long the tunnels actually are. I had planned to wear my hoops as I went through the sizing process, but that wasn't going to happen with the length. Not a big problem, once I get to the size I want, I can surely buy shorter tunnels. Right?
WRONG. (More or less.)
This is when I started to suspect the image I saw may not be entirely rooted in reality. While hunting for the right tube to dangle my hoops from, almost everything had a lengthy 10mm "wearable surface". Idk if I just have dainty lobes, but this felt long to me. I had (and still have) a lot of extra tunnel poking out the back of my ears even as I worked up gauge sizes.
I found only a handful of posts here on r/stretched looking for shorter tunnels; most of which suggested websites that may or may not still be shipping, or snugging up with rubber O-rings (which would not solve my hoop issue).
It's easier to get custom plugs, especially wooden ones, from folks that make them by hand, but that also didn't solve my hoop issue.
Long quest story short- I eventually found my solution in septum tunnels. Glasswear Studios has a septum tunnel with variable wearable surface lengths down to 5mm (perfect for me).
Note: The flare on these is small. This introduces some risk of it slipping out of the wibbly-wobbly earlobe compared to the more rigid septum, but my hoops have so far helped keep 'em locked in place.
Aesthetically, I would have preferred a gold tunnel and switched my hoops to silver for that mixed-metal vibe but I am satisfied overall. Because of the lower visual weight of the clear glass, I sized up to 0g, which I am excited will let me play with some of the cool hoops and hangers that I encountered while window shopping.