Stretching

I decided to stretch earlier this month. I had lost the ball on my septum ring and as much as I hate buying body jewelry  at the mall (online has better prices and selection) I didn't feel comfortable leaving my ring without a ball and risk it falling out and my piercing closing ( If it closed I wouldn't re pierce it, the shit hurt). So I went to a kiosk at the mall, the cashier was creepy but he gave me a discount on a new septum ring and on 14 gauge tapers. A few days later I greased up the tapers with olive oil and slid  those bad boys in. It went in pretty easy, probably because of the olive oil, but they stung like a bitch after inserting. I wash them whenever I take a shower but I'm afraid to take the tapers out because I don't want to risk the hole shrinking (thats what she said). Next month I go up to 12 gauge's, then 10, 8,6,4,2 and finally a 0 gauge. I don't want to go any bigger then that, maybe a 00 but I will cross that bridge when I get there. I've been doing alot of research and so far a "blow out" is something I should very much avoid. It happens when you "stretch" to fast and cause scar tissue and your ear lobes start looking like chewed up meat, it also is painful. I'm taking my time with this to avoid such things from happening, so if it takes me a year or more to reach my goal then thats fine. Healthy ears is key. Here are some video's I found on youtube that has been alot of help