A lot of people have been making their own earrings out of polyclay for gauges lately. The problem is, when baking clay (even non-toxic) a lot of the time it never bakes throughly, leaving the inside moist, oily, or doughy.. This can lead to infection and/or irritation. Also, clay tends to be very poreus, making it easy for bacteria to hide and fester, even when cleaned properly. I used to have my ears stretched to 1/2, but took them out after a while. I never developed any problems.

Do not purchase or make any sort of clay earring, spacer, gauge, or taper. It is too risky, yet I always see somebody trying to make a quick buck not caring for the safety of others.