A LOT of questions about gauges?

I am thinking of getting gauges (the kind of ear piercing) sometime in the future. First of all, do you need your ear pierced at any size before you start doing the stretching and/or piercing for gauges? Next, what is the size and/or measurement of the gauge that most professionals will first start with? Also, I've heard that ordinary ear piercings are not very painful, but will it hurt if I just go ahead and start the piercing and/or stretching for gauges this way? Will it hurt anyway (on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst pain)? Then, I absolutely need to know if I DO NOT stretch my ear past the "point of no return" (described in next question), will it completely shrink and return to its normal and original size and shrink up and close the hole eventually? Finally and MOST IMPORTANTLY, what is the general "point of no return" for gauges in the specific size and/or measurement. (the "point of no return" is where the ear is stretched so much, that it could not possibly return to its original shape and size and/or the hole for the gauge will not close up naturally without surgery). A less important question would be, what gauges are the safest to have in relativity to the "point of no return" anyway?Okay, I think that's about it. Sorry if any of my information is inaccurate, I've only recently had scant research about gauges. Please, experienced "gauged" people, help me out! Thanks for any and all answers and help you give in advance!