Body jewelry should be quality-made to ensure your safety. In other words, cheap jewelry made of unsafe materials can pose a great danger to your health. Nickel allergies, infection, migration and rejection are just some of the problems you may encounter with low-quality jewelry.
However, that’s not all. Cheap jewelry is usually poorly made. It means that it’s not crafted properly. Chances are that parts of the jewelry will bend, break or simply fall out. This is yet another reason why you should stay away from cheap jewelry.
On the other hand, some well-made jewelry can also give you headache. Beads, balls, charms and other jewelry parts tend to get lost from time to time. You need to know what to do in a situation when you lose part of your jewelry.
Lost Jewelry Parts
Good jewelry is made to be secure, but there is always a risk that it may become loose. This is particularly true for removable elements, such as beads, balls, charms and gems. In fact, your jewelry doesn’t even have to be loose or low-quality to lose a bead – unfortunately, beads and balls are often lost by the owner in the process of removing and changing jewelry.
If this happens to you, do not panic! There are ways to go to remedy this problem, but you need to work quickly because piercings without jewelry can close up quickly.
The most commonly lost jewelry parts include:
- Beads on Captive Jewelry
- Balls on Barbells
- Gems (of all kinds)
- Charms
- O-Rings (for ear plugs and flesh tunnels)
- Shafts
Keep in mind that this problem happens relatively often, so you should not panic. There are ways to remedy this situation and to even save your jewelry piece.
Beads on Captive Jewelry
Captive jewelry beads are probably the most commonly lost jewelry pieces. It comes with the territory: captive beads are held in place by the opposing sides of jewelry, but they are not screwed nor permanently attached in a different way to the jewelry. This makes them easy to lose, especially during the process of removing and changing jewelry.
Beads are integral parts of Captive Bead Rings, but many other jewelry types use them, too. For example, Captive Barbells have removable rings with beads that can be lost. However, in this case losing a bead is not so bad since the main part of the jewelry is barbell and it will stay inside your piercing.
Since beads are so easy to lose, it’s always recommended to have a spare bead or two in your jewelry collection. These replacement beads are very handy so you should always have some at your disposal.
Balls on Barbells
Another commonly lost jewelry part is the ball on a barbell or another threaded jewelry piece (such as a Screwball Ring). These balls are more difficult to lose than beads on Captive Bead Rings, because they are screwed. However, accidents happen so you should not count on never losing a ball on your barbell.
Without a ball, the barbell will likely fall out at the slightest body movement. Again, this is why it’s important to have at least some replacement balls in your collection. They are handy for all the situations in which you can lose your original ball.
Lost Gems
High-quality jewelry is made in such a way that it’s difficult to lose a gem or another decoration. Unlike cheap jewelry pieces, gems on well-crafted jewelry are not simply glued. They are hand-set so they will hold.
However, in an unlikely event that a gem falls out, there are several options. If the gem is just a part of a ball or a bead and the ball (bead) is still in, this is a mere aesthetic problem. Your jewelry will not fall out, so don’t worry about it. However, if you lose a bead, you should get another one, even if it’s just a plain bead without a gem.
To make your jewelry as good as new, you can order special replacement beads and balls with gems. This way, you will be able to use your jewelry again and it will look as good as new.
Charms
Charms are usually not an essential parts of jewelry, so losing them will usually not make it impossible to wear the jewelry. Charms are made to enhance the beauty of your jewelry and to be eye-catching, but they are not part of the main mechanism.
If you lose a charm on your jewelry piece, this is usually just an aesthetic problem. Your jewelry will still be wearable. In order to make jewelry beautiful again, you can always order a new charm for it.
O-Rings
O-Rings are integral parts of many ear plugs, ear tunnels and earlets. Some jewelry types made for stretched earlobes are smooth so they require O-Rings to keep them in place. It means that the jewelry will fall out without an O-Ring, which can pose a huge problem.
Luckily, O-Rings are cheap and easy to replace. If you like jewelry made for stretched earlobes, make sure to always have some replacement O-rings in case you lose your original ones.
Lost Shafts
There is another, less frequent (but by all means not impossible) accident: you might lose your barbell’s shaft or a shaft on another jewelry piece. It is not a common occurrence, but it can happen.
In this situation, make sure to replace the whole barbell and order some replacement shafts for your jewelry. It’s important to replace jewelry as soon as possible so the piercing won’t close. At the same time, it’s possible to save your jewelry if you order a replacement shaft to fit with the original balls you already have.
Additional Tips
Here are some handy tips on how to prevent to lose parts of your jewelry or what to do if it happens:
- Give your barbell beads and gems a little twist every few days to ensure they are tight.
- Check your Captive Bead Rings regularly to make sure the bead holds snugly in place.
- In case you lose your complete jewelry or if jewelry falls out of the piercing, make sure to insert a new jewelry piece immediately. It will prevent your piercing from shrinking.
- Some temporary solutions when a ball or a bead falls out: you might want to put a piece of a chewing gum on the end of the jewelry to seal it. Some people use a tape for the same purpose. These might be a quick, short-term solutions, but keep in mind that they are not safe nor hygienic. They will cause infections and other problems, so they should be used only for a very short period of time (a few hours at most). For example, if you lose a bead when you are outside the home and want to keep your jewelry in until you go back home to replace your jewelry. However, do not use these solutions for anything longer because it will bring more harm than good!
- Oral piercings are tricky, because once you lose a bead or another part of the jewelry, there is a danger that you might swallow your jewelry by an accident. If you swallow a bead or a ball, it’s usually not so much of a problem, since they are small and smooth. However, if you swallow a threaded shaft of a barbell, now that can pose a problem. It might not to, but you don’t want to risk it.
- In case this happens, and especially if you experience signs such as gagging, choking or if you can’t breathe, make sure to seek medical help immediately. Same goes for other signs, such as pain in the abdomen, fever, bleeding or vomiting. These are all serious signs and you should take them seriously. Make sure to seek medical help immediately.
Melina is a staff writer, author and researcher for TheChainGang. She covers numerous subjects, from body jewelry to kinky adult toys. In addition to this, Melina also provides occasional adult toy reviews written in an interesting and sexy manner. She says: “I’m happy and proud to be a part of TheChainGang team. I enjoy every research because I know how much importance TheChainGang places on customer satisfaction and providing accurate and up to date information. I particularly like sex toy reviews: they are fun to write and experience”. In addition to writing and researching, Melina provides online research results and handy information for buyers interested in accurate and easily understandable tips and advice on choosing the best adult toys and body jewelry. |