How to Put in a Captive Bead Lip Ring

Lip rings often have to be inserted and removed regularly because of professional dress requirements in work and school settings. If you frequently have to remove your lip ring, one of the easiest types of lip jewelry to wear is a captive bead lip ring. These types of rings are also popular because the captive bead can be a variety of colors and styles, allowing you to personalize your facial jewelry.

Wash your hands. As with any piercing, your hands should be completely clean before you handle the piercing. Lip piercings in particular are very easy to infect and take a while to fully heal, so wash your hands with soap and warm to hot water before drying them on a clean towel.

Sterilize your lip ring and captive bead. You can do this by pouring some rubbing alcohol over the jewelry or by pouring a little rubbing alcohol into the cap of the alcohol container and then dropping the jewelry into the cap.

Slide the ring through your lip piercing. The gap in the ring where the bead will sit should be wide enough to slide over your lip. Once the end of the ring matches up with the piercing in your lip, slide it on through. Keep pushing the ring gently around until the gap in the ring is clearly visible in front of your lip.

Push the captive bead into place. The bead will have two indentations, one on each side. These dents should perfectly fit the ends of the ring so the bead snaps into place. Line up one of the indentations with one end of the ring. Then hold the ring and bead in place by placing your thumb on one side of the bead and your pointer and middle fingers on the other. This will keep it from slipping and enable you to slide the bead forward until the second indentation matches up with the other end of the ring and the entire bead snaps into place.

Tighten the ring around the bead. If the bead feels loose, then use the needle-nose pliers to gently push the ends of the ring tighter around the bead. You do not want them so tight that you cannot get the bead out again, but the bead does need to fit securely and snugly into the gap.