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Threadless jewelry is body safe, but it’s harder to find so it’s surrounded by confusion. Along with internally threaded jewelry, threadless is the other jewelry option that is considered body safe. However only a few manufacturers make threadless jewelry, so it’s much more rare to find and therefore there are a lot of questions surrounding threadless body jewelry. Threadless jewelry may be a great option for you if your threaded jewelry keeps falling out.
Threaded VS Threadless Jewelry
“Thread” when referring to jewelry means the screw like threading that is present either on the ends in internally threaded jewelry or on the post for externally threaded jewelry. Threadless jewelry does not have any threads and therefore doesn’t screw in. Instead, it keeps its place by being bent to stay in the post. Both internally threaded and threadless jewelry are completely safe, so whichever you decide on is up to your personal preference.
I personally prefer threadless jewelry in my lip piercings because I find that whatever movement I make while chewing tends to unscrew my jewelry and they fall out – but I don’t have that problem with threadless jewelry. However, threadless jewelry is harder to find and is also more expensive than threaded jewelry.
How Does Threadless Jewelry Work?
Threadless jewelry stays in place by bending it when you insert it. The pin (or end) actually straightens by itself once it is inserted all the way and stays in place via tension.
How you insert your pin (or end) actually differs depending on what kind of jewelry you are wearing. If wearing a curved or horseshoe barbell, you don’t need to bend the pin at all. Insert it straight and tension will do the rest. If wearing a straight barbell or labret, insert the pin about half of the way and then bend it slightly before inserting it the rest of the way. If you are wearing 14K gold, insert it about a third of the way before bending it. This is because gold is softer than titanium and other metals, so it needs more space to generate the tension.
How To Remove Threadless Jewelry
Threadless jewelry is easily removed simply by pulling. If it’s tight, add a slight twisting movement while pulling the end. If you can’t remove your jewelry on your own, you can always visit your piercer and they will be happy to help you. Then the next time you insert threadless jewelry, don’t bend as much when you are inserting the pin as the more you bend, the tighter the jewelry becomes.
Is Threadless Jewelry Going to Fall Out?
If inserted correctly, your threadless jewelry will not fall out. The threads on threaded jewelry wear away over time, but threadless jewelry does not have that problem and will hold your jewelry in place for ages. If your threadless jewelry is falling out, it likely means you’re either not bending it enough while inserting or you aren’t inserting the pin all the way. Keep in mind that for curved jewelry, you don’t bend the pin at all.
Threadless Jewelry Gauge
If you’re used to threaded jewelry, shopping for threadless jewelry may be confusing for you. While in threaded jewelry, both the post and the end need to be the same gauge as your piercing, threadless jewelry is more versatile. Threadless posts need to be the correct gauge, but threadless ends don’t actually have a gauge. So you can wear all of your ends in all of your piercings, regardless of gauge if you decide to make the full switch.
Conclusion
While there is a lot of mystery surrounding threadless jewelry, it is a completely safe and sometimes better alternative to threaded jewelry. If you have a problem with your threaded jewelry falling out, threadless jewelry is a worthwhile try. You’re in control of how tight your jewelry is by bending the posts at different angles while inserting and unlike you may have heard, threadless jewelry does not fall out any more often than threaded jewelry.
