Before you touch it
Only on a healed piercing. If your piercer has not confirmed it, this is not the page you need — changing early is the most common cause of a healing setback.
Wash your hands properly with soap and dry them. You are handling something that goes through your skin.
Work over a towel on a table, not over a sink. Threadless pins and clicker segments are tiny, and a plughole is where they end up.
Have the new piece ready and open beside you before you remove the old one, so you are not fumbling with a piercing that is open and unsupported.
Use a mirror you can get close to, and for a piercing behind your line of sight, a second mirror or a phone camera helps more than feeling around does.
Internally threaded flat backs
The decorative top screws into the post. The thread is inside the bar, so what you are turning is a very small screw.
- Grip the flat disc behind the ear firmly between finger and thumb, and keep it still. This is the step people skip, and it is why the whole bar spins.
- Turn the front top anticlockwise — lefty loosey — with your other hand. It may be firm at first.
- Lift the top away. The post stays in the piercing.
- Fit the new top onto the same post and turn clockwise until it stops. Firm, not forced — overtightening damages the thread.
If a top will not budge, do not use pliers on a piece in your ear. Dry fingers, or a small piece of rubber glove for grip, work better and cannot crush the piece.
| Type | How it opens | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Internally threaded | Unscrew top anticlockwise | Not holding the disc still |
| Threadless push pin | Pull top straight out | Twisting it |
| Hinged clicker | Push segment inward at the hinge | Levering it open sideways |
| Seamless ring | Twist ends sideways past each other | Pulling the ends apart |
| Captive bead ring | Ease the bead out with tension | Losing the bead |
How each type opens
Threadless push pins
There is no thread at all. The top has a slightly bent pin that is held in the hollow post by tension.
- Hold the flat disc still behind.
- Pull the top straight out — do not twist. Twisting a threadless top is the most common mistake and it can bend the pin out of shape.
- To fit the new one, put the pin into the post and push straight in until it seats.
If a top keeps falling out, the pin's bend has relaxed. Bend it very slightly more — a millimetre of curve is enough — and it will hold again. If it is too tight to insert, straighten it very slightly.
Clickers and hinged hoops
A clicker has a hinged segment that swings open and clicks shut.
- Find the hinge — usually opposite or beside the decorative front.
- Push the segment gently inward with a thumb until it swings open. It should not need force.
- Thread the open end through the piercing, following the curve of the ring rather than pushing straight.
- Press the segment closed until it clicks.
Never pull a clicker open sideways. The hinge is the only part designed to move, and levering the ring apart distorts it so it no longer closes flush.
When to stop and see a piercer
Stop if it hurts, if there is bleeding, if the jewellery will not go back in after several calm attempts, or if you cannot get a piece out at all.
A piercing can tighten within minutes of being empty, so the situation where a piece is out and the new one will not go in is genuinely time-sensitive. Put the old piece back in if you can and go to a piercer — most will re-fit jewellery quickly and many do it free.
If a piece has embedded, or a back has disappeared into the tissue, do not dig for it. That is a piercer or a doctor, not a home job.
Common questions
How do I take out a flat back earring?
Which way do you unscrew a labret stud?
How do threadless earrings work?
My threadless top keeps falling out — how do I fix it?
How do you open a clicker hoop?
What do I do if I can't get my jewellery back in?
Belora sells jewellery and does not provide medical advice. If a piercing is painful, inflamed, moving position or producing discharge, speak to your piercer, and to a doctor if you suspect an infection. Nothing on this page is a substitute for having someone look at it.