What is a BCR?
What are they?
BCR or a ball captive ring is one of the most popular types of body jewelry. BCRs are also commonly called CBRs which means captive ball rings
They can be worn in almost any piercing because they are available in many different sizes and gauges.
All styles of BCRs consist of a ring with a small opening and a ball or bead that fits snugly into the opening keeping the jewelry in place. The ball has a small indent in either side to accommodate the ends of the ring.
The rings are made of many different materials including surgical stainless steel, titanium, niobium as well as acrylic. The beads are made of many different materials including steel, glass, stone, acrylic and more.
Captive rings are great for many piercings because the rounded, closed shape makes them less likely to snag on your clothes, etc. The tight fit of the beads also makes it hard to lose the rings because they can’t fall out so long as the bead is in place.
How do I use them?
The safest and easiest way to change your BCR is to take a trip to your piercer. They will generally change jewelry free of charge and they have the proper tools to work with tight-fitting jewelry.
If you can’t get to the piercer and you want or need to change your jewelry yourself, make sure to follow these simple rules.
It’s best to do this in a place with a lot of light like your bathroom. Because the beads are usually tiny and hard to handle and are often dropped. Cover or close the drain in the sink so that the bead or ring can’t go down your drain if you do drop it.
Scrub your hands with an antibacterial soap and warm water and then lather up your new jewelry with more soap and rinse and dry all the surfaces very well.
To get the bead out of the ring, hold the ring firmly between your thumb and forefinger and grasp the bead tightly between the thumb and forefinger of your other hand. Twist the ring slightly while applying pressure on the bead and it should pop out.
Insert the curved barbell into your piercing.
To replace the bead, line up the bead between your fingers where you can see the indents on both ends, and then rest the bottom indent on the end of the ring opening. Hold the ring tightly while you carefully push the top indent into the ring opening.
You may want to use special tools to open and close the ring. These tools are called a ring opener, which stretches the ring to release the bead, and a pair of ring closing pliers, which tighten the ring back to the right size to hold the bead firmly. Piercers will almost always use these tools to change any BCRs because it is easier and doesn’t put as much stress on the piercing.
