How to Use Beard Jewelry

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 References

Whether you’re dressing up as a Viking for a costume party, or looking for a unique way to stand out, beard jewelry is a great way to build your look. There are generally two types of beard jewelry: rings and charms. Rings wrap around a length of your hair and rely on tension to sit in place. Beard charms are small pendants that twist into place and look kind of like an earring for your beard. Beard rings and charms come in a variety of different designs, colors, and materials, so choose a set of beard jewelry that looks neat to you! Remember, always brush or comb your beard before putting your beard jewelry in to avoid knots, tangles, or kinks.

Things You Should Know

The easiest way to get a beard ring or bead onto your beard is using a piece of floss or string.
Make a 6-inch loop with the floss or string, then slide the loop through the opening of the beard ring.
Tie off a strand of your beard with a hair tie.
Tighten the loop of floss or string over the strand of hair, then use the loop to pull the hair through the opening of the bead.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Wearing Beard Rings

1
Tie a 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm) horizontal length of hair together with a hair tie. Bunch up a length of hair under your jaw. Squeeze the hair together into a tight vertical length, and pull it down. Wrap a hair tie around your hair 2-3 times to tie your beard up. Wherever you place the hair tie is where the ring will go, so slide the hair tie up or down as needed based on your personal preference.^{[1]
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- You can place one beard ring directly under your chin for a simple look, or add 2-3 rings to different lengths of hair to craft a cool Nordic Viking vibe. You can also put multiple rings on the same length of hair for a tighter look.
- The bigger the ring is, the more hair you’ll need to pull together to keep the beard ring from falling off. Figuring out how much hair to tie together requires a bit of trial and error, but a 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm) horizontal portion of hair is a good starting place.
- This process is identical for beard beads, which are basically small rings. The only difference is that you don’t need nearly as much hair to start with. Only tie a 2 in (5.1 cm) length of hair together for a beard bead.
2
Grab some floss or string and make a 4–6 in (10–15 cm) loop. Pull out a 12–16 in (30–41 cm) length of floss or string cut it from the spool. Pull one end of the string or floss down towards the middle of the material and pinch it in place to make a thin loop that’s roughly 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) long.^{[2]
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- You will basically use the string to pull your hair through the ring’s tiny opening. It would be extremely difficult to do this without string since you can’t pull enough hair through the ring to hold it in place.
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3
Slide the loop through the opening of the beard ring. Hold the loop in place with one hand and pick your beard ring up with your free hand. Carefully thread your loop through the center of the beard ring so that the loop sticks out 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm) past the other side of the ring.^{[3]
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4
Work the bottom of your beard through the loop. Hold the ring, loop, and string together in one hand and squeeze the hair under your hair tie together to make it as thin as possible with your other hand. Then, carefully thread the bottom of your beard through the loop that’s sticking out past the other side of your ring.^{[4]
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- This requires a little bit of dexterity. If it helps, tilt the loop and ring up at an angle so that the ring rests on top of your fingers while you’re doing this.
5
Pull the string and slide the ring up over the hair tie. Slide the loop on your beard up 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm). Then, pull the loop down away from your beard with one hand while pulling the ring up your hair with your other hand. The ring will slide on to your beard while the string will slide down through the gap between your ring and your hair. To finish, hold the bottom of the beard with one hand and use your free hand to slide the ring up over the hair tie.^{[5]
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- To take the ring out, all you have to do is pull the ring down to take it out of your hair.
- If you notice your ring is falling out of your beard after a little while, repeat this process but tie a larger portion of your beard together to increase the tension.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Adding Beard Charms

1
Use your nondominant hand to tug your beard down and make it taut. Brush your beard down to remove and kinks and use your nondominant hand to pull the bottom of your beard down to hold your hair taut. You don’t need to tug particularly hard—this shouldn’t hurt—but if you don’t hold the hair down a little you may tangle your beard hair when you put the charm in.^{[6]
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- Do this in front of a mirror if this is your first time using a beard charm. This process is really easy, but it’ll make your first time a lot easier if you can see what you’re doing.
- Beard charms come in all sorts of sizes, colors, and styles. From Darth Vader helmets to intricate snakes, there are dozens of different designs out there.
2
Hold the charm over the beard wherever you want to put it. Most charm enthusiasts put a single charm directly under their chin, but you can place your beard charm wherever you’d like. Hold the charm up so that the stylized pendant is facing away from you and the triangular coil is facing towards you.^{[7]
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- You can put multiple beard charms in all over your facial hair for a kind of zany look, or stick with the single charm directly under your chin. You can also put a symmetrical length of charms in your hair for a unique look. It’s really up to you!
3
Rotate the charm while gently pushing it into your beard. Continue to keep your hair pulled down a little bit. Push the tip of the triangular coil against your hair and rotate the charm counterclockwise. The coil will enter your hair and begin entwining itself in your beard. Once the tip of the coil catches, stop pushing and keep rotating the charm.^{[8]
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- If you don’t hold your hair while doing this, the charm may tangle your hair up.
4
Continue rotating the charm until the jewelry is secure in your beard. Keep turning the charm in the same direction to spin it closer to the surface of your beard. Once the design on the front of your charm is flush with the beard hair around it and the charm is oriented in the right direction, let go. Your charm will stay in place so long as you don’t mess with your beard or tug on it.^{[9]
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- To remove the charm, rotate it clockwise. You may be able to simply brush it out with your fingers as well.