Besides the numerous types of beads that are available another interesting thing about beads is the differences in material. Beads are made up of many different materials, which is what helps make the beads so different. No matter what kind of material the beads are made out the still come in a variety of different shapes, sizes and colors, which makes them pretty universal. But because of the beads begin made out of different materials so beads are designed for a specific purpose, such as crafting, art, jewelry, etc. But the good thing about beads is that even though they might be made out of glass, which is used a lot for jewelry, you can still use the glass beads for other purposes, beads are very universal regardless of what they are made up of.
Here are some of the materials that beads are made up of.
Plastic:
Most of your beads that are designed for jewelry are not made from plastic, but you can find some plastic beads that are designed for piercing, which is basically designed for stringing. One of the most common types of beads that are made out of plastic is your seed beads. One of the great things about plastic is that you can actually mold the beads to the string during production. In fact the throw beads that you see at Mardi Gras and the fake bead necklaces that kids use for dress up are made out of plastic beads being molded onto a thread. Plastic is a popular material used in making beads but one thing to keep in mind is that plastic is not a raw material, it is entirely man made. With plastic beads different types of dyes are added to change the colors.
Glass:
Glass is another popular material that beads are made up of. Most of your glass beads were designed for jewelry and other art forms with beads. Unlike plastic beads glass beads can not be molded onto a thread during production. The only way to make anything out of glass beads is by stringing the beads with a machine or by hand. Glass is another material of bead that is entirely man made, meaning it isn’t a raw material. Another thing about glass beads is that there are other chemicals added to it to change the color of the glass.
Stone:
This is probably the most popular method of making beads from raw materials. Both glass and plastic beads are man made, but stone is a completely natural product. One of the best things about using stones to make beads is that if you have the right equipment you can make your own stone beads. Stone beads only come in their natural color, so in order to get the right color you are going to have to pick a certain kind of stone.
While these three materials are the most common materials used in making beads there are still other materials, both raw and man made materials that are used to make beads. Some other materials that are used to make beads are: bone, horn, ivory, metal, shell, pearl, coral, gemstones, polymer, clay, metal clay, resin, synthetic materials, wood, ceramic, fiber, paper, and seeds. The main difference between all of these materials, besides them being natural materials, is how the materials are processed to make the beads and what things are added to the materials in order to change the color or shape of the bead. Most beads are now made by machine, but what kind of machine is used depends on the material being used to form the beads.