Alyssa Liu’s ‘Smiley’ Reveal and Choreographic Freedom: The Story Behind the Teeth Gems and Olympic Comeback

Team USA figure skater alyssa liu has turned a small flash of silver into one of the Games’ conversation pieces while also making clear that creative control was a condition of her return. The 20-year-old confirmed the reflective accent seen when she grins is a frenulum — a “smiley” — piercing she placed herself, and she heads into the women’s free skate in third place after a standout short program performance and a team-event gold earlier at these Olympics.

Alyssa Liu’s smile, the DIY frenulum piercing and the hair rings

Fans who assumed the glint in her smile was decorative jewelry now know it is a labial frenulum piercing that hangs over her two front teeth. alyssa liu has said she pierced it herself more than two years ago; her DIY method involved a mirror, a piercing needle and help from her sister to hold up the lip. She has spoken of treating piercings as a hobby, learning the technique to save on shop costs and to ensure placement she trusts. She has noted buying proper piercing supplies and avoiding unsafe methods like safety pins or piercing guns.

Her look extends beyond the mouth: horizontal platinum blonde stripes threaded through dark brown hair function as a visual timeline. She has described adding a stripe each year to mark personal and professional growth. Different accounts in recent interviews reference that the trend began with a first ring in 2023 and continued for several years, while other commentary has described a two-year progression with two stripes; both capture the same idea that the rings are deliberate, annual markers of development.

Choreography, autonomy and what’s at stake in the free skate

When alyssa liu returned to competition after an early retirement, she did so on clear terms: the freedom to wear what she wants, dance to the music she chooses, eat when she wants and take breaks as needed. Those conditions are central to how she has framed this phase of her career — a comeback that prioritizes personal expression alongside elite results.

Her longtime choreographer plays a prominent role in translating that autonomy to the ice. The relationship has been described as collaborative: the choreographer seeks to understand her as a person and to project that identity through programs that reflect her style. A personal detail — the frenulum piercing — even prompted admiring fascination from the choreographer and influenced aspects of their creative partnership.

On the competitive front, this comeback has already produced major milestones. After debuting at the Winter Olympics as a teenager and briefly stepping away from the sport, she returned and later won a world title. At these Games she contributed to a team gold and sits in third place after the short program, bunched tightly with other top contenders heading into the free skate scheduled for Thursday night. If she reaches the individual podium, it would mark a notable achievement in the sport’s recent U. S. history.

Timeline of the comeback and style choices

• Early Olympic debut as a teenager, followed by retirement from competition.
• Return to the sport with explicit personal terms for how she would compete.
• World championship success after the comeback, then a team-event Olympic gold this Games.
• Self-done frenulum piercing and annual hair rings as outward markers of identity.
• Third place after the short program; free skate presents the next opportunity.

Details may continue to evolve over the next days as the free skate unfolds and as interviews and coverage further explore the intersection of personal style and performance. For now, the blend of DIY aesthetics and deliberate creative control is central to how alyssa liu is being seen on and off the ice.