Parts of a Shower Head – Arm, Swivel Ball, Faceplate

All 9 parts on the diagram

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On the wall 3

Shower arm The head screws onto the pipe threads at its end.
Flange It sits flat against the wall around the arm.
Spray nozzles Each one sends out a single jet; together they make the spray.

Taken apart 6

Filter screen Grit caught in it slows the flow of water.
Flow restrictor It reduces the stream, so the shower uses less water. Makers also call it a flow regulator.
Swivel ball Its threaded end screws onto the arm. The ball turns inside the head.
Collar Unscrewing it from the head reveals the swivel ball.
Washer It seals the joint between the swivel ball and the head.
Faceplate A screw or a knob holds it to the head.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it for the part. Three home plumbing books read as passages through archive.org's full-text search: Time-Life Books, Basic Plumbing and Kitchen & Bathroom Plumbing (1998) (https://archive.org/details/basicplumbing0000vari and https://archive.org/details/kitchenbathroomp0000unse_e8h9; one publisher, counted once); Sunset Basic Plumbing Illustrated (1983) (https://archive.org/details/sunsetbasicplumb00bosw); Basic Plumbing: Pro Tips and Simple Steps (2002) (https://archive.org/details/basicplumbingpro0000unse). Two shower head makers' installation guides and a plumbing products catalog, read the same way (https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6959391, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6949684, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6946048, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6937360, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7242954). Wikipedia, Shower, names the shower head and its swivelling nozzle but none of its parts. No maker is named on the page. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; a schematic of no maker's shower head, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A fixed shower head screws onto the shower arm, the pipe that comes out of the wall. The first drawing shows it in place. The second takes the head apart along one line, from the inlet to the faceplate.

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On the wall, then in pieces

Numbers 1 to 3 are on the wall: the shower arm, the flange where the arm meets the tiles and the spray nozzles on the face of the head. Numbers 4 to 9 are the head taken apart, in the order the water meets them. The filter screen and the flow restrictor sit in the inlet. The swivel ball screws onto the arm and lets the head be aimed. The collar holds the ball in the head, and the washer seals the joint between them. The faceplate closes the front.

Makers use other names: pivot ball or ball joint for the swivel ball, flow regulator for the flow restrictor, large nut for the collar.
A handheld shower head hangs on a hose from a bracket, and the bracket carries the pivot ball.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a shower head called?

From the wall outward: the shower arm and its flange, then the swivel ball, the collar, the washer, the body of the head and the faceplate with its spray nozzles. A filter screen and a flow restrictor sit inside the inlet.

What is the ball on a shower head called?

The swivel ball. Makers also say pivot ball or ball joint. It screws onto the shower arm, and the collar holds it in the head so the head can be aimed.

What does a flow restrictor in a shower head do?

It is a small disc in the inlet that reduces the stream, so the shower uses less water. Makers often call it a flow regulator.

What is the pipe a shower head screws onto?

The shower arm. It comes out of the wall and ends in pipe threads, and the shower head screws onto them by hand. The flange is the round plate against the wall.