How to Care for Your Earrings

Although polymer clay is very durable, there may be times where you need to clean your earrings. 

The best practice is to avoid exposing your earrings to water, chemicals, or aerosols as this may damage the integrity of your earrings.

BUT, there is a few things you can do - 

If the clay component is dirty,

— Wipe lightly with a soapy wash rag, baby wipe or makeup removing wipe to clean the surface. This should do the trick for most “dirty” earrings! 

— If you have a spot or imperfection that cannot be cleaned with soap/wipes, you can clean the surface lightly with a q-tip dipped in acetone. *NOTE: Acetone reacts with the plastic and essentially takes off the top layer of the polymer clay. Do this very carefully as to not damage the design. Too much acetone will leave a white residue on your earrings.* This should be a last resort as it can be tricky to do this without damaging the design! 

If the metal or brass components are tarnished,

— Use a q-tip and scrub tarnished metal part with ketchup (I know, weird right?!) or Brasso. Rinse with water and dry completely. (Rinse immediately so that your clay component does not stain, especially if it is a lighter color.) This will bring your jump ring or metal connector right back to life! I shared a video to my Facebook page with help on this! 

Hopefully this helps your earrings last for years to come! As always, if you have questions or problems with your jewelry, feel free to reach out at thelesscollective@gmail.com. 

xoxo, 

Kallie