Wash hands thoroughly before touching the ears or the earrings. Use a cotton swab (Q-tip) with salt water to clean the area around the hole twice a day. Some recommend using hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, or antibiotic ointment but salt water disinfects and is less damaging to the skin tissue.
Likewise, people ask, how do you clean smelly earrings?
Regarding this, why do earring holes smell bad?
Your skin secrets a natural oil called sebum which can mix with the dead cells in your piercings and cause a buildup. This buildup serves as a great environment for bacteria to thrive and hence you end up with the foul smell.
What is the gunk on my earrings?
It’s a build up of dead skin cells, sebum (oil), and any hair and beauty products that land in your lobe area. It builds up into a greenish-brownish-grayish paste, and starts to get stinky as bacteria builds up, giving it its distinctive cheesy whiff.
Does salt water clean earrings?
Using hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol on a fresh piercing might mean it takes longer to heal. Instead, learn how to sterilise earrings with salty water – it’s a lot kinder on your ears and still helps to get rid of any nasty bacteria and germs that are lurking.
Can you clean earrings with hand sanitizer?
Is Hand Sanitizer Bad For Jewelry? The primary active ingredient in most hand sanitizers is alcohol, which Grace said is safe for jewelry, but with caution. “I would use caution when using sanitizers with fragrances or dyes,” she said. “We use alcohol swabs to clean earring posts in our studio.”
Can I soak my earrings in hydrogen peroxide?
Hydrogen peroxide is a great option for jewelry cleaning. It acts as a disinfectant and washes away grime. If your earrings need a quick sprucing up, put some peroxide on a cotton pad, then carefully use the pad to clean all over the earring.
