Your body piercing is a responsibility that you’ll need to take care of long after the piercing has healed. It’s easy to assume that, once you’ve completed the aftercare period, you can simply don a seamless ring and never have to worry about your piercing again.

However, throughout the life of your piercing, you need to remember to clean both your piercing and your jewelry every once in a while. Dead skin cells will build up in your piercing tunnel, which causes a stench, and your jewelry will require periodic cleaning for it to retain its luster.

Cleaning your fine jewelry doesn’t have to be hard, but it does require care if you want your jewelry to last. Here’s a quick guide to cleaning your 14k gold body jewelry.

Why Do I Need To Clean My Body Jewelry?

Our bodies are constantly shedding dead skin cells. Most of the time, these cells are cleaned away when we move and shower. However, they tend to get stuck within piercing tunnels, which causes some buildup. (If you squeeze a healed piercing, and some white stuff comes out, that’s what this is.)

This buildup can also attach to the jewelry. If you don’t clean your piercing and your jewelry every once in a while, it’ll get stinky. But, other complications can arise as well. Your piercing may form a pustule or you may see some skin irritation.

Beyond hygiene, cleaning your jewelry allows it to stay beautiful for longer. Even the highest quality jewelry will fade over time. However, if you take proper care of it and keep it clean, the jewelry’s brilliance will last decades.

How To Clean Your Body Jewelry

When you’ve invested in your body jewelry pieces, you want to make sure that you use the proper cleaning materials created specifically for high quality jewelry. (We offer a fine jewelry cleaner here.)

Cleaning your body jewelry is fairly simple:

• Wash your hands.
• Soak a polishing cloth meant for fine jewelry in a fine jewelry cleaner, and wipe the jewelry clean.
• To clean hard-to-reach places, use a soft-bristle brush and gently clear out any debris.

That’s it! You should clean your jewelry every few weeks or as needed.

Invest In Professional Cleaning Every Few Years

Even if you do an excellent job of keeping your jewelry clean, it will require professional attention every few years. Jewelers have the proper tools to deep clean and polish your jewelry, especially those with gemstones. Additionally, they will take care of any wear and tear that tends to happen.

When you find that even cleaning at home doesn’t yield the shimmer that it used to, send your body jewelry pieces to us, and we will take care of it for you. Click here to contact us.

Other Ways To Maintain Your Jewelry’s Brilliance

Fine jewelry is susceptible to damage if you live an active lifestyle or if it’s exposed to harmful chemicals. To give your jewelry a long life, there are a few things that you should practice.

• Stay away from chlorinated pools as much as possible. If you’re an avid swimmer, consider wearing a piercing retainer or an inexpensive titanium piece when you’re in the pool.
• Don’t soak your jewelry in alcohol or use products that aren’t meant specifically for fine jewelry. Even some soaps can damage the jewelry over time. It’s best to stick with gentler products designed for fine metals.
• Store your jewelry in separate bags. 14k gold can easily scratch. If you store your jewelry together in one place, the individual pieces can damage each other. Instead, store them separately in jewelry bags to keep them free from scratches.
• Try not to put too much pressure on daintier pieces. 14k gold is fairly malleable (which is one reason why it makes excellent jewelry). If you have a daintier item and you often sleep on it or wear a tight helmet or something similar, it could bend the jewelry out of shape.
• Be extra mindful of gemstone pieces. Even the best-made settings can catch on clothing and loosen which could lead to lost gemstones. Every once in a while, check to make sure that the settings are still tight, and if the gemstones become loose, take out the jewelry and get it repaired.

Fine body jewelry is an investment, and like any investment, it needs to be well taken care of. Luckily, it’s not too much of a chore; simply pay attention and clean the jewelry on a semi-frequent basis.