While we often dream of owning only the finest-quality and well-made earrings designed to last decades, the truth is that most of us cannot practically afford the most acceptable jewelry options, especially when we are looking for variety.
We often find ourselves investing in the best of fashion jewelry because they are affordable and available in versatile designs for anyone looking for something different.
But just because you have invested in many fashion jewelry options doesn’t mean the jewelry should look cheap.
In any case, there are many things that you could do to ensure that your cheap jewelry not only looks great in the long term but also lasts a long time.
While most cheap jewelry options last months, you can extend the life of the jewelry to 2 years or longer by doing certain things.
Below are some helpful tips on what you need to do to ensure that your fashion jewelry will last a long time. So, let’s get into it.
Tips for making your cheap jewelry last longer
1. Clean the jewelry often
One of the best things you could do to ensure that your cheap jewelry options last long is to clean the jewelry regularly. While it is not the perfect thing to keep the jewelry forever, it is an ideal solution for you to prevent tarnishing and ensure that the jewelry pieces look great for much longer.
For jewelry made of sterling silver, you’d want to clean the jewelry using warm water and a gentle dishwashing detergent like Dawn.
And if the pieces are heavily tarnished, you may want to wash them with three parts of baking soda mixed with one part of water, a mixture allowed to sit for 15-30 during which the jewelry soaks and the layer of tarnish is dissolved.
Alternatively, you could apply this formed paste on the jewelry and then gently rub the jewelry in a circular motion using a soft cloth.
Once clean, rinse all the jewelry pieces under warm running water, pat them dry using a soft, lint-free microfiber cloth, then allow the pieces to dry completely before you wear or store them.
If you have jewelry made of brass or copper, you should ignore them. Instead, you’d want to make sure that you clean the jewelry properly and get rid of the tarnish.
To do this, soak your brass or copper jewelry using a mixture made of 1 part of salt mixed with 4 parts white vinegar.
2. Store your jewelry correctly
The other important thing you could do to keep your jewelry in perfect shape for much longer. Proper jewelry storage means you should stop keeping the jewelry pieces on all surfaces and in random drawers.
You could keep the pieces in a jewelry organizer or hang them neatly to prevent breakage and tangling. To avoid scratching, consider keeping the jewelry separately while in storage.
And to deter or slow down tarnishing, you should always keep the jewelry from the air, moisture, heat, and UV radiation.
3. Keep your jewelry dry
To improve the longevity of your cheap, fashionable jewelry, you should always keep the jewelry safe and dry by putting silica gel packs in the jewelry boxes you choose to keep the earrings in.
The silica gel packs in your handbag and those with your shoes all come in handy when you need to keep your jewelry dry. The silica gel packs absorb moisture and will keep the jewelry safe.
4. Wear the jewelry at the right time
The other thing you need to do to ensure that your cheap jewelry lasts a long time is to wear the jewelry at the right time.
Essentially, you shouldn’t wear your jewelry before doing your hair, make up, or applying perfume or lotion, you should wear all your skin and body care products first after showering, and after all these products have dried out, you can wear the necklace, earrings, rings, or bracelets.
And this doesn’t just apply to fashion jewelry but also fine jewelry because hair sprays, perfumes, lotions, creams, and oils often speed up the deterioration of the fashion jewelry’s finishes by speeding up the rate of oxidation or tarnishing.
The rule of thumb is to wear the jewelry last after you’ve applied makeup, perfume, hair spray, and lotions.
5. Stop using toothpaste to clean jewelry
While it’s one of the most recommended cleaning solutions for jewelry, we recommend against it because toothpaste is quite abrasive and will scratch the metal used to make your fashion jewelry.
In the case of gold-plated jewelry, for instance, toothpaste will scratch the thin layer of plated gold, causing the wearing off of the gold layer, hence faster aging of the jewelry.
As mentioned above, there are more effective ways of cleaning the jewelry, and you should avoid all the harsh solutions like the use of toothpaste.
6. Don’t shower with jewelry
Though tempting and you may forget to take off the jewelry before showering from time to time, you should do your best to take off your jewelry before showering.
Though it may seem innocent, body washes, shower gels, shampoos, bathing water, and other bathing products are harsh on fashion jewelry, and you shouldn’t get to the shower with the jewelry.
Remember to take off your earrings, rings, and necklaces before bathing for them to last long.
7. Don’t go swimming with your jewelry on
Whether in the pool or the ocean, you shouldn’t swim with cheap fashion jewelry because chlorine and the salts in the water react with the metals used to make up the jewelry, causing erosion, tarnishing, and faster fading.
8. Opt for smaller pieces of jewelry
Though you may be tempted to buy statement pieces since they look good and bold, they are not usually the best for you because they show signs of wear easily, and bigger fake jewelry pieces that are well made look cheap.
The smaller earrings look more luxurious easily, and you won’t have to worry about looking cheap.
Conclusion
To make your cheap earrings last longer and look good for much longer, follow the tips above, including cleaning the jewelry regularly and avoiding applying lotions and perfumes over the jewelry.
Read more useful tips here or here!
Tiger is a fashion&jewelry lover. He is also a fashion jewelry manufacturer that help thousands of small business to grow and also do business with some big fashion jewelry brands. He is a truly metal expert and he will share some information you are looking for.