Butterfly back earrings are not bad, and they get blamed for two problems that are usually caused by something else. They work loose because of the post, not the butterfly. And they irritate ears because of what they're made of, not their shape. A well-made butterfly back on a properly notched post is a good design, and most of the ones people complain about are neither. Our Polished Surgical Steel collection uses them deliberately.
Are butterfly back earrings bad? The complaints, and what's behind them
"They fall off and she loses earrings."
Real, common, and it's a post problem rather than a back problem. A plain butterfly on a plain smooth post is held by friction alone. Friction slackens as the metal wears and as the butterfly's arms lose tension.
A post with proper notches gives the butterfly something to seat into. The back locates positively rather than gripping, so it holds without relying on how tight you pushed it.
"They irritate her ears."
Usually the material rather than the shape. Backs are commonly generic components, bought in from a different supplier than the earrings themselves. So the back on a well-described earring can be an entirely different metal, frequently an unnamed base metal with a coating over it.
That matters because the back sits against the lobe for exactly as long as the front does, and the post sits inside the piercing channel, where skin is thinner, warmer and more permeable than on the outside.
"They hurt."
Almost always because the back has been pushed on too far. It compresses the lobe and restricts blood flow. This is the single most common cause of sore ears and it's free to fix.
"They're old-fashioned."
They're the original design, which is a different thing. Sometimes the original is the one that works, and the reason it survived is that it's simple, adjustable, and a child can manage it herself.
What separates a good one from a bad one
Four things, none of which are visible in a product photograph.
The material, all the way through. The same named metal as the front, not a generic component bought in from elsewhere.
The post it sits on. Notched, so the back seats at a set position rather than gripping by friction.
The tension of the arms. Firm enough to hold, springy enough to open and close repeatedly without fatiguing.
The finish. Smooth, with no burrs, because the post is inside a piercing channel and anything rough abrades it.
A cheap butterfly back fails on all four. A well-made one is a genuinely good solution, and you can't tell them apart by looking.
How they compare to the alternatives
Flat backs sit flush against the lobe and are popular for sleeping. Two real drawbacks. They're fiddly for small hands, because the threading happens blind behind the ear. And the disc creates a small cavity that traps moisture against the skin, and anything held damp against skin for long periods is more likely to cause irritation and to hold build-up.
There's a third issue that comes up in accounts from parents, which is flat backs becoming embedded in the lobe when the disc is drawn in by swelling. That's a situation that needs a doctor rather than home management.
Screw backs are the most secure and the most frustrating. They resist coming off, including when you want them off, and cross-threading is common. For a child managing her own earrings, that's a meaningful downside.
Butterfly backs are the easiest for a child to use, the easiest to adjust, and the most forgiving if she's learning. Their weakness is the post they sit on, which is a solvable engineering problem rather than an inherent flaw.
The rule almost everyone gets wrong
A back should sit firmly, not tightly.
Pushing it hard onto the post doesn't make the earring more secure. It compresses soft tissue in the lobe and restricts blood flow, and a few hours later the ear is sore, pink and slightly swollen. The metal usually gets the blame.
How to check. Take the earring out and look at the lobe. A visible indentation where the back was sitting means it was too far on. There should be a small gap between back and ear, enough that the earring can move slightly without falling out.
If you fix one thing after reading this, fix that.
Why we use them
I looked at all three options and chose butterfly backs, and the reasoning is straightforward.
They're the original design and the original is often the best. Sometimes you can't reinvent the wheel, and the effort is better spent making the existing thing properly.
So the engineering went into the post rather than the back. Our posts carry a double-notch system. The butterfly seats onto the notch at a set tension rather than gripping by friction, which means it holds through a school day without needing to be pushed hard onto the lobe. It's adjustable slightly, easy for a child to put on, secure once on, and easy to take off.
That solves both failure modes at once. It doesn't work loose, and it doesn't compress the ear.
The second decision was material. The butterfly back has to meet the same standard as everything else, because of how much of it sits against the ear. Most brands can't tell you what their backs are made of, and the reason is that the backs came from somewhere else.
On both purepixxi ranges the setting, the post and the butterfly back all carry the same S316L Surgical Steel core, the same grade used in medical instruments and implants.
And it's tested. When I sent pieces to SGS I chose the ones with the largest surface area touching an ear, and had the setting, the post and the butterfly back tested. Eight pairs, all of them. That's unusual specifically because the back often isn't even from the same factory, so many brands couldn't include it in a test if they wanted to.
Nickel release not detected under EN 1811. Tested to ASTM F2923 and CPSIA, with lead below a tenth of the United States legal limit. Report BTO 341803/1, and you can ask me for it.
What to check on any pair
- What is the back made of? If the answer is vague, or different from the front, that's your answer.
- Does the post have notches? Run a fingernail along it. A smooth post relies on friction alone.
- Is the back the same color and finish as the front? A gold-colored back on a gold earring might be a coating over brass.
- Does it seat with a small click or a definite stop? Or does it just slide and grip?
- Can she put it on herself? If she can't, she'll either not wear them or force them.
What to do if a back gets stuck
Don't force it, and don't pull hard.
Warm water can help, and so can approaching it calmly rather than in a hurry. If the back has drawn into the lobe, if the ear is swollen around it, or if it's painful, that's a situation for your pediatrician rather than for persistence at home. An embedded back needs someone who can see what they're doing.
Questions parents ask next
Should I buy spare backs? Worth it, and buy them in the same material as the earrings. A replacement back in an unknown metal undoes the point of a well-specified earring.
Are silicone backs a good idea? They're useful as a secondary stopper behind a metal back. As the sole back they compress unevenly and they can hold moisture against the lobe.
Do butterfly backs damage the lobe over time? Not the shape. Repeated over-tightening does, and that's about how it's used rather than what it is.
Why does one keep coming loose and the other doesn't? Usually the arms of one butterfly have fatigued, or one post has worn smoother than the other. Replacing the back in the same material is the fix.
Is a tighter back safer for a young child? No, and it's the most common mistake. Tighter means less blood flow, not more security. Security comes from the post.
If the backs are the problem rather than the earrings, the Butterfly Backs in 24K Pure Gold are sold in packs of five.
Related reading
- What do I do if an earring back is stuck in her ear?
- Why do her earrings keep falling out?
- Can she wear her earrings in the shower or pool?
- How to choose earrings for young ears
About the author. Matt Westmore is the founder of purepixxi. He came to children's jewelry from manufacturing and sourcing rather than marketing, which means he has walked the factory floors and knows what is actually inside a product rather than what a label says about it. purepixxi uses two materials only, names them exactly, and has them independently tested.
