On solid metal, yes, occasionally. On anything plated, glued or set with a soft stone, it's a bad idea, and it's the reason a lot of favorite pairs quietly deteriorate. Alcohol is a solvent and a degreaser, which is exactly what you want against skin oil and exactly what you don't want against adhesive or a thin decorative finish. For everyday cleaning, mild soap and warm water does the same job with none of the risk. Our materials page explains what our own pieces are made of.
What alcohol actually does
It dissolves oils. Sebum, lotion, sunscreen and hairspray residue all come away, which is why it feels so effective.
It evaporates fast and leaves nothing behind. No film, no residue, no water spots. Good.
It's a solvent, so it attacks adhesives. Anything glued in place is being softened every time you use it. The stone doesn't fall out on the first pass, it works loose over months.
It dries out porous materials. Pearls, opals, turquoise, amber, wood and resin all suffer. Pearls in particular have a soft organic surface that alcohol dulls permanently.
It doesn't sterilize. This is the misunderstanding that causes the most trouble. Wiping metal with 70% alcohol reduces surface organisms. It doesn't make an earring sterile, and treating it as though it does encourages exactly the habit that causes problems, which is repeatedly putting jewelry into a piercing that should have been left alone.
Where it's fine
Solid metal with no coating. S316L Surgical Steel, titanium, platinum, and unplated gold. There's nothing on the surface for a solvent to lift.
Occasional use, not daily. A wipe before a pair that's been in a drawer for a year goes back in.
Claw or bezel set stones. If the stone is held mechanically rather than with adhesive, the solvent has nothing to work on.
Where it isn't
Anything plated. Alcohol won't strip gold plating on contact, but repeated wiping with a cloth and a solvent accelerates the mechanical wear that thins it. Plated pieces have a finite surface and every cleaning spends a little of it.
Glued stones. Most inexpensive children's jewelry uses adhesive. Alcohol is among the worst things you can put on it.
Pearls and soft or porous stones. Permanent dulling, and it can't be undone.
Anything with an antiqued or oxidized finish. That darkening in the recesses is a surface treatment and solvents lift it unevenly.
What to use instead
For routine cleaning, this is genuinely all it takes.
Warm water and a drop of mild dish soap. Soak for a couple of minutes if there's build-up.
A soft toothbrush for the back of the setting, where residue actually collects. Behind the stone and around the post, not the face of the earring.
Rinse thoroughly. Soap residue is itself an irritant, and it's a common cause of the mild redness parents blame on metal.
Dry completely. A soft cloth, and let them sit out for a few minutes. Moisture trapped between the butterfly back and the lobe causes more trouble than most metals do.
Weekly is plenty for a pair worn daily.
What to avoid entirely
Hydrogen peroxide. Harsh on skin, and it can pit some finishes. It also gets used on piercings, where the advice has moved on considerably.
Ultrasonic cleaners. They loosen glued stones and can crack softer ones. Jewelers use them selectively, not on everything.
Toothpaste. It's an abrasive. It'll polish a scratch out of hard metal and it'll take plating off.
Bleach and household cleaners. Chlorine is specifically aggressive towards stainless steel, which is the opposite of what you want.
Boiling. Doesn't sterilize reliably, and stresses stones and settings.
If the ear itself is the problem
Cleaning the earring is not the same as treating an ear. If the lobe is red and sore, taking the earrings out and leaving them out is worth more than any cleaning routine.
If it's hot, swollen, discharging, increasingly painful, or she has a fever, that's one for your pediatrician rather than a bottle of anything. Alcohol on an already irritated ear tends to make it angrier.
What we do
Both purepixxi materials are solid metal with mechanically set stones, so alcohol won't harm them. Soap and water is still the better routine.
S316L Surgical Steel throughout the Polished Surgical Steel range, one alloy front, post and butterfly back, with no coating on it. Nothing for a solvent to lift.
24K Pure Gold, which is pure 24 karat gold applied onto a solid S316L Surgical Steel core with Aunix™ 24K, our engineered gold finish. It's a gold-plating process and we say so, which is precisely why we'd rather you used soap and water on it. The finish has a finite life and cleaning with a solvent and a cloth spends it faster.
Our crystals are claw or bezel set. No adhesive anywhere, which is the single biggest reason inexpensive earrings can't tolerate cleaning.
Independently tested by SGS to ASTM F2923, CPSIA and BSEN 71-3, with nickel release not detected under EN 1811. Report BTO 341803/1, and you can ask me for it.
You can see the range on the Polished Surgical Steel collection.
The easiest pair to keep clean is the one with the fewest places for anything to gather, which is why we make the 4mm Ball Stud Earrings in Surgical Steel.
Questions parents ask next
Does alcohol sterilize earrings? No. It reduces surface organisms on metal. Sterilization is a defined process with its own equipment, and nothing you do at a bathroom sink achieves it.
How often should I clean her earrings? Weekly with soap and water for a pair worn every day. More often if she does a lot of sport.
Can I use alcohol wipes on the post before putting them in? On solid metal, occasionally, yes. Let it dry fully first, because alcohol going into a piercing channel stings and dries the skin.
What about jewelry cleaning solution from a shop? Read what it's for. Most are formulated for precious metal and stones, and plenty say plainly that they aren't for plated items.
Her earrings smell. Will alcohol fix it? It removes the residue causing it, which helps temporarily. The smell comes from build-up around the back, so cleaning both the earring and behind the lobe is what actually solves it.
Related reading
- How do I clean my daughter's earrings?
- What is the white gunk on her earrings?
- How do I stop her earrings from smelling?
- Can she wear her earrings in the shower or pool?
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.
