Dry, separated, and out of the bathroom. Those three things prevent nearly all of the damage that happens off the ear, and most of it does happen off the ear. Earrings tumbled together in a dish scratch each other, humidity accelerates tarnish and corrosion, and a pair put away without being dried is sitting in the conditions that cause trouble. A cheap compartment box beats an expensive one that keeps everything in a single tray. Our materials page explains which materials care about this and which don't.
What actually damages them in storage
Contact with each other. Metal against metal scratches, and a scratch in a plated surface is a hole in the coating. A dish of loose earrings is a bag of small tools grinding together every time it's moved.
Humidity. A bathroom cabinet is the worst place in the house. Steam raises humidity, and moisture drives both tarnish on silver and corrosion at any point where a coating is already compromised.
Being put away damp. Water trapped behind a butterfly back or inside a hollow post doesn't evaporate quickly in a closed box.
Residue left on them. Sebum, sunscreen and hair product left on the metal keep working while the earring sits there. Sulfur compounds in some products drive silver tarnish specifically.
Air, for silver. Sterling tarnishes in open air. That's normal and reversible, and it's the reason silver gets stored in sealed bags.
The routine that covers most of it
Wipe them when they come out. A soft cloth, ten seconds. This is the single highest value habit and it takes almost no effort.
Make sure they're dry. Especially after swimming or a shower. Leave them out for a few minutes before they go away.
One pair per compartment. A partitioned box, a pill organizer, or a small zip bag per pair. The container matters less than the separation.
Keep them out of the bathroom. A bedroom drawer is drier and more stable.
Backs on, or backs with their pair. Butterfly backs are the thing that goes missing, and a mismatched back is a common cause of a post being done up too tight.
What to store them in
A partitioned box is the straightforward answer. Compartments, ideally lined with something soft.
Small zip bags work well for anything silver, because reducing air exposure slows tarnish. One pair per bag.
A travel case for travel. Not a pocket, not a wash bag, and not wrapped in a tissue, which is how earrings get thrown away.
Anti-tarnish strips are worth it if there's silver in the collection. They absorb the sulfur compounds that cause it.
What not to use: a shared dish or bowl, cotton wool, which snags on claw settings, and a sealed container that anything damp has gone into.
Whether the material cares
Not every material needs the same care, and it's worth knowing which of yours does.
Solid steel and titanium are nearly indifferent to storage. They don't tarnish, and with no coating there's nothing to scratch through. Separation still prevents cosmetic marks.
Pure gold surfaces don't tarnish either. What they can't tolerate is abrasion, because the surface is soft and the layer is thin. This is the case where separation genuinely matters.
Sterling silver wants low air and low humidity. It'll tarnish regardless, just more slowly.
Plated base metal is the most vulnerable to everything above, because any scratch through the coating exposes what's underneath and the corrosion starts there.
Glued stones don't like heat or damp. A sunny windowsill and a steamy bathroom both weaken adhesive.
The habit that matters most
If only one thing gets done, make it drying them properly before they go away.
Nearly every storage problem is a moisture problem. Tarnish, corrosion at a worn spot, adhesive failure and the residue smell parents describe all trace back to a pair put away damp. The earring then sits in a small closed space with that moisture for a week.
Ten seconds with a cloth prevents most of it.
What we do
Our materials are on the easier end of this, which is deliberate rather than lucky.
S316L Surgical Steel throughout the Polished Surgical Steel range, one alloy front, post and butterfly back with no coating on it. It doesn't tarnish, and there's no plating to scratch through, so a scratch is cosmetic rather than structural.
24K Pure Gold, which is pure 24 karat gold applied onto a solid S316L Surgical Steel core with Aunix™ 24K, our engineered gold finish. Pure gold doesn't tarnish. It is soft though, and it's a gold-plating process, so this is the range where keeping pairs separated actually extends the life of the finish.
Our crystals are claw or bezel set rather than glued, so heat and humidity aren't working on an adhesive joint while they sit in a box.
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.
Every pair ships in its own box, which is a perfectly good place to keep it.
You can see the range on the 24K Pure Gold collection.
If they keep going missing between wears, the purepixxi Jewelry Case gives every pair a fixed place to live.
Questions parents ask next
Is a jewelry box necessary? No. Separation and dryness are what matter. A pill organizer does the job for a few dollars.
Should earrings be stored with the backs on? Either way, as long as the back stays with its own pair. Loose backs get lost and mismatched ones cause pressure problems.
Does storing them in the bathroom really matter? For solid steel, barely. For silver and anything plated, yes. Humidity is the accelerant for both tarnish and corrosion.
How do I stop them tangling? Compartments or individual bags. Tangling is mostly a problem for hooks and drops rather than studs.
She keeps losing the backs. Any suggestions? Buy spares and keep them in the same box. A back done up on the wrong post, or over-tightened because it doesn't fit, is a common cause of a sore lobe.
Related reading
- How do I clean my daughter's earrings?
- Do gold earrings tarnish?
- Why do her earrings keep falling out?
- How long can she keep the same earrings in?
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.
