The white gunk on earrings is sebum and dead skin cells. Skin inside the piercing channel produces oil and sheds cells continuously, and with an earring blocking both ends it collects on the post instead of washing away. It's the same substance that causes the smell people notice. It's completely normal and it isn't dirt. Our Polished Surgical Steel collection gives it a smoother surface to sit on.
What the white gunk on earrings is made of
Two things, mostly.
Sebum, the oil produced by glands in the skin. It's produced everywhere skin exists, including inside a piercing channel.
Dead skin cells, shed continuously as skin renews itself.
On any exposed skin, both get washed away without you noticing. Inside an enclosed channel with an earring at each end, they can't go anywhere, so they accumulate on the post and around the openings.
Mixed in there may also be dried fluid from mildly irritated skin, and traces of shampoo, conditioner or other products that have run down onto the ear.
The whiteish, slightly waxy consistency is the sebum. It's the same material behind the smell people notice when they take a long-worn earring out.
Why it isn't dirt
Worth being clear, because this is the part that embarrasses people.
It has nothing to do with washing. You can shower twice a day and the channel stays untouched, because water runs over the outside of the lobe rather than through a hole that's blocked at both ends.
It happens to adults and children, in piercings that are years old and entirely healthy. It's produced by the body rather than collected from the environment.
What makes it build up faster
Leaving the same pair in for months. The single biggest factor, because nothing gets cleaned while the earrings stay in.
A back that seals the lobe. Flat backs create a small cavity behind the disc that holds material against the skin.
A rough or corroding surface. Build-up clings to texture. A post that's tarnished, pitted or worn through its plating holds far more than a smooth one.
Higher sebum production, which varies enormously between individuals and increases around puberty.
Long hair and warm weather, both of which keep the area warmer and damper.
Hair products, which run down onto the ear in the shower.
How to clear it
Take the earring out. Nothing else reaches it.
Wash the earring. Warm water and mild soap, rubbing the post gently between finger and thumb. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
Wash the lobe front and back with the same, and dry properly.
Leave them out for an hour or two if you can, so the channel gets some airflow.
Repeat weekly. The supply is continuous, so frequency beats an occasional deep clean.
Don't twist the earring in the hole to loosen it. It abrades the channel and pushes material further in.
Don't use alcohol routinely. Occasional is fine. Regular use dries the skin lining the channel, and dry skin sheds more, which increases exactly what you're trying to remove.
When it's something else
White build-up on its own, from a settled piercing, with no pain, is ordinary.
See your pediatrician if the discharge is colored rather than whiteish, if it's thick or persistent, or if it comes with heat, spreading redness, swelling or worsening pain. That's a different situation and it needs someone who can look at the ear.
The simplest distinction: ordinary build-up doesn't hurt.
Does the metal change anything?
Some, and less than how often the earrings come out.
Build-up clings to texture, so a surface that stays smooth accumulates less than one that has corroded, tarnished or worn.
A plated earring is smooth while the coating holds. Once it wears through, usually at the post first because that's where friction concentrates, the base metal underneath is exposed and often starts to corrode. The surface inside the channel gets rougher, and more sticks to it.
Check the post. A darker steel color where the front still looks gold means that has happened.
S316L Surgical Steel is used in medical instruments and implants partly because it resists corrosion, so it holds a smooth surface for years. Pure 24 karat gold is chemically inert and doesn't tarnish at all.
What we do
purepixxi uses two materials, and on one range only one.
S316L Surgical Steel, the same grade used in medical instruments and implants, chosen for corrosion resistance. On the Polished Surgical Steel range that's the entire earring, one material throughout, so there's no coating to wear through and expose something rougher.
24K Pure Gold, which is pure 24 karat gold finished onto a solid S316L Surgical Steel core with Aunix™ 24K, our engineered gold finish. At 24 karat the gold has no alloy in it, so nothing in the finish tarnishes.
The setting, the post and the butterfly back all carry the same core. The post is the component inside the channel where this collects, and it's the part most commonly bought in from a different supplier and left out of any testing. Ours was tested across eight pairs, with nickel release not detected under EN 1811.
We use butterfly backs rather than flat backs, which leaves the back of the lobe open rather than sealing a cavity against it.
Tested to ASTM F2923 and CPSIA. Report BTO 341803/1. More in our safety FAQ.
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
Is it a sign of infection? Not on its own. Infection brings heat, spreading redness, swelling and colored discharge as well. Whiteish build-up alone in a settled piercing is ordinary.
Why is there more on one earring? Usually the side she sleeps on, or a slightly tighter back holding more against the lobe.
Does it mean the earrings are cheap? No. It comes from her skin rather than from the metal. A rougher or corroded surface holds more of it, which is where the material does play a part.
Will it stop as she gets older? Sebum production changes with age and tends to increase around puberty, so it may well get more noticeable before it settles.
Can I use a cotton bud in the hole? Better not. It pushes material inward and abrades the channel. Cleaning the earring and the outside of the lobe, regularly, does the job.
Related reading
- Why do her ear piercings keep getting infected?
- Why are my daughter's earrings crusty?
- Why do her earring holes get crusty?
- Why her ears react to earrings, and what to do about it
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.
