SEED BEAD JEWELRY CARE GUIDE

Before you head to the beach or pool with your new seed bead jewelry, please keep the following in mind:

WHAT AFFECTS THE LONGEVITY OF MY JEWELRY?

When it comes to a long life for your jewelry, there are three important factors to consider:

What touches the jewelry.

What stays on the jewelry.

Oxidation. (what happens when metal is exposed to lots and lots of air.)

For seed bead jewelry care: excessive exposure to chemicals and improper care can make your metal jewelry darken quicker than we'd like. Things such as saltwater, sweat, chlorine, and other chemicals from perfumes or lotions, can weaken or damage stones and metal. Just as the sun causes our skin color to change, and fabrics to fade, it can do the same to certain jewelry materials. For diffuser bracelets with wood beads, please avoid excessive exposure to water as this may cause the wood to swell and split. 

CAN I WEAR MY JEWELRY WHILE SHOWERING AND SWIMMING?

Things such as saltwater, chlorine and other chemicals DO affect your jewelry with time. This is true for all metals including Gold filled and sterling silver. The longer and more often the exposure, the quicker the wear. Here’s our list of things to avoid with your jewelry:

• Lotions, perfumes & sweat (*Sweat is a bit of a wild card and can greatly differ depending on body composition.)
• Prolonged time in water, oceans, and sand
• Hot tubs, chlorine, swimming pools, sunscreen, cleaning products with bleach, nail polish remover

*If you choose to wear your jewelry in the ocean or pool, it is important to rinse your jewelry with fresh water and dry it off. Water is powerful if left on metal for long periods of time. 

CAN I SLEEP IN MY JEWELRY?

 Generally speaking, it is a good practice to take off your jewelry when going to bed since some of us can be wild sleepers and the tossing and turning can break or weaken our pieces. If you always sleep in your jewelry and notice that it starts to wear, take it off at night and store it in an airtight plastic bag. If you know that your skin is hard on metal, I recommend taking off your jewelry before bed. 

IS MY SKIN WHAT IS MAKING MY METAL JEWELRY TURN COLOR? 

Body composition is different for each individual and whether or not your skin can enjoy years of wearing the same metal piece will vary! You’re responsible for knowing your own skin and body type and how metal reacts to your skin. We can not guarantee every piece of jewelry against every body composition. Some people can wear their jewelry nonstop for a year and it looks exactly the same as the day they bought it. Other people have crazy acid skin that basically turns all metals into lava as soon as it touches it. 

WHAT CAN I DO IF MY METAL PIECE STARTS TO WEAR?

We highly encourage you to clean your metal jewelry. Water and a mild dish soap can help your jewelry stay looking fresh. It is also important to dry your jewelry. Water is powerful if left on metal for long periods of time. For every purchase of sterling silver jewelry use a polishing pad.

If you choose to wash your silk fabrics vs. dry clean, we always recommend handwashing with the following washing instructions:

Hand or machine wash on gentle cycle. Hang to dry on non-wood surfaces.

Pro tips keep or retain your silk colors: 

1. Use only cool water for washing and cool water for rinsing.

2. If you live in an area with hard water rich in minerals, consider adding a water softener to the water following the manufacturer's instructions. This will eliminate mineral stains from forming on the silk fabric, which are particularly visible on darker colors.  Adding water softener will also provide a deeper cleaning of your silk fabric.

3. To help retain the silk fabric's true color consider adding 1/4 cup of plain white vinegar to every two gallons of cool washing water.

4. Use a good quality liquid soap recommended by the manufacturer for use on delicate fabrics.  To help prevent fading of darker colors some delicate wash liquid laundry soap manufacturers offer products specially formulated for use on dark fabrics.

5. Always wash and rinse silk fabric items separately from other non-silk fabric items, and always wash and rinse each color of silk fabric separately using fresh water for each color.

6. Do not soak silk fabrics in water for an extended length of time.

7. Gently agitate the silk fabric by hand when washing and rinsing. Never twist or wring excess water from silk fabric. Gently squeeze out the excess water without stretching the silk fabric.

8. When the washing process is complete, rinse the silk fabric in cool water several times to ensure that all of the soap has been removed from the fabric. Strong colors will appear to bleed - usually caused by excess dye in the silk fabric. Always rinse the silk fabric and continue to change the water until the water is clear. To help set the dye add a small amount of salt to the final cool water rinse making sure to remove the silk fabric from the water before adding the salt. Ensure that all of the salt has completely dissolved before adding the silk fabric for the final rinse.

Once the silk fabric has been washed and rinsed, we recommend the following drying procedures:

1. Tightly roll the silk fabric item in a clean, dry towel to remove the excess moisture from the silk fabric.

2. Hang the silk fabric item in an area away from direct sunlight on a padded hanger not constructed of wood. Wooden hangers and drying racks will on occasion stain the silk fabric because of a finish applied to the wood. Do not hang the silk fabric near a source of heat.