Allergic to your jewellery? Here's 7 tips to help cure that.

Have you ever found that after wearing your favourite ring, or your cutest pair of stud earrings that they're starting to irritate your skin?

It's weird right, you've been wearing that ring for the past two years with no problems, no all of a sudden you're getting a rash and the earrings are irritating you. There could be a reason for that.

• Jewellery gets dirty. We wear rings for most of the day, doing pretty much every daily task going - our hands touch pretty much everything such as doors, chairs, desks, phones and so on. We might wash our hands regularly but are you cleaning your jewellery too? Dirt, moisture and grime can build up, especially if your jewellery contains any hollow areas. 

So, how can we prevent our favourite treasures from getting so filthy?

Unfortunately we can't really stop our jewellery from picking up dirt and moisture without resorting to the unthinkable which is not wearing them, we can however take steps to make sure we clean them regularly to prevent the build up of dirt and grime.

• If it's really been a while since the last time you cleaned your jewellery take them to your local jewellery store, they will be able to clean it with either special equipment or professional cleaning products. This will get rid of any dirt and get your jewellery looking as good as new once again.
• Whilst at the jewellers, ask them to check your jewelelry for damage. Any scratches or scuffs particularly on rings might be causing irritation.
• Check the size. It might be that your ring simply doesn't fit the way it used to. Small rings can cause irritation against your skin so make sure to check your size and if needed get your ring re-sized so that it once again fits perfectly.
• Take them off for certain tasks. I know, it sounds crazy right but some times wearing rings just for certain tasks just isn't good for them, or you. 
• Give it a little rinse once and a while. It's okay to give your jewellery a little rinse now and again, it will remove dirt and grime. Use a little warm water and a soft tooth brush to give it a gentle clean, dry them up and use a silver cloth to give your jewellery a quick polish. Be sure not to use dish water though!
• We're going DIY with this one, but adding a little clear nail varnish to the inside of your ring can prevent any dirt sticking and irritation. 
• You might actually be allergic to your jewellery. Yeah, it sucks but it happens sometimes. We develop some crazy allergic reaction to our favourite treasures. All might not be lost however. - thanks to Rhodium plating. Rhodium is a white, hypoallergenic metal that is used for plating certain types of jewellery. You can read more about rhodium here.

I hope these tips help you to keep your jewellery clean and keep irritation at bay. Think we've missed anything? Drop us a comment below!