Pearl is the birthstone of June, and pearls (faux, freshwater, or cultured), always look cool and classic. They’re one of my favorite things to wear when the weather heats up. A strand, or several, dresses up even the most simple outfit. Unfortunately, the nacre (or natural pearl) is porous, and fragile. Sweat, skin flakes, and environmental factors can dull and damage the lustre. You can’t clean pearls with the same, often harsh chemicals you might use on metals or most gemstones, so you either have to spring for special (and pricey) pearl cleaner, or try my helpful hint: (read on)
Back in April, I reviewed a tasty trio of dental care toothpastes: Crest Nature’s Expressions by Proctor & Gamble in our What Works Beauty, Cosmetics & Fashion review column: http://www.advicesisters.net/WWarchives/wwapril07.html
As a toothpaste, Crest Nature’s Expressions mixes the successful and popular Crest formula, with naturally-sourced ingredients such as peppermint oil, lemon peel or green tea extract that are “minimally processed” to keep the natural aspects strong.
However, toothpaste is one of the few household items that is gentle enough to clean a pearl. In face, the new gel-type formula whitening formula toothpastes gently remove stains from teeth…so why not from pearls?
The pearls I planned to wear today seemed a bit dull, and not quite as lustrous as they once were. Since I had a tube of Crest Nature’s Expressions toothpaste in my bathroom, that’s what I used to clean them. Some jewelery experts say to use a soft toothbrush on your pearls, but I simply gently rubbed the toothpaste over the pearls, then washed it off, and patted the pearls dry with a hand towel. The results were astounding! The pearls literally glowed as if they were brand new! This works on any type of pearl–even glass beads covered with a mother-of-pearl nacre. A few seconds ..and a little bit of toothpaste, is all it takes to bring your precious pearls back to life. Of course, do use it on your teeth, too!