Imagine it’s your big day– a birthday, wedding, or graduation, and you’ve put together the perfect outfit. You also have the cutest pair of earrings to complement the outfit, and you’re ready to step out and show the world. However, your perfect pair of earrings keeps popping out.
To keep your earrings from falling out, ensure that they’re the right gauge size. You can use pliers to tighten the earring back, wrap the post with plumber’s tape, and use an earring back with hook earrings. Using a different earring back type or choosing another pair of earrings are also options.
In this article, I’ll discuss 7 helpful ways of keeping your earrings from falling out. I’ll also explain how tight your earrings should be, and the signs of a poorly-fitting earring. Let’s dive right in!
1. Check Your Earring Gauge Size
Checking the gauge size of your earrings is an important step in choosing the right earrings for your ears. Before you buy a set of earrings, checking the gauge size is essential because it will help you to choose earrings that fit your piercing size.
Gauge size refers to the thickness of the earring post, and if the gauge size is too small, it may not be able to hold the weight of the earring and can cause it to fall out.
Though the standard gauge size for earrings is 18 g (0.63 oz), it can vary depending on where your ears are pierced. If you still need to get your ears pierced, ask the piercer what size they’re using to ensure you buy the right earring size moving forward.
If you don’t have a piercer to help you, you can order a gauge tool online to allow you to measure the gauge of the earrings you already have.
Buying earrings in the correct gauge size is one of the most important ways to keep them from falling out of your ears. Doing this ensures you’re at less risk of irritation, injury, or the earrings becoming embedded due to the wrong size.
2. Use Pliers To Tighten the Earring Back
If your earrings keep falling out, the earring backs might be to blame. If this is the case, you can tighten them with pliers to prevent them from falling out.
Here’s how to tighten an earring back:
- Ensure that the earring’s post is straight. If the post is bent, the earring won’t sit properly and will likely come off again.
- Use a pair of pliers to straighten the post carefully, ensuring you don’t apply too much pressure, which could damage the earring.
- If the post isn’t bent, use a pair of needle-nose pliers to make the grip a little bit tighter. You’ll usually be able to tell if this is the case if you can slide the backs onto the earrings and they don’t hold tight or easily slide back off with little force.
This technique can vary depending on the type of earring back but can be a good method in a pinch.
Using needle-nose pliers is the best fix if you have friction earring backs. You should pinch the back together so it can form a tighter grip on the earring once the back is slid on. Be careful not to squeeze too hard, as you can bend the metal too far and make the back unusable.
Below is a helpful YouTube video explaining how to use needle-nose pliers for scroll-back earrings:
This method should keep your earrings from falling out.
3. Wrap the Earring Post with Plumber’s Tape
Plumber’s tape is a stretchable tape that can be used on your earring post to thicken it up and give it a little extra grip. If you have loose screw-back earrings, plumber’s tape is a fantastic way to make them tighter and prevent them from falling out of your ears.
The reason that screw-back earrings become loose is that they lose their threading over time from being screwed into the earring back so many times.
Here is a helpful guide for using plumber’s tape to thicken an earring post:
- Measure the post’s length accurately with a ruler or measuring tape.
- Using a pair of sharp-nosed scissors, cut a piece of plumber’s tape in the same length.
- Wrap the tape around the post, ensuring it’s bound tightly.
- Trim off any excess tape.
Since earring backs are so small, you won’t need too much tape. It might be too thick to slide through your ear piercings if you use too much. Once you’ve taped it up, screw the earring back into place; the tape should help keep it secure.
4. Check If You’re Allergic To the Metal in the Earrings
If your earring backs aren’t the issue, but your earrings keep falling out, you should consider the earring’s material. For example, if your earrings frequently fall out and cause you pain or discomfort, you might be allergic to the metal in your earrings.
A metal allergy can cause the area immediately surrounding your ear piercing to swell and reject the earring.
The most common metal people are allergic to is nickel, but many other metals can cause allergies. Some earrings are made of a metal blend that includes nickel, so it’s a good idea to check the earring’s metal composition before buying it.
If you have sensitive or allergy-prone ears, opt for earrings made of hypoallergenic metals such as titanium, stainless steel, and silver. However, if you’re unsure what type of materials you’re allergic to, consult your doctor or an allergy specialist before buying any jewelry.
Hypoallergenic earrings are sold in most jewelry stores and are still beautiful and high quality.
5. Use Earring Backs With Hook Earrings
Hook earrings are elegant and popular, but most people don’t wear earring backs with them. The hook section that you wear behind your ear is open-ended but long to prevent it from falling out. However, if you have an active lifestyle or have a habit of playing with your earrings while wearing them, it can cause the hook section to shift and eventually fall out.
Luckily, this is easily preventable by wearing earring backs. A small silicone plug is the best earring back type to wear with hook earrings. Silicone plugs are comfortable and also inconspicuous, so they won’t spoil the look of your pretty hook earrings.
6. Avoid Exercising While Wearing Earrings or Showering
Earrings are most likely to fall out when working out or performing manual labor. Wearing secure earring backs can help prevent this, but it’s best to remove your earrings before heavy exercise.
The same goes for showering – the running water and vigorous action from hair washing can cause your earrings to come loose.
If you don’t like the idea of removing your earrings before working out or showering, consider switching to sleepers. These are tiny hoop earrings with an in-built locking mechanism to form a continuous circle and don’t require backs. As their name suggests, sleepers are comfortable sleeping and exercising in, and you can permanently leave them in your ears.
7. Use a Different Earring Back Type
If the above methods don’t work for you, and you feel confident your gauge size and metal type for your earrings are correct, you might consider buying new earring backs.
The main benefit of buying new earring backs is they come in bulk packs, so you can use them for many different earrings or switch them out once they become worn out.
If you don’t usually wear earring backs–whether for aesthetic purposes or because they tend to bother your ears–this is likely why your earrings keep falling out.
There are also many types of earring backs to choose from, which might be better than your current ones.
Below is a list of some popular and highly-recommended earring backs from Amazon for you to consider:
DSOMHZ Bullet Clutch Back Earrings
This Bullet Clutch Back Earrings Replacement pack comes with 100 pieces of earring backs, both silver, and gold, to match your earring back needs. They’re hypoallergenic and have the extra security of the disk to hold heavier earrings. This type of back works best with earring posts that pair with friction backs. However, they could work with screw-back earrings if needed.
Yalis 10 Style Safety Bullet Earring
Thse earring backs are perfect for someone who wants many different earring back styles. The pack comes with gold and silver metals and rubber and clear earring backs so you can match your earrings. There are also 1040 pairs, which will last a very long time.
Catinee Earring Backs for Studs
This pack of earring backs is great for locking stud earrings. If they ever become loose, you can use needle-nose pliers to tighten the scrolls on the earring backs, so they have excellentlongevity.
You can buy a combination pack of gold and silver, or if you only wear one kind of jewelry, you can buy one color only. These are hypoallergenic and come in a pack of 16.
Yalis Silicone Clear Earring Backs
These earring backs are affordable but offer excellent quality. They’re made of silicone, so they grip the post of your earrings better, making it harder for them to slide out. It’s also a large bulk pack, so you can easily replace an earring back if you lose one. Since they’re transparent, they blend in well with any metal type.
CHUICHUIHU Tiara Earring Backs
The Tiara Earring Backs might be perfect if you often lose earrings because they’re too heavy. They are specially made to help avoid droopy earlobes from heavy earrings and come in silver and gold colors. They are also hypoallergenic, giving you peace of mind that you won’t have a bad reaction.
How Tight Should Your Earrings Be?
Now that you know why your earrings keep falling out and how to fix it, I’ll discuss how they should feel in your ears when you wear them. Most of the time, they fall out without us noticing because we didn’t even know they were too loose.
Each type of earring is different. For stud earrings, your earring should be tight without causing any irritation. Slide the back as far up as you can to get it without it pushing on your earlobe. If your earrings are longer and heavier, the backs should be tight enough that they don’t swing around, but if your earlobes feel like they’re being dragged down, your earrings are too tight.
As a general rule of thumb, there should always be space between the ear and the earring back. This allows sufficient airflow. You’ll cut off circulation and irritate your ear if it’s too close. If it’s too loose, the earring may drop and even fall out– and it can also cause pain by tugging on your earlobes.
How To Know If Your Earrings Don’t Fit Properly
Signs of poorly-fitting earrings can vary from person to person, depending on the type of earring and the individual’s anatomy. Some of the most common signs of earrings fitting wrong include the following:
- Discomfort
- Pain
- Redness or swelling in the area around the earring
If the earring is too tight, it may cause the skin to become irritated, leading to redness and swelling. If the earring is too loose, the earring may move around too much and cause irritation as well. Additionally, if the earring is too heavy, it may cause a pulling sensation in the earlobe, leading to pain and irritation.
If you feel irritation from your earrings, give your ears a break to recover. If you feel the need to wear them loosely intentionally, then they’re likely to fall out and aren’t a good fit for your ears.
Conclusion
These are a few ways to fix loose earring backs. No matter what method you choose, it is important to take the time to make sure your earrings are the right fit for you and keep an eye on how loose the earring back feels before wearing them out! If all else fails, you can always purchase a new set of earring backs to make them more secure.
