How to Clean and Care for Your Obsidian

Why clean your obsidian?

Worn often enough, a stone slowly picks up invisible traces: skin oils, dust, the residue of moisturiser or perfume. Nothing serious, but obsidian's deep black loses a little of its shine. A gentle, regular clean gives it all back.

One thing to be clear about: this page is about physically cleaning your piece, looking after the stone and the setting. Energetic cleansing, the crystal healing practice, is a different subject altogether; for that, head to my article on cleansing and charging.

The right method

The simplest approach is also the safest:

• wipe the stone with a soft cloth (microfibre), dry or very slightly damp;
• if it needs more, use a little warm water with a drop of mild soap, then rinse briefly;
• for the fiddly bits (beads, claw settings), a soft-bristled brush works beautifully;
• dry it thoroughly with a clean cloth, leaving no moisture sitting anywhere.

That's it. Obsidian needs no special product: gentleness always beats quantity.

What to avoid

Obsidian is a volcanic glass: beautiful, but only moderately hard (around 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale) and sensitive to knocks. A few traps to sidestep:

• salt and salt water: they dull and damage the stone over time, which in this country means taking your piece off before the beach, every time. An hour in the surf does more harm than a year of wear;
• harsh products: detergents, alcohol, ammonia, toothpaste or an abrasive sponge;
• ultrasonic and steam cleaners: never, on this kind of glass;
• knocks and scratches: don't bump it, and don't store it against harder stones;
• heat and long sun exposure: pointless, and hard on settings and cords. A car dashboard through an Australian summer will finish off an elastic bracelet in a season;
• sunscreen and oily lotions: worth naming on their own, worn daily, they degrade elastic cord faster than almost anything else. Let sunscreen dry before you put your piece back on;
• long soaks: a quick rinse is always enough.

The habit worth building: take your jewellery off before the shower, the beach, the pool, housework, the gym and bed. There's more on handling the stone safely in my note on obsidian dangers and precautions.

Keeping the shine & the setting

Beyond the stone itself, it's often the setting that needs attention. For a pendant or a ring, a cloth suited to the metal brings the whole piece back. For a bracelet on elastic cord, the cord is the most fragile part: water, soap, lotion and perfume all wear it out early.

So keep the cord dry, don't slip the bracelet on straight after moisturising or applying sunscreen, and don't hesitate to have it restrung if it loosens over time: the stone will outlast its cord many times over. Write to me if yours needs doing.

Storing your obsidian properly

Because obsidian scratches easily, store it separately, in a fabric pouch or a soft compartment, away from harder stones (quartz, topaz and the like) and from any jewellery that might mark it.

Avoid spots that get too hot, too humid or too much direct sun, a bathroom windowsill is the worst of all three. A jewellery box out of the light is ideal for keeping it pristine between wears.

How often?

There's no strict rule. Cleaning it now and then is plenty: when the stone looks dull, after a stretch of wearing it constantly, or simply when you feel like giving it some attention. Consistency and gentleness matter far more than frequency.

To get to know this stone properly, where it comes from, its varieties, its properties, have a read of my complete guide to obsidian.

What about energetic cleansing?

Crystal healing practice draws a line between physical cleaning (this page) and cleansing and charging a stone, which belong to the energy people attribute to it. If that interests you, I go through it in detail, smoke, moonlight, amethyst, in cleansing and charging your obsidian.

Frequently asked questions