Horn and antler ring care guide

     To prolong the life and beauty of your horn or bone ring, Avoid wearing it during hard labor. Store it in a cool, dry, dark place when you are not wearing it. Avoid repeated wet and dry cycles. extended exposure to water softens the material and makes it prone to damage. Avoid high heat or burning which can discolor and deform the ring. Avoid leaving it in the sunlight as this will dry it out. Imagine chapped lips or if you have ever found bleached white bones while hiking that are cracking and brittle from the months of sitting in sunlight.

     My rings are 100% natural with no stains, dyes, chemicals or coatings. To maximize the life of my horn and antler rings I recommend doing as I say and not as I do. The key to a long life of your ring is to avoid letting it dryout to the point of cracking like chapped lips. deformation is going to happen slightly over time regardless due to normal use and "breaking in" if you will. Precious metal rings deform worse than horn and bone but metal deformation is correctable horn and bone are not. I recommend taking your ring off before washing your hands or body with any modern soap. Most chemicals accelerate it drying out. You also do not want it soaking in water too long as this makes it soft and prone to scratching easily and also deformation. Water itself wont hurt the ring. Bone/antler is more resilient than horn so if you even try at all with bone it will last but it acts very similar to the horn with moisture content. When you get your ring take some pictures of it and share with your friends, I would really appreciate it:) but also its good to have a reference of the new condition to compare too. When you notice that the shine is fading it is a good time to clean and treat your ring.

     I say you should clean and moisturize your ring a minimum of every other month. Particularly if you notice it is loosing its luster. If your ring is exposed to lots of water then you may need to increase the frequency. To clean your ring first wash your hands. Next, use warm water only to clean the ring and fully dry it with a clean towel. Let it sit and dry for a few minutes. After that you need to add some natural moisturizer to it. My top product for the job is rendered animal fat such as tallow or lard, or an alternate option would be olive oil or coconut oil or another plant based oil. To apply it, again make sure your hands are still clean. animal fat and plant oils are also good for your skin so use your bare hands. A very small drop or smudge on your finger tip is all it takes. Thinly coat all surfaces on the ring and wipe off the excess. might as well use use it as lotion. let the ring sit and soak up the moisture for a few minutes or better yet do this before bed and let it absorb over night and put it back on in the morning. Thats all there is to it! I live in a very dry environment and I am hard on my rings so I should be doing this once a month I'd say. Every other month should be enough under normal conditions. Don't worry to much about over doing it but remember that over saturation can soften the material making it slightly more prone to scratching easily. Extreme dryness will lead to cracking and flakiness like chapped lips so its all about balance.