Summary of Three Years of Breaking-in Rudraksha

I've been playing with Rudraksha for several years and have summed up five experiences from three years of breaking-in. Today, I'll organize these years of experiences to remind friends who are just starting out not to take detours like I did.

Recalling when I first started playing, I didn't understand anything. I just started breaking-in directly when I got the mala. As a result, the Rudraksha turned dull and blotchy after breaking-in. I wasted several malas before slowly figuring out some tricks. These experiences were bought with real money. I hope they will be helpful to everyone.

Summary of Rudraksha Breaking-in Experiences

First of all, it's about priming. When you first get the Rudraksha, you must prime it first, clean the alkaline bloom residues on the surface and deep in the texture, and then start breaking-in. Priming should take at least a month, brushing for twenty minutes every day until the surface of the seeds shows a warm matte finish.

Then comes breaking-in. In the early stage, mainly brush and supplement with breaking-in. Brush for twenty minutes and break-in for ten minutes every day. After three months when it has a glossy sheen, you can break-in more and brush less. When breaking-in, your hands should be clean, with a little sweat is fine, don't break-in vigorously with a lot of sweat. After breaking-in, wipe it with a dry cloth.

There is also maintenance. Rudraksha is afraid of wind, water, and large temperature differences. When not wearing it, put it in a sealed bag and don't place it in the air conditioner vent or in direct sunlight. When sweating a lot in summer, wipe it more often and don't let the sweat accumulate in the texture.

Handling Common Problems

Common problems during the breaking-in process include alkaline bloom, cracking, color difference, and turning black during breaking-in. If there is alkaline bloom, brush more, use a hard brush to focus on brushing deep in the texture, and it can recover after a week of persistence. If it cracks, if it's a small crack, it will gradually become less obvious after continuing to break-in and developing a patina; if the crack is relatively large, it is recommended to replace it.

Color difference is the most common. Almost every mala will encounter it. Don't worry. Put the lighter seeds in the middle and break-in more, and break-in less for the darker ones. After one or two months of persistence, the color difference will shrink. If it turns black during breaking-in, wipe it more with a clean cloth, reduce the breaking-in time, brush more, and it can gradually recover a bit.

Final Words

Actually, breaking-in Rudraksha can be said to be simple and also difficult. It's simple because as long as the method is right and you have patience, anyone can break-in a nice mala; it's difficult because many people are eager for success and always want to quickly turn it red and develop a patina, but as a result, they take detours instead.

This kind of cultural relic, what we play is the process, and we can't be impatient. I hope everyone can break-in a mala that satisfies them and enjoy this process.