Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
April 17, 2010
I have a number of piercings including a nose piercing and a belly piercing. Right now I have a gold nose ring in my nose, and a platinum barbell with rhinestones in my stomach. Lately I've been kind of concerned that my body is absorbing toxic chemicals and metals through my piercings, and that maybe I was building up a platinum and gold residue in my bloodstream. I know it sounds paranoid, but hey, they discovered Alzheimer's was caused by aluminum in the bloodstream, so you can never be too careful.
May 24, 2010
May 18, 2010
May 1, 2010
I would say surgical steel or silver sterling, you can't go wrong with either of those and I don't believe I've ever heard of anyone being allergic to those materials. It is important to make sure that your body jewelry isn't made out of cheap or fake metals since they may cause you a seriously undesired infection.
April 24, 2010
I actually would recommend against sterling silver. Sterling silver can easily oxidize and tarnish (especially if it were in constant contact with your skin. Oils secreted by your skin can cause the silver to tarnish even more rapidly). Tarnished silver body jewelry can easily cause an infection or a nasty rash. Also, I would avoid impure metals which may contain nickel, metals such as white gold, copper and steel. If you're looking for something truly hypoallergenic then I would suggest platinum or high karat gold jewelry, though platinum and high karat gold jewelry is definitely more expensive than silver or white gold jewelry. However, if you're really sensitive and you want to avoid a painful infection (and believe me you do) then it'll be worth it. If you don't really have the money to spend on platinum or high karat gold body jewelry, then you could always have your body jewelry plated with a thin layer of platinum or 24k gold. Still, this is not a permanent solution as the electroplated layer tends to wear off after awhile. So, if you're sensitive and you're low on budget then it would probably be best for you to try and find body jewelry made out of surgical steel. Surgical steel is not a very popular metal and is not commonly used in jewelry, however, you could probably find a few cool pieces made with surgical steel online.
April 22, 2010
Most people who are sensitive to metals prefer surgical implant titanium piercings which are sturdy, and 100% hypoallergenic. This means that there is no way your body will react to the metal in a negative way. Surgical implant titanium can also be colored in a way that is completely hypoallergenic, although this color may fade over time. Platinum or gold can be good alternatives as long as they are as pure as possible. This can be problematic with gold, since purer gold is softer and less durable. Whatever metal you do choose, always make sure that it has less than 5% nickel. Nickel is notorious for causing infections and nasty allergic reactions.
