Metals and Materials to Not use in New Body Piercings

admin — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 19:31:38 +0000

1. Sterling Silver

Do not wear unhealed body piercing sterling silver jewelry. Sterling silver is composed of silver 92.5 percent and another element 7.5 percent, usually copper. Although copper allows the silver more robust, interacting with your skin is also more possible. Thanks to the softness of sterling silver to attack, nicks in the jewels are a breeding ground for bacteria. Once it comes into contact with body tissues and fluids, sterling oxidizes. Tarnish is not what you want in an open wound.

2. Costume Jewelry

With unhealed piercings stop all types of costume jewelry as this jewelry typically includes large amounts of nickel. Some costume jewelry has even said to contain lead in recent years, which would be dangerous for you to wear in any jewelry, particularly in new piercings. California prosecuted many major retailers in 2004 for not reporting that there was the lead in the products on their racks.

3. Plated Gold

Although it may be beautiful plated gold jewelry, it is not very robust. The plating may rub off and cause irritation or damage to the underlying metal. Gold-filled jewelry has a gold coat much thicker than gold-plated piercing jewelry, and it should not be used. A deep scratch might expose the metal below and provide bacteria with a home.

4. High Karat or Low Karat Pure Gold

Many piercing jewelry experts recommend avoiding pure gold jewels, but others believe that for unhealed body piercings, 14 K and 18 K gold are perfect. Note that— real gold is 24 karat gold. It’s very soft, making nicks more likely to trap germs. 24 K gold is not the right candidate for modern piercings because of this. Ten gold karats are less pure and have more alloys. The lower the grade of karat, the more “other” metals are in the blend, mostly nickel, palladium, or copper, which can trigger an unhealed penetrating reaction.

5. Bone, Wood, and Other Absorbent Jewelry

Stick with natural metals for now and avoid bone and wood jewelry— and any other body jewelry made of absorbent or non-smooth content — until the piercings are okay entirely. And even then, see how they respond with your skin— for short periods, certain people can only wear the type of body jewelry.