I have already written in my previous post about metals being advertised as hypoallergenic, while still containing nickel under their plating. Now, I'm writing about metals that we might not even suspect contain nickel, which can lead to unexpected allergic reactions.

Gold

Gold is one of the most commonly used metals in jewelry, especially in fine jewelry. Lower carat gold usually contains nickel, and since the gold is a very soft kind of metal, the nickel is weakly embedded. That's why wearing golden earrings can cause inflammation in the earlobes. Gold above 18 carat is usually safe, however it may also contain a little nickel, leading to allergic reactions.

Silver

Nickel is also often used in silver alloys because of its durability. Silver jewelry is usually plated with other metal alloys to ensure a shiny surface, and to prevent jewelry from scratching and tarnishing. The most important element of plating alloys is nickel, with rhodium also very commonly used. Rhodium has properties that make it a quite good replacement for nickel, as it doesn't react with the skin. However, when the rhodium plating wears away in time, nickel can come to surface from the layers under the plating, reacting with the sensitive skin.

Surgical Steel

This metal is one of the most versatile metal alloys, and there is a huge variety in its content. That said, it always contains carbon and other metals besides iron. Some kinds of surgical steel contain nickel, but if it contains nickel, it's often said that the nickel is very strongly embedded, and so can't be solved out easily. There are reports; however, saying these metals can cause severe allergic reactions.

Titanium

Titanium is a metal that said to be almost completely hypoallergenic as used for implanting. Titanium is an alloy containing titan, aluminum, and occasionally nickel and other elements. As the nickel is strongly embedded, meaning it can’t be solved out, titanium is one of the most hypoallergenic metal.

Niobium

Niobium is a wonder metal of the modern world offering outstanding attributes: it's completely non-reactive with human tissue. It's a shiny, grey metal containing no nickel as being a pure element, not an alloy. As a result, it's especially hypoallergenic and highly safe. While other metals are colored with plating, niobium is colored by anodizing. The anodized niobium jewelry does't contain nickel either. It's recommended to wear even for those who have the most sensitive skin. Thus niobium is commonly used in professional body-piercing industry as one of the most hypoallergenic metals.

Nickel-free earwires

Our earwires are made of 100 % pure niobium for your safety.