Nickel allergy and jewelry

After a customer recently disclosed her newfound allergy to any jewelry with the metal nickel in it, I set off to do some research to find out what she could wear. She really did not want to give up wearing jewelry, but the nickel allergy would cause her to skin to break out in a rash.

What I found out was that once you develop an allergy to nickel, your skin will always be sensitive to it and you will develop inflamed, itchy, bumpy or blistered skin at the point of contact. There's no cure for nickel allergy. The best approach to nickel allergy is to avoid contact with nickel.

These metals are considered hypoallergenic and safe to wear if you have an allergy:

-Solid gold (12 carat or more) and silver jewelry should be safe. Nine carat gold and white gold both contain nickel, so it is probably best to avoid them.

-Sterling Silver contains at least 92.5% silver. The most common sterling alloy is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Tarnish resistant Argentium sterling is 1.2% germanium, 6.3% copper and 92.5% silver. Fine silver, sometimes stamped .999, is 99.9% pure silver, which means it is softer and more malleable than sterling.

-Stainless steel (although this contains nickel, it is so tightly bound that it cannot be leached out).

-Alloys contain more than one metal, brass for instance, contains up to 35% zinc, the rest is copper. While copper can cause allergies, this is rare. Bronze is an alloy of different metals but the most common blend is 90% copper and 10% tin.

- Niobium is a physiologically inert metal and thus hypoallergenic. It belongs to the precious metals family. Studies have shown that several people who are sensitive to other metals can comfortably tolerate niobium.

We use Soft Flex beading wire in our designs. It is made up of multiple strands of stainless steel wire twisted together for strength and then coated with nylon for protection. I have always assumed that it would not bother anyone with metal allergies, but just to be sure, I contacted the Soft Flex Company for their opinion. This was their response - Stainless steel alloy contains 8 to 10% nickel. Uncoated stainless steel is used to make kitchen utensils, pots & pans, sinks, automobile components, and a zillion other things we come in contact with every day. Considering the low nickel content in stainless steel and the nylon coating on our wire, the risk of an allergic reaction to nickel is extremely low.

I have read that the green gemstone Chrysoprase may owe its color in part to the presence of nickel. It occurs as more or less complex inorganic compounds, as "impurities" in the gemstone. I am not sure if this gemstone would cause an allergic reaction, so it is probably safest to avoid it.

Much of the silver and gold plated fashion jewelry out there is made of a base metal which can be mostly nickel. Sometimes it is made of a brass base which does not contain nickel.

Unless you know for sure what the metal content is, it is best to stop wearing all your old jewelry wardrobe and be careful of what you buy in the future. If you really can not stand the thought of parting with a sentimental favorite piece that has nickel in it, you can try creating a buffer between the metal and your skin by painting the piece with clear nail polish.

I hope this information is of help to those of you with allergies. I was able to find this information on reliable websites, but I am not an expert on the subject. If your doctor advises you otherwise…please follow that advice.

-Ann Marie