Materials Guide

What your jewellery is made of really matters, both for your long term health and for how the piercing looks. The wrong material can discolour skin, cause a reaction that mimics infection, or in serious cases cause metal poisoning. Buy from a reputable supplier who cares about your health, and if you do not know what something is made from, do not put it in your body.

Manufacturers vary hugely. Cheaper pieces often use low grade metals dressed up to look like better ones. Everything we fit is chosen for quality and ethically sourced, including brands such as Anatometal, Neometal, Industrial Strength, BVLA, LeRoi and Body Gems, alongside lovely non brand pieces that are still excellent quality.

A material allergy usually shows within 24 hours as redness, swelling and itching around the piercing, sometimes blistering or broken skin. Reactions to genuinely inert materials like titanium are rare. Reactions to nickel and other reactive metals are common, because the body is trying to push the material out.

Best for fresh piercings and stretches

• Implant grade titanium: one of the best choices. Strong, light, corrosion resistant and tolerated by almost everyone, even sensitive skin. Look for ASTM F136 or better. It can be safely anodised to different colours, as the colour is in the surface rather than a coating that could chip.
• Niobium: very similar to titanium, a little heavier and softer, at least 99.9% pure, anodisable and body safe. More expensive, so used less often.
• Glass: borosilicate (Pyrex), lead free soda lime or fused quartz. Completely inert and smooth, lovely for fresh or stretched lobes. Buy name brand such as Gorilla Glass or Glasswear Studios to avoid impurities.
• Surgical steel, with caution: only implant grade certified to ASTM F136 or ISO standards is suitable for fresh piercings. Most steel sold as surgical is 316L, which is for healed piercings only and not for nickel allergies. If a piercer cannot tell you the grade, do not use it fresh.
• Medical plastics: PTFE (Teflon) is flexible, inert and good for retainers and some fresh piercings, and Bioplast is similar with more colours and shapes. Both scratch easily, so we treat them as shorter term options. PMMA and acrylic are not suitable for fresh piercings or stretches.
• Solid gold, 14k to 18k: beautiful and body safe for fresh piercings when it is from a maker designed for body wear, such as Anatometal, BVLA, Body Gems or LeRoi. No less than 14k, no more than 18k, and never plated. Gold coloured anodised titanium is a safer, cheaper way to get the gold look in a fresh piercing.

Also fine for healed piercings

Everything above still applies, plus a few more options once you are fully healed.

• 316L surgical steel: comfortable for most healed piercings, as long as you do not have a nickel allergy.
• Good quality solid precious metals: fine in healed piercings without a nickel allergy. High karat gold is soft, so look after it and have it polished now and then.
• Non porous stone such as amethyst, onyx, obsidian, agate or rose quartz: lovely in healed stretched lobes, helps with odour, and the weight can aid natural stretching. Usually double flared, so for healed stretches.
• Amber: inert, warm to wear and polishes smooth, perfect for healed lobes. Fragile and cannot be autoclaved.
• Wood: porous, lightweight and breathable, very comfortable in well healed stretches. Keep it out of water and oil it now and then. Avoid acidic woods like pine.
• Fauna such as horn, bone or shell: for well healed stretches only, from ethical, traceable sources. Porous, so keep out of water and oil regularly.
• Silicone: certified biocompatible silicone suits most people in healed piercings. Never use it to stretch. If a dye irritates, try clear or medical grade.

Never wear these in a piercing

• Silver: oxidises against body fluid, turns skin black (often permanently) and in mucosal areas can cause argyria, or silver poisoning. Keep silver for jewellery worn on the body, not in it.
• Lead: highly toxic and sometimes used to bulk out cheap jewellery. Never wear it, or anything you suspect contains it.
• Copper, zinc and tin: reactive, and can cause reactions, skin discolouration and, in excess, poisoning.
• Brass and bronze: copper based alloys that can turn skin green and irritate, and some bronze can even contain arsenic.
• Iron and non surgical steel: rusts and can turn a piercing septic.
• Plated metals and anything containing cadmium: plating flakes off and harbours bacteria, and cadmium is toxic. PVD coatings, however, are safe.
• Costume jewellery, fake gold, pewter and chrome: commonly contain lead or other toxic metals, so avoid entirely.

If you are ever unsure what a piece is made from, just ask us. If you do not know what it is, it does not go in your body.