EARRING FINDINGS SKIN

So they just think they “can’t wear earrings”. They’ve tried wearing “hypoallergenic” earrings and still had irritation. In fact, this is one reason why people are often unaware that they have metal sensitivity. Hypo-allergenic findings very often contain nickel and, unfortunately, cause reactions in many people. What does it mean? The word, itself, just means “lower allergy causing” and it’s a made-up word that has no legal significance. You’ve probably seen that word on listings for earring posts and earwires online, or on earring finding packages in craft stores. You’ve undoubtedly been instructed that it’s safe to use “hypoallergenic” findings in your jewelry. While they can be worn by most people with sensitivities, please know that even the specialized grades 304 Stainless Steel and 316 Stainless Steel contain up to 10% nickel and can still cause reactions in very sensitive people. The surgical stainless commonly available in the US will trigger a reaction quite readily. For more information about the nickel-free metals used in jewelry, consult this excellent article.

In most countries, most “normal” findings contain nickel, even ones labeled as hypo-allergenic or allergy-free. While the EU has rules that prevent jewelry from releasing nickel, most countries do not. But once your lobes are irritated, even “safe” metals such as sterling silver and copper can aggravate your earlobes. Many people with mild sensitivities can wear earrings with low amounts of nickel for short periods of time. (Surgical stainless is a metal intended for surgical instruments, not for long-term body contact.) And some gold alloys contain nickel as well, especially in inexpensive jewelry. This is because stainless steel contains nickel! In fact, surgical stainless contains a LOT of nickel. But most people don’t realize that this can also happen with surgical stainless steel, stainless steel, 14K gold, sterling silver, and even copper. It’s pretty well-known that earring findings that contain nickel can cause hot, itchy, swollen earlobes. If it does, you’ve found your culprit! Because of the gold flecks in these Watercolor Agate earrings ( tutorial is here), I chose to use gold-filled earwires. If this sounds familiar, you might try using different metals and see if the problem disappears. (And I’ve shown up at events wearing only one earring many times because I absent-mindedly pulled one of them off.) Nowadays, if I put on the wrong earrings before I go out for an event, they will already be starting to itch and my earlobes will be hot and swollen by the time I back the car out of the driveway. Eventually, the reaction can be quite strong and quite immediate. In the case of earrings, you’ll likely first notice that some earrings feel prickly or pokey.

EARRING FINDINGS SKIN

You might notice that the skin under your watch becomes itchy and hot, or you might notice a rash where your eyeglasses rub your cheeks. (And people with sensitive ears can usually wear rings just fine. Earrings, glasses, and watches are common sources of skin aggravation. But when you wear metals close to your skin for long periods of time, sensitivities can be a real problem. For the most part, metals don’t bother most people most of the time. But most people refer to this metal sensitivity as “metal allergy”. And in the case of metals, lots and lots of people become sensitive to the contact of metals to their skin.

You can only have an allergy to proteins, not metals.

Earring findings