Mathilde Lacombe

If you’re cursed with sensitive skin, you may well find that certain jewelry materials trigger a reaction when you wear them. Wearing jewelery is meant to be enjoyable, as it’s all about injecting a bit of glamor into your overall ensemble. What fun are designer bracelets if they make you itch and break out in hives? Fortunately, there are a number of hypoallergenic metals out there that are ideal for those with sensitive skin. This way, anyone and everyone can reap the benefits of wearing beautiful jewelry. Looking and feeling your best shouldn’t discriminate, which is why it’s important to find jewelry that won’t cause a reaction with your skin.

Gold

While 24k gold is hypoallergenic, it’s, unfortunately, too soft to make jewelry from. As a result, other metals are added to gold to make it suitable for jewelry making. For instance, 14k and 18k gold are alloys, with 18k having a higher percentage of gold than 14k. Depending on how sensitive your skin is, you might be able to wear 14k gold; however, if this causes irritation, you might give 18k gold a try. If this still causes problems for you, you might consider wearing rose gold, as this is a combination of gold and copper, making it a hypoallergenic material.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel isn’t s hypoallergenic metal; however, it is one that’s good for sensitive skin. On top of this, it’s one of the most affordable metals for jewelry and is also resistant to heat and corrosion. Typically speaking, sterling silver is 316 stainless steel, which is an alloy consisting of 11% nickel and 20% chromium. The metal that tends to cause irritation is nickel, and stainless steel has a low nickel content, which makes it mostly suitable for sensitive skin. Despite this, it does contain some nickel, meaning it can’t be classed as hypoallergenic.

Platinum

Platinum is hypoallergenic; however, this comes at a price. Platinum is the most expensive metal when it comes to jewelry and, even though it’s combined with other metals when it comes to jewelry making, nickel isn’t one of these metals. Instead, cobalt, iridium, and ruthenium are some of the most popular metals to combine with platinum to create a jewelry-making alloy. Since each of these metals is hypoallergenic, this means that platinum jewelry can be considered hypoallergenic, too. Unfortunately, jewelry that isn’t going to cause you irritation comes at a bit of a cost, but it’s worth it to look good in comfort.

Sterling Silver

Sterling silver tends to be hypoallergenic, as it’s an alloy that consists predominantly of silver combined with other metals to add strength. As a result, some sterling silver will be nickel-free, whereas others won’t be. If it is used, the nickel content tends to be very low, which doesn’t tend to be a cause for concern for most people with sensitive skin. Due to the copper content in sterling silver, genuine sterling silver tends to tarnish; however, this is quite easily solved with regular cleaning. 925 sterling silver is some of the purest you can get, as 92.5% of its contents consists of silver.

Rhodium

Rhodium is one of the most popular hypoallergenic metals and tends to be sterling silver plated. It’s a high-quality and lustrous metal that contains no nickel whatsoever. Similarly, rhodium-plated metals won’t cause a reaction, but the plating will soon wear, meaning it’ll need to be replaced to have the same protective effects. As a result, anything that’s rhodium-plated should ideally be a hypoallergenic metal to avoid any irritation occurring after excessive wear. Rhodium-plated sterling silver is one of the most popular options.