Is surgical steel jewellery right for me?
There are several types of metal used for body jewellery manufacturing – however not all may be suitable for you. The wrong type of metal may cause you to have a reaction – or skin irritation. The main culprit for skin irritation would be nickel.
The most common type of metal used for body jewellery is surgical grade steel. Here at Cherry Diva we used 316L surgical grade steel for many of our body jewels. The 316L number denotes the low carbon version of the steel.
We do this for two reasons – the first being that surgical grade steel is generally suitable for most people’s piercings, it has a low risk for reactions and tolerates water well. The second reason is that surgical grade steel is relatively cheap – which helps us keep the cost of jewellery low.
Surgical grade steel is also not complete nickel free – it does generally contain around 8% - 12% nickel content so if you have an allergy to nickel it may be advisable to wear titanium jewellery.
If you are hypersensitive, we would usually advise you to opt for titanium jewellery. Titanium is a strong as steel but lighter – it does not corrode nor tarnish, nor react to saltwater or body chemistry. It can also be coloured – or anodized to produce all kinds of vibrant colours. The downside to Titanium jewellery is that its generally more expensive to produce.
