Does piercing jewellery really matter?

In short, YES! When we perform a piercing, we are creating a wound in the body and adorning it with a piece of jewellery. It's super important that the jewellery used is of excellent quality. Above and beyond any standards set by local authorities, we only use jewellery vendors verified by the UK Association of Professional Piercers as these brands use the finest grades of materials to create beautiful body jewellery. Each piece being finished by hand to ensure a perfect mirror finish, which is safe for healing your piercing.

Suitable materials to be pierced with.... Titanium, 14 & 18k Solid gold, Niobium and "Steel" with a big BUT! (read until the end)

Not all implant grade jewellery is safe.

Implant grade Titanium is defined as a highly biocompatible metal alloy used in medical applications, including body jewellery, due to its strength, lightness, and resistance to corrosion.

Okay, so we've chosen a great grade of materials. Is that enough?  NO! Not all "implant grade" jewellery is safe for healing a new piercing. Equally important to the grade of materials used, is the surface finish of all parts that come in contact with your body. The wearable jewellery should be smooth with a mirror-finish, meaning no nicks/scratches, or nasty edges and definitely no hallmark stamps, where bacteria or debris can build up or simply cut/irritate you or the piercing channel.

Below is an example of High Quality, Implant Grade jewellery along side a low quality "implant grade" piece. Spot the difference!

High Quality Jewellery (Left), Cheap Low Quality Jewellery (Right)....Photo Credit: Association of Professional Piercers

Here you can clearly see that the jewellery on the left has a high polished mirror finish, in comparison to the jewellery on the right which has clear scratches and grooves ready to hurt you and welcome bacteria and debris, poor quality jewellery will give you higher complications to healing and generally increase risks of infection.

When we say mirror polish, you should be able to see your reflection in the wearable parts of your jewellery!!... Photo Credit: Meeeee!

We typically use titanium of an ASTM implant grade as the wearable part of your jewellery due to its hypoallergenic nature and decorative ends made from the same titanium or 14 & 18k solid Gold.

ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) an organisation which has tested and verified that this grade of Titanium is compliant with the Nickel Act and is a biocompatible and durable material fit for use in the human body. This means it is an appropriate material for long term wear in the body with a minimum chance for allergic reactions and contact dermatitis.

Gold

When it comes to Gold in body jewellery solid 14k or 18k is the piercer's choice. Solid gold is made up of 24 parts in total, for example 14k being 14 parts solid gold to 10 parts other, stronger alloys like copper, silver, and palladium. 24k would therefore be pure gold. Perfect you may think! Not so fast, anything purer that 18k would be too soft and would be very easily damaged by something as gentle as a scratch from your nail and as we have seen from our earlier example of low quality titanium we certainly don't want scratched damaged jewellery!

14k is the minimum carat suitable for wear in the body as lower carat options can lead to allergic reactions due to there being an unsafe amount of filler alloys present.

14k and 18k are great for body jewellery as they find a middle ground between purity and strength.

We typically don't recommend plated gold jewellery. It is plausible as long as the plating is solid gold (14k or above). However this will wear and can potentially delaminate/flake, causing harm to your piercings. This type of jewellery should be handled with extra gentle care.

Surgical Steel

"Surgical steel" a loose cannon! The word "surgical" tricks you into a false sense of security, believing it is safe. There is no definition on what qualifies as surgical steel, so companies use it as sweeping term for pretty much all steel jewellery with a mysteriously unknown material make up.

Due to steel containing Nickel it has to be manufactured with a special process of vacuum melting, which creates a surface coating/finish that reduces the release of nickel into the body. This makes it ASTM implant grade steel which is suitable but has a higher chance of prolonged healing and allergic reactions compared to titanium. However most "surgical steel" is not made to this standard and as always surface finish is just as important.

By why does any of this matter to you? 

When it comes to choosing a piercer, you want to be looking at their jewellery standards, sure we are looking for something that suits your style and taste (from a plain ball to sparkles or even a gold pineapple!), but we are also looking for a verified piece that's going to give you the easiest and safest healing journey. When you choose verified implant grade jewellery you are not only prioritizing the well-being of your piercings, but also investing in high-quality jewellery that will last a lifetime, most of which brands carry warranty for their jewellery.

Would you use any random piece of metal for a hip replacement, or a dental implant? Why would you scrimp out on your piercing!?