Piercing jewelry materials: what's safe, what's not, and what to ask for

The single biggest reason healthy piercings go bad is bad jewelry. Cheap metal leaches nickel, plating wears off, and threadless ends with rough seams tear the inside of a healing channel every time you move. Here's what to actually wear.

The gold standard for fresh piercings. Nickel-free, hypoallergenic, lightweight, and tolerated by nearly everyone — including people with metal allergies. If a piercer offers anything else for a fresh piercing, find a different piercer. Look for the spec 'ASTM F-136' or 'ISO 5832-3' on the receipt or website.

Beautiful, safe for healed piercings, and what most people upgrade to once their piercing is settled. Must be solid — not plated or filled — and must be nickel-free (some white gold contains nickel). Avoid for fresh piercings; gold is softer than titanium and scratches more easily, which can harbor bacteria.

A great alternative to titanium. Inert, hypoallergenic, comes in beautiful anodized colors. Slightly heavier than titanium but otherwise just as safe for fresh piercings.

316L and 316LVM surgical steel contain small amounts of nickel. Most people tolerate them once healed, but they're no longer recommended for fresh piercings by the Association of Professional Piercers. If you have any nickel sensitivity, skip it entirely.

Sterling silver (tarnishes inside the piercing and stains the skin). Gold-plated or gold-filled anything (plating wears off). Acrylic (porous, harbors bacteria). 'Mystery metal' from Amazon, Shein, or claw machines (the cause of 90% of allergic reactions piercers see).

Threadless (also called press-fit) jewelry has a smooth post and a tiny pin on the decorative end that you bend slightly and pop in. Smoother, easier to change, and gentler on healed piercings. Internally-threaded jewelry has a flat post with a screw-in top — the threads are on the top, not the post, so nothing rough drags through your skin. Both are great. Externally-threaded jewelry (threads on the post itself) is the cheap stuff and should be avoided.