3 Reasons Why You Should Choose A Titanium Labret
When it comes to labret jewelry, there’s no shortage of styles, colors, designs, and materials. That makes the labret one of the most popular jewelry styles for body piercings. These small studs can adorn several types of piercings, from the lip, to the nose, to the ear. But no matter where you’re installing your labret stud, there’s no doubt that it needs to be made from high-quality metal.
Enter Titanium
A titanium labret is an essential in the body piercing community. Not only is titanium incredibly reliable, but it’s versatile, too. Titanium labrets come in all sorts of different colors thanks to a process called “anodizing.” Additionally, they’re super strong and biocompatible. But why does all this matter when it comes to piercing jewelry?
In this blog, we’ll review our top three reasons why you should choose a titanium labret for your new piercing.
Titanium is Biocompatible
The reason why titanium is such a popular piercing material is because it’s biocompatible. That means it won’t cause harm to the living tissue surrounding the piercing. That alone strengthens titanium’s reputation.
Not all metals are biocompatible, however. That’s why carefully sourcing your jewelry is so important!
More often than not, body jewelry is made from a combination of several metals—therein lies the rub. Metals like brass or copper can oxidize and turn your piercing area green, a telltale sign of low-quality jewelry.
It’s the same situation with nickel, a common alloy added for strength and durability. Except nickel is a very common contact allergen that can cause burning, itching, and swelling. Even just a small percentage of nickel—like the kind found in both surgical and implant-grade stainless steel—is enough to cause a reaction if you’re sensitive to metals.
With this, all signs point to titanium. Just ensure that the jewelry is ASTM F136 compliant, which is a standard set for titanium used as surgical implants. Or in our case, piercing jewelry.
Titanium is Strong
As if being biocompatible wasn’t enough, titanium is an extremely strong material. That’s another reason why it’s a reputable material for body piercings.
Specifically, high-quality titanium excretes an oxide layer that has a high resistance to corrosion [1]. This makes it safe for the purposes of surgical implants or body piercing, as it won’t erode or weather down after use. In fact, it’s classified as one of the strongest metals available because of its ability to withstand extreme conditions.
Even better, titanium is extremely lightweight. In fact, it’s one of the least dense metals out there. So while you’re getting the utmost durability out of your titanium labret, you’re also using something comfortable for the purposes of body piercing.
Titanium Can Be Anodized
Another standout feature of titanium is its ability to be anodized.
Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts the surface of titanium to an anodic oxide finish. In laymans terms, it’s the process of changing titanium from silver to a myriad of different colors. Not only this, but anodizing also makes the titanium durable and corrosion-resistant. But how is it possible?
It’s all controlled by an electric current through a water bath (and some other complicated, science-y stuff). Essentially, by increasing or decreasing the voltage, the titanium’s outer oxide layer changes, making light refract differently. This alters the color of titanium to almost any color you can imagine.
The best part? Anodization doesn’t take away from titanium’s biocompatibility or strength. So, if you’re looking for a colorful titanium labret, search for anodized titanium to ensure that the color is coming from this process and not from other additives.
Its ability to be anodized makes titanium one of the more versatile metals out there, especially for body piercings.
Take Your Pick of Titanium Labrets
If you’re ready to choose a titanium labret for your body piercing, look no further than Urban Body Jewelry. With our portfolio of hundreds of titanium labret options, we have no doubts you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for. From anodization, to gem stones, to appliques, our titanium labrets are as unique as you are.
References: Sidambe AT. Biocompatibility of Advanced Manufactured Titanium Implants—A Review. Materials. 2014; 7(12):8168-8188. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma7128168