Why Gold Is One of the Best Options for Your Nose Rings
Typically, when you get pierced, you want to decorate your body with beautiful jewelry. But did you know that not all jewelry is great for you, especially when it comes to healing a piercing?
Yep, you read that right. Some body jewelry materials are better than others when it comes to the initial jewelry you wear (and continue wearing). So, keep reading on to learn why gold is one of the best jewelry options when it comes to nose rings.
Why Is It Important What Jewelry You Pick for Your Nose Rings?
Buying body jewelry is much different than shopping for a pretty necklace or bracelet. Rather than simply being worn, body jewelry goes inside of a wound, which means it comes into contact with tissues. Therefore, it’s important that you choose jewelry that is suitable to be worn in an open wound.
This is especially the case when you have a brand-new piercing—sometimes, you have to sacrifice your ideal look for something that would help the piercing heal better.
What Type of Jewelry Is Suitable for Fresh Piercings?
According to the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), the jewelry used in fresh piercings must be biocompatible. This means that your body, especially the surrounding tissue, can tolerate the material as it is worn in the open wound. Additionally, the material must be biocompatible to avoid any risks of allergy, infection, and/or irritation.
One other important component to consider is that the jewelry must be able to withstand the heat and pressure of an autoclave, or the machine piercers use to sterilize jewelry before it is inserted into a piercee.
According to APP guidelines, initial jewelry must meet implantation standards and quality issued by the American (which has now changed to be International) Society for Testing and Materials and/or the International Standards Organization (ISO).
What Are Common Side Effects of Selecting Improper Jewelry?
Believe it or not, there is jewelry out there that is sold but should not be worn while you’re healing your piercing.
Many people in the U.S. have an allergy to nickel, which is used in many types of metals such as sterling silver. Sometimes reactions to nickel are as mild as skin discoloration, but others are more extreme and include inflammation and itchy rashes.
As expected, an allergic reaction will affect and prolong the healing process of your nose piercing.
Why Is Gold Good for Nose Rings?
There are actually several reasons gold is good for nose rings. These include:
Biocompatibility
The purer gold is, the more biocompatible it is. Gold’s purity is measured in karats. Pure gold is 24 karats; however, this is too soft and malleable for body jewelry. In other words, the jewelry would not be as durable.
Instead, the gold must be mixed with alloys, another metal element that gets added to gold to strengthen it and reduce its ability to corrode. As alloys are added to gold, the purity decreases.
Therefore, karats describe how many parts gold the material actually is. An 18-karat piece of gold jewelry tells us that it is made up of 18 parts gold and 6 parts are alloys.
A lot of body jewelry ranges from 14 to 18 karats.
Avoiding Allergies
The purer the gold, meaning the more karats it has, the fewer chances there are of it being mixed with an alloy that causes an allergic reaction. Just make sure the gold jewelry is nickel- or copper-free.
A Piece of Advice
Please note that there is gold jewelry and then there’s gold-coated or gold-plated jewelry. Because gold paint and coating can flake off, which is not advisable when dealing with a healing piercing.
Therefore, it’s best to stick to a piece of 14- or 18-karat gold jewelry to start.
Stay Gold!
Gold often signifies wealth, royalty, and luxury. At Urban Body Jewelry, we have a wide range of gold nose rings for every price point. Check out our collection today.
Written by Jackie Rachel
