Nickel allergy
Nickel is the metal most often behind jewelry reactions, and this hub collects the pages that deal with it. DermNet describes nickel allergy as one of the most common causes of contact allergic dermatitis, with diagnosis by patch test with a clinician.
Start with nickel allergy and jewelry and what is hypoallergenic jewelry. The rules and tests are in EU nickel rules, which set release limits, and nickel spot tests, where a 2010 study found the home test caught 59.3% of the cases the lab method flagged. Materials are explained in 316L steel and rhodium plating.
Product pages record the maker's stated metal: nickel-free earrings, titanium, surgical steel and titanium against stainless steel. Eighteen pages touch this concern in total.
If you react to jewelry now, a dermatologist or allergy society is the place to ask, since patch testing is how nickel allergy is diagnosed.
What the evidence says
The sources are DermNet (reference), the EU REACH nickel entry (regulatory), a 2010 spot-test study and laboratory studies on steel grades. They describe how nickel allergy is recognised and how release is measured. None of them is a controlled comparison of jewelry products, and we found no mandatory US federal nickel requirement for jewelry in the CPSC documents read.
Study types are labelled on each source. This is educational information, not medical advice; see the medical disclaimer.
What we don't fully know
- No source we read gives the nickel content of yellow or white gold at 10k or 14k.
- Mejuri's maker pages say hypoallergenic but make no nickel statement we could check.
- Steel pages mostly say surgical grade without a grade number.
- We read abstracts and web pages, not full papers, and have not tested any jewelry.
Product guides
- Best hypoallergenic earrings
Four earrings carry an explicit maker "hypoallergenic" claim plus a published material: Blomdahl USA (uncoated ASTM F-67 titanium), Impuria (F-136 titanium with gold-colour PVD), Tini Lux (F-67 titanium with titanium nitride PVD) and Pierced Co (gold-plated stainless steel). Grayling's gold-filled or sterling silver hoops meet our criteria but the maker doesn't use the word. "Hypoallergenic" is the maker's word, not a tested outcome, so the material and any coating are the facts to weigh. - Best hypoallergenic earrings for piercing
Four earrings have a maker-stated "hypoallergenic" claim and a stated material: two implant-grade titanium (no grade number), and two stainless steel (no grade number). "Hypoallergenic" has no legal definition we could find for jewelry, so each verdict is the maker's claim plus the listed material, not a promise about your skin or a statement about any piercing. - Best hypoallergenic gold earrings
Of seven gold-look earrings we could verify, only Mejuri's hoops are solid gold (14k), and Mejuri's page names no nickel statement. Grayling's hoops are 14k gold-filled, not solid. The other five are coated: gold plating over stainless steel (Pierced Co) or a gold-coloured coating on titanium (Impuria, Tini Lux). "Hypoallergenic" is the maker's word and has no legal definition. - Best hypoallergenic hoop earrings
Three hoops are shown. Grayling Weightless Medium Hoops (14k gold-filled or .925 sterling silver, "100% nickel-free") meet our criteria, but the maker does not call them hypoallergenic. Mejuri 14k solid gold ("Hypoallergenic") and Pierced Co gold-plated steel huggies ("always hypoallergenic") are the makers' own claims, not promises; only Grayling and Pierced Co make a nickel statement. - Best hypoallergenic jewelry
Any piece can still cause a reaction; "hypoallergenic" is the maker's word. What differs is the published material: six are titanium (five name an ASTM grade), two are gold-plated stainless steel and one is solid 14k gold and one is gold-filled or sterling silver (that maker says "nickel-free" but not "hypoallergenic"). The page also covers three Mejuri pieces whose maker page says "hypoallergenic": a ring and a necklace in 18k gold vermeil over sterling silver, and a 14k solid gold necklace. None of the three pages makes a nickel statement we could check. - Best hypoallergenic stainless steel jewelry
Four earrings have a maker-stated "hypoallergenic" claim and stainless steel listed as the metal, but none of the four names a steel grade such as 316L. "Hypoallergenic" is the maker's word, so each verdict here is the claim plus the material listed, not a promise about your skin. - Best hypoallergenic stud earrings
Six studs have a maker-stated claim and a published metal spec: five titanium (four name an ASTM F-136 or F-67 grade) and one stainless steel with gold plating. "Hypoallergenic" has no legal definition, so each verdict here is the maker's claim plus the material listed, not a promise about your skin. - Best hypoallergenic titanium earrings
Six titanium earrings pass our maker-page check: each maker names titanium as the metal and makes a nickel-free or hypoallergenic statement. Only Impuria (F-136), Blomdahl USA (F67) and Tini Lux (F-67 base) state an ASTM grade; "hypoallergenic" has no definition we could cite, so these are maker claims, not promises. - Best nickel free earrings
Of the seven earrings here, four are titanium, two are gold-plated stainless steel and one is a gold-filled or sterling silver hoop. Six makers call theirs nickel-free or hypoallergenic; Grayling says 100% nickel-free without the word hypoallergenic. Makers that name an ASTM grade (Blomdahl USA, Impuria, Tini Lux) give you the most checkable spec; Simply Whispers says "medical-grade" without a number. - Best surgical steel earrings
Four earrings have a maker page that says "hypoallergenic" and names stainless steel: three Pierced Co styles (all "surgical grade", gold plated) and one Studex cubic zirconia stud. None of the four gives a steel grade number, so under our criteria "surgical steel" is not a grade here, and each claim is the maker's own.
Brand checks
- Is mejuri hypoallergenic?
Mejuri says "hypoallergenic" on all four product pages we read, but that is the maker's word and none of the four makes a nickel statement. The vermeil pieces are gold over a palladium barrier on sterling silver; the 14k pieces are solid gold with no alloy metals named.
Versus
- Titanium vs Stainless Steel Earrings
The records show a documentation gap, not a skin result. Titanium earring pages more often name a grade (F-136, F-67); steel pages say "surgical grade" or "stainless steel" without one. Neither metal removes the need to ask a dermatologist if you react to nickel.
Guides and explainers
- The EU nickel rule for jewellery, explained
In the EU, nickel in jewellery is restricted by entry 27 of REACH Annex XVII, with release limits of 0.2 and 0.5 micrograms per square centimetre per week. It is EU law. In the documents read, the CPSC says no mandatory US federal requirements exist specifically for jewelry. - Nickel allergy and jewelry
DermNet describes nickel allergy as one of the most common causes of contact allergic dermatitis, usually long-lasting, with earlobes, wrists and the lower abdomen the typical sites. Diagnosis is by patch test with a clinician. The EU sets numeric nickel release limits for jewelry; a label such as "nickel-free" is the maker's wording. - How nickel release is tested (and the spot test kits)
Labs measure how much nickel an item releases over time, and the EU sets limits in micrograms per square centimetre per week. A home dimethylglyoxime spot test only gives a yes or no on the surface. A 2010 study found it caught 59.3% of the cases the lab method flagged. - Rhodium plating and skin reactions
Rhodium is a thin coating, not the metal underneath. DermNet says the plating on white gold protects against nickel at first but eventually wears off over months or years, leaving the alloy against skin. Rhodium can itself cause contact allergy, but the sources read show only rare cases. - What is hypoallergenic jewelry?
It is jewelry whose maker calls it hypoallergenic, usually meaning it is meant to cause fewer reactions, mostly in people with nickel allergy. We found no legal definition for jewelry. The FDA says the term means whatever a company wants it to mean for cosmetics. The metal named on the listing tells you more than the word. - Surgical steel, 316L and 304: what the grades mean
316L is a specific stainless steel grade; the sources we read give its nickel content as 10 to 14 wt% and do not define "surgical steel". A 1994 lab study found low nickel release from 304 and 316L and much more from 303, but other work shows release depends on the item, not the name.