What "Nickel-Free" Actually Means for Sensitive Skin

If jewellery has ever left your ears red, itchy or sore, there is a good chance nickel is the reason. It is the most common cause of allergic contact dermatitis from metal, and it turns up in a great deal of everyday jewellery — usually in the plating, where you cannot see it.

"Nickel-free" means the piece is made without it. That is the whole claim, and it is a more useful one than it sounds.

What nickel is doing in jewellery at all

Nickel is hard, cheap, and takes a plating beautifully. Mixed into an alloy it makes a soft metal durable; underneath a layer of gold plate it gives a bright, even finish. From a manufacturing point of view it is genuinely useful, which is why it is everywhere.

The problem is that skin is in contact with it all day, and warmth and moisture help tiny amounts of it transfer.

Why the reaction shows up late

This is the part that confuses people, and the reason so many never work out what is causing it.

A nickel reaction is not immediate the way a cut is. Sensitivity builds with exposure, so a pair of earrings can be comfortable for weeks and then start to itch. Because nothing changed on the day it started, the earrings rarely get blamed — people assume it is the weather, or stress, or simply that their ears "are like that".

It is also why plated jewellery tends to get worse over time. As a thin gold plate wears through at the edges, more of the alloy underneath reaches the skin.

"Hypoallergenic" is not the same as nickel-free

This is worth knowing before you spend anything.

Hypoallergenic is not a regulated term. It means the maker believes the piece is less likely to cause a reaction. It does not certify that any particular metal has been left out, and plenty of jewellery described as hypoallergenic still contains nickel in the alloy beneath the surface.

"Surgical steel" is a similar trap — most surgical stainless steels contain nickel. They are stable enough that many people wear them without trouble, but "contains nickel and usually doesn't react" is a different promise from "contains no nickel".

If you are sensitive, the word to look for is the specific one.

How to tell before you buy

• Look for the metal named exactly — "nickel-free", not "gentle on skin" or "sensitive-safe".
• Be wary of plating with no stated base metal. The plate is not the problem; what is under it is.
• Notice where a piece is made and in what quantity. Small-batch makers can tell you what is in a piece because they chose it. Mass production often genuinely cannot.
• If a reaction has started with something you already own, take it off for two weeks before assuming it is something else. Skin settles slowly.

What we do

Every piece of jewellery we make is finished nickel-free and made by hand in small Japanese workshops, in short runs. We can say what is in a piece because it is made in quantities small enough for that to be a real answer rather than a policy.

In practice it means the thing can stay on. Through a long day, a shower, a warm afternoon — without the moment at four o'clock where you take your earrings out and put them in your pocket.

Where to start

• Japanese Handmade Pearl Necklace — $80. One freshwater pearl on a fine chain. Gold, silver or pink gold.
• Crystal Pendant Necklace — $68. A faceted stone in four colours, set in a slim bezel.
• Single Pearl Ear Cuff — $38. No piercing needed at all, which removes the other common source of irritation.

The full range is in Japanese Necklaces and Japanese Ear Cuffs, $38 to $88.

This is general information about metal sensitivity, not medical advice. If your skin is reacting badly or persistently, a doctor can patch-test for a nickel allergy and tell you for certain.