Metal Allergy


kolson98's avatar
Hey guys I am allergic to cheap metals used in jewelry that is of the goth/emo/scene variety and I wanted to know are their any places I can find items like  www.bing.com/images/search?q=b… with snaps made from nicer metals or a bracelet made from alternative materials that are preferably not fabric. Please help me out I am tired of having small itchy hives from my allergy, it would mean so much to me if you guys could help me.
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GD-Doreen-BJ's avatar
Are you allergic to Nickel?
You can craft your own jewelry, by using aluminium wire. It's not really difficult and not very expensive (maybe around 40pounds/30€ for a starting set).
There are also some great artist, that sell awesome gothic-inspired jewelry, like :iconlunarieen:

Try to buy pyramid rivets that are made of other metal and so on. It's difficult and more expensive, but it is worth it.

Good luck! :)
kolson98's avatar
Thanks for your help I will be sure to look at some of the places you suggested :)
GD-Doreen-BJ's avatar
Cethlenn's avatar
I'm allergic to it too.

Buy some clear nail polish and coat the jewellery in it, it should stop it from reacting on your skin.
Mercury-Crowe's avatar
Cheap metal is coated with rhodium to keep it from oxidizing, that may be what you're reacting to. Unfortunately just about all commercial metal is treated with it, including jewelry. 

You may be able to paint over small parts of exposed metal with clear nail polish. Or....get plastic snaps and zippers etc and have someone swap the out for you.
kolson98's avatar
Ah that makes sense and thank you for the clear nail polish idea. I think I will try it.
HaleyHylia's avatar
I would tell you to look on Etsy, personally. The sellers there are not huge manufacturing corps churning out products as fast and as cheap as possible; they are individual craftsman who care more about their customer being happy than anything else! People on Etsy tend to be more considerate to allergies and requests, so I would advise you to look there.

Aluminum findings and 100% aluminum jewelry is gaining popularity heavily. It is ultra shiny like silver but has absolutely no ability to tarnish, is lightweight, so very cheap, but extremely sturdy. There is a plethora of aluminum-based jewelry - whether in part or whole - on Etsy as well as some stainless steel. You may find someone who is willing to do a custom piece for you with aluminum or steel findings there. It might cost you extra, but it will be worth not having the allergy to it!
kolson98's avatar
Thank you for your help :3
HaleyHylia's avatar
Also, you might try simply modifying pieces to cover things that you're allergic to. On that bracelet, you could glue pieces of fabric or something else on the inside of the bracelet to cover the rivets. There are plenty of little tricks you could do, depending on the piece of jewelry/accessory you have. ;)
PrairieLily's avatar
The best way to deal with any allergy is to take matters into your own hands. For food, it would be preparing your own food so that you know exactly what it has come into contact with and what is inside of it. With metals, it is sometimes making your own jewelry or even taking jewelry that you've bought and replace the parts you're allergic to such as clasps or chains.

Do some research. First figure out which types of metal you're not allergic to. Then you have the choice to just punch it into google "Stainless steel scene bracelet -fabric" or perform targeted searches on specific websites.

I will warn you that unless you find a website that caters in high quality materials with the style you're looking for, you will still mostly find garbage jewelry. Which is why I recommended making your own. The people (mostly teens) who wear the style you're looking for generally settle for cheap and poorly made accessories. Hot topic is a very prime example of that and the success behind such a business model.  The kind of metal you likely need will inevitably be much more expensive than silver/gold/black plated nickel as well.

I myself cannot wear cheap jewelry due to my own metal allergies. Thusly, I have more expensive pieces and fewer of them. I will also take a very expensive pendant (such as my mother of pearl pendant surrounded in quality metalworking) and place it onto a plain black chord. It saves a bit of cash and doesn't look terrible with the right chord. 
kolson98's avatar
Thanks :) I appreciate the advice.
Lytrigian's avatar
From what I understand, the metal most often causing allergic reactions is nickel. It's not really a question of "nice" or "not nice" metals being used, as nickel can do all kinds of wonderful things when alloyed with other metals. In jewelry it's typically used for corrosion resistance.

Since it's so very common, what you may need to do is find a supplier of nickel-free hypoallergenic hardware and replace snaps in all your accessories yourself. That way you can still buy whatever you want for looks while not having to suffer the rashes, and for just a little more work.

You could also remove the snaps altogether and use leather laces or some such to fasten them instead.
kolson98's avatar
Thanks for your help :) Your advice is really appreciated.
Abstract-Mindser's avatar
It'd be nice to know what metals you are actually allergic to.
kolson98's avatar
Ah well you see Im trying to figure that out myself at the moment but until then I just have to eliminate the possibilies. It really sucks.
Abstract-Mindser's avatar
Why not just go to a doctor and get a panel done?
kolson98's avatar
Ah that's a good idea I didn't know you could do that.
Abstract-Mindser's avatar
Allergy panels are a common thing, mon.
kolson98's avatar
Well I don't hear about them very often, because people don't often talk about them.
PrairieLily's avatar
I had the same thought. But I doubt they actually know the specific metals, rather than "cheap".