Titanium Body Jewelry

The metal piercers reach for when skin reacts: solid titanium, most of it carrying the implant-grade ASTM F-136 mark in the title, nickel-free all the way through and about half the weight of steel. Micro-gem hinged nose hoops, threadless flat backs for cartilage, belly, nipple and septum rings, in bare titanium, anodized color and PVD gold and black. Since 1999.

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Titanium Body Jewelry Fit & Material Guide

What implant-grade means: ASTM F-136 is the surgical-implant standard for titanium, the same alloy that goes into bone screws and joint replacements, and the strictest bar a piece of body jewelry can clear. Our F-136 pieces say so in the product title. The rest of this page is still solid titanium, nickel-free by nature; the implant mark is the extra assurance a fresh piercing deserves.

Titanium vs. steel, honestly: 316L surgical steel is a fine metal for most people, and it holds a trace of nickel locked in the alloy. Titanium holds none, weighs about half as much, and takes color by anodizing instead of coating. If every steel piece eventually makes a piercing red and cranky, the metal is the suspect and this page is the fix. Fit follows the piercing, not the metal: 20G and 18G nose hoops, 16G cartilage and septum, 14G belly and nipple. Match the gauge you wear now; it is on every product page.

Color without compromise: the blues, purples and rainbows are anodized, an oxide layer grown from the titanium itself with nothing added; the gold and black tones are PVD bonded onto solid titanium. The product title names the finish, and the metal against your skin is nickel-free in every color. Shower, swim and sleep in it; a rinse after chlorine is the whole care routine.

Titanium by piercing:

FAQ

Titanium certified to the surgical-implant standard: ASTM F-136 (also written ISO 5832-3), the same alloy used for bone screws and joint replacements and the strictest purity bar in body jewelry. Our implant-grade pieces say so right in the product title, so you are never guessing. Everything else on this page is still solid titanium, which is nickel-free by nature; the F-136 mark is the extra assurance piercers ask for on fresh piercings.

Yes. The F-136 alloy is titanium, aluminum and vanadium, with no nickel in it, and nickel is what most red, itchy, weepy piercing reactions trace back to. 316L surgical steel holds a trace of nickel locked in the alloy; most people wear it for life without noticing, but if your skin argues with steel, titanium is the metal piercers reach for. Solid gold and niobium are the other nickel-free lanes.

Both are implant-designated metals (steel is ASTM F-138, titanium is ASTM F-136). Titanium is about half the weight, contains no nickel, and can be anodized into color without any coating. Steel is heavier, less expensive, and carries that locked-in trace of nickel. For a healed piercing and normal skin, either works; for a new piercing, reactive skin, or a cartilage piercing that minds the weight, titanium earns its price.

Two honest ways to color titanium, and we use both. Anodizing runs electricity through the metal to thicken its own oxide layer, which bends light into blue, purple, gold and rainbow; nothing is added to the surface. PVD bonds a thin gold or black finish onto the solid titanium underneath. Either way the metal against your skin is nickel-free, and the product title names the finish. Anodized color can soften with years of wear; PVD outlasts plating by a wide margin.

Implant-grade titanium is what many piercers use for initial jewelry, so it is the right metal for the job. The timing rule still belongs to your piercer: leave the starter piece in until you are cleared to swap, then this page is home. For daily wear, titanium does not rust, tarnish or react to sweat and water, so shower, swim and sleep in it; a rinse after chlorine or salt water is the whole care routine.

Rarely. Titanium is non-ferrous with low conductivity, and a nose hoop or flat back has very little metal in it, so walk-through detectors usually ignore it. Full-body scanners can see it but are looking for threats, not piercings; if one flags you, say you have titanium jewelry and expect a quick wand check. If you have a healing piercing you cannot remove and want zero metal for travel, a Bioplast retainer is the swap.