Allergies & Reactions

Ring having a scaly reaction on the finger

The ring may perhaps be too small and is not leaving enough space between it and the finger. This may cause sweating under the ring that could cause this reaction. This is especially the case if the ring is quite a broad band.

A good tip is to take the ring off when you are washing your hands. Make sure the skin is perfectly dry before you put it back on. This helps prevent any build-up of moisture under the ring which can also cause the skin to get a bit scurfy.

How to tell if you have a nickel allergy

A nickel reaction will be shown by red itchy skin which will eventually calm down when the jewellery is removed.

Developing an allergic reaction to a ring over time

An allergic reaction means that the skin in contact with the metal comes out in red sore patches like eczema. If this is the case, an allergy has developed over time. It can happen sometimes after having a baby or having more piercings done on your body. If the skin has got a black mark then the metal needs a good clean and it can be that the hot weather (and sweat) is affecting the skin.

One option is to have the ring plated in either a high caratage gold or in rhodium (which is a bright silver colour). A plating will protect your skin against the metal but this will only last a year or so. Otherwise you could have a fine band of metal made to fit inside the wedding ring. Platinum is a good metal to use but it is very expensive and is a silver colour.

Why 9ct & 14ct rings leave black marks

It is the mix of the other metals in the 14K gold which is causing the rings to react with your skin.

Check the cleaning materials used for the ring:

• if you are using a liquid dip to clean the rings are you rinsing all the residue off thoroughly?
• are you making sure that the rings are completely dry before wearing them?
• do you use a cloth to buff up the metal? Again this could be leaving a residue on your fingers.

If the cleaning materials are OK then it could be one of the following:

• a high meat diet can cause an acidic skin which may react with the alloy
• hand creams can cause a reaction
• certain drugs can make you also react with the alloy
• if your hands are still slightly damp after washing this maybe causing the problem.
• do you notice this this when you are hot? If so then it could be the sweat from your fingers getting trapped underneath the rings (this is  common when the bands are quite wide)

Allergy to a white & yellow gold-mixed ring

Most white gold is rhodium plated which gives it a nice clean silver like finish. Unfortunately, metal rings can cause problems. The yellow gold section will have to be masked off and the whole ring then rhodium plated to coat it. Usually rhodium plating is not too expensive but the masking time will add to the cost of the ring plating. Also rhodium will wear away and will need to be done on a regular basis – this really depends on how deep the plating is and how often is cleaned etc. If this is then going to be too expensive over time the other option is to get a jeweller to make a fine yellow gold band to be fitted inside the ring to protect the skin against the white gold layer. This will last a lot longer than the rhodium plating. This will depend on how tight the original band is.