Does Stainless Steel Turn Skin Green
No, stainless steel does not turn skin green. Skin can be turned green when jewelry metal reacts with sweat and cosmetic items like lotion. Stainless steel has a thick chromium coating that never reacts with skin particles. That’s why it never turns skin green.
In this article we’ll explore does stainless steel turn skin green, what metals turn skin green and how can you avoid it.
Why Skin Turns Green?
Green coloration of skin is due to two things. If you can avoid any one of these, you will be able to avoid skin turning green. One is the combination of cosmetic items and sweat. Our sweat contains salts which can react with certain metals and turn skin green. Similar happens with cosmetic items like lotion and perfume as well. Sensitivity level of a person’s skin also plays a big part.
The other thing is the jewelry metal. Any jewelry metal that contains copper can turn skin green. Copper has a tendency to quickly react It is not necessary that every metal does react with sweat. Only copper and a few others like silver have a tendency to react with the skin and bring coloration.
If you can avoid any one of these reasons i.e. avoid wearing copper based jewelry or excess use of cosmetic items, then you can avoid skin turning green.
What Metals Turn Skin Green?
As it has been told already that any jewelry that contains copper can turn skin green. However, copper is used in many jewelry alloys. Copper is present in these metals:
1. Copper Jewelry
Copper itself is the metal that has the biggest chances of turning your skin green. Copper jewelry in entirely made of copper with very low quantities of other metal. So, more copper a metal has, more the chances of turning of your skin green.
Another problem copper jewelry brings is tarnishing. Copper takes around 1 month of regular usage to tarnish completely. And there are some factors like humidity, sulfur, water damage and poor storage that can decrease this time period by increasing the speed of tarnishing.
2. Brass and Bronze
Both brass and bronze are the alloys of copper. So, automatically they have the tendency to turn skin green. These two metals are mostly used in cheap fashion jewelry items in the form of gold plated brass or bronze. Once this thin gold plating wears off, brass gets exposed to atmospheric chemicals and tarnishing starts.
3. Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is another metal that can turn skin colored. Sterling silver is an alloy of silver that contains 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper by weight. This addition of copper changes the property of silver a lot. This makes sterling silver reactive towards skin. However, sterling silver can turn skin black instead of green. It can be a even worse problem than copper’s green coloration.
Sterling silver can also tarnish as well. It takes about 3 to 4 months of regular use to tarnish sterling silver. People try to avoid tarnishing in sterling silver by plating it with gold or rhodium. And this has proven to be a good practice.
4. Low Purity Gold
Gold comes in many different purity levels from 18k to 9k. Though, high purity gold alloys like 18k or 14k don’t turn skin green but low purity alloys like 9k or 10k does. Low purity gold alloys contain high content of copper which can swiftly react with skin. That’s why it is often recommended for people with sensitive skin to avoid low purity gold and only settle for high purity gold like 18k.
Another problem with low purity gold alloys is tarnishing.
5. Cheap Fashion Jewelry
Cheap fashion jewelry is another type that can turn skin green. These low cost jewelry items are often made of non-hypoallergenic metals like copper and nickel. These metals can react with your skin and lead to several problems like akin allergies and skin turning colored. It is very important to look at the metal wen buying fashion jewelry. Always buy fashion jewelry made in a hypoallergenic metal like stainless steel that never reacts with skin.
Does Stainless Steel Tarnish?
No, stainless steel does not tarnish. Tarnishing appears only due to presence of copper in a metal. As stainless steel does not have any kind of copper content, it does not tarnish. Its protective chromium coating protects it from any kind of other reactions as well.
How to Avoid Skin Turning Green?
Avoiding skin turning green is easy. Here are some precautions you should take in order to avoid skin turning green or black.
1. Avoid Copper Jewelry
Its best to avoid jewelries that contain high copper content. Specific jewelries like copper, brass, bronze, sterling silver silver and 9k gold can turn skin green or black. Avoid these jewelries at all costs or there are high chances of turning skin green.
2. Avoid Wearing Jewelry on Hot Days
Hot days bring a lot of sweat. This sweat not only becomes a cause of bad odor but also can react with some metals to turn skin green. If you are planning to wear any of the metal that can turn skin green on a hot day, leave it. If its not one of those mentioned here, then you can wear it anywhere.
3. Avoid Water Contact
Though water may not be a source of skin coloration, still can damage jewelry. Any type of jewelry regardless of the material should be saved from water damage. This includes all type of water i.e. chlorinated water, seawater etc.
4. Store Properly
Store your jewelry in a professional jewelry storage box. Avoid wooden boxes. These boxes often contain very small holes from where moisture can get into the box and damage jewelry. Its better to have separate compartments for each jewelry item.
5. Use less Cosmetic items
You can use less cosmetic items if possible. Direct implications like perfume sprays, skin oil or lotions can surely increase the chances of green skin. At least try to use all cosmetic items before wearing jewelry. 10 minutes is a good gap between using cosmetic items and wearing jewelry.
What to do If You get Green Skin?
Green skin is not a very big problem. Just wash it with a regular soap and it will be removed. If it does not get removed or starts itching, it is better to consult a dermatologist for it.
Common FAQ’s about Skin Turning Green
Here are some common FAQ’s about skin turning green.
Does Silver turn Skin Green?
Sterling silver can turn skin black instead of green. So, you should avoid it.
Why some people don’t get their skin turn Green?
This is due to low sensitivity of their skin. People with sensitive skin have more chances of turning their skin green or black.
What to do to avoid skin turning green?
Avoid all copper and copper based metal jewelries. They can turn skin green or black very fast.
Is Green Skin Harmful?
No, green skin is not harmful. It is just coloration as a result of a reaction and nothing more. However, in some cases you might experience itching, redness of skin.
Conclusion
Stainless steel is a very unreactive metal towards skin. That’s why it does not turn skin green. It has a thick chromium coating that protects it from reacting with other metals. But there are some metals like copper based alloys and low purity gold that can turn skin green. Sterling silver is also one of those that can turn skin black. It is better to either avoid these metals or at least follow the precautions that will save your skin turning green or black.