Stainless Steel Body Jewelry - The Industry Standard

Chances are your new piercing will have a ring or barbell made of stainless steel. This material is used so frequently in body jewelry for a number of reasons. Stainless steel is inexpensive compared to many other materials, it is easily sterilized, and it is easy for a new piercing to heal with this type of body jewelry.

There are only two types of stainless steel that can be used in piercing jewelry, 316L and 316LVM.  In most shops the 316L will be used, which is a low carbon variety.  The 316LVM vacuum melted.  This process prevents contaminants from attaching to the molecules. In most cases the 316L will be fine.

On rare occasion the nickel in the alloy can cause irritation. If you have a know sensitivity to nickel you may want request the initial jewelry be an elemental metal such as titanium or niobium.

Stainless steel jewelry comes in varying levels of hardness. Thin gauges of jewelry are usually able to be manipulated by hand for closing. The thicker gauges may require opening and closing pliers. The softer a piece is the easier it is to manipulate, but at the same time can be scratched or deformed.  Harder jewelry will not deform but can be difficult or near impossible to open and close.

For the most part you won’t need to worry about this detail for you new piercing. Most shops will choose jewelry somewhere along the middle ground. Later though if you are purchasing jewelry for a healed piercing it is something you will want to take into consideration.

Overall stainless steel is a great choice for a new piercing. It makes great body jewelry and for that reason it is the first choice for the vast majority of piercing shops.

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