What Is The Best Metal To Be Pierced With? The Best Jewelry Material For Piercing

As Southern California's leading tattoo and piercing shop people are always asking us for information about, well, about piercings and tattoos. That is why we have decided to do a series of articles answering your most common questions. Today the question is about piercing, more specifically, about what metals are best to be pierced with.

So, what metals are best to be pierced with?

The simple answer is: pure metals that are hypoallergenic, body safe, and durable. There are many types of piercing metals that can come close to these requirements. But close doesn’t cut it, we want to know what metals are the very best for piercing.

The best metals to be pierced with are the only metals we use at Mr. Inkwells tattoo and piercing: Implant Grade Titanium and 14k gold.

This article will go more in depth about why these are the best metals to be pierced with, and why you should avoid getting pierced with some of the other inferior common metals. We will dive into the pros and cons of each piercing metal, what we like and don’t like about them, and why we do or do not use them at Mr. Inkwells. This should give you the information needed to make an informed decision about which piercing metals are best to put into your body. 

Silver

People like the way silver looks, and it is a less expensive piercing jewelry option than white gold. However, other than the cost of the jewelry, silver has many drawbacks for piercing. 

The first issue with Silver is that it tarnishes and this is unhealthy for a piercing, especially if the piercing is healing. 

Silver is also mixed with other metals (Sterling Silver often advertised as “pure” is usually only 92.5 percent  silver and 7.5 percent  of another metal)  to improve the hardness of the jewelry, like copper or nickel. Although these added metals make the jewelry more durable, these additive metals are not hypoallergenic and can cause issues with the skin, again this is even more of an issue when healing a new piercing. 

Finally, the very high percentage silver 99% Silver still tarnishes and can be so soft that it isn’t safe to pierce with. Even if it works for the initial piercing its softness means it can break and crack easily, meaning it could fall out or the crack could harbor bacteria.

Surgical Stainless Steel

Surgical Stainless Steel is a better option than silver and is very popular for piercing because of its low cost. Surgical Stainless Steel is a fairly hypoallergenic piercing metal, however, it does still contain metals such as nickel and copper, which can cause skin irritation, and interfere with the piercing healing process.

There are many types of Surgical Stainless Steel, but there are only two types that are considered safe for body piercing: 316L and 316LVM. So make sure if you are getting any piercing jewelry that it is the correct type of Surgical Stainless Steel.

Surgical stainless steel is a good piercing option if you are on a budget and don’t mind any of the potential side effects. That being said, it is safer (especially when getting a new piercing) to go with a higher cost, body safe, piercing metal.

Implant Grade Titanium

Implant Grade Titanium is the best and safest of all body jewelry metals for the initial piercing. It’s hypoallergenic, durable, and lightweight. Implant grade titanium is body safe and makes healing your new piercing a breeze. 

Implant Grade Titanium is #1 choice of doctors for surgical implants because it is biocompatible. Biocompatible means that your body will not treat the metal like a foreign object and react against it. In other inferior metals your body can reject it, making healing the piercing difficult if not impossible. Implant Grade Titanium makes healing piercings not only much easier, but much safer.

And the best metal for piercing isn’t going to cost you a premium price. Sure, there are cheaper metals out there, but Implant Grade Titanium is still a very affordable option, especially when you weigh the benefits to the cost.

At Mr. Inkwells Implant Grade Titanium is our standard piercing metal, and we offer many different Implant Grade Titanium jewelry options for every piercing type. This ensures that you get the safest and best piercing jewelry, plus a piece of jewelry that fits your unique style.

14k Gold

Do you want something a little more fancy for your piercing metal that is still hypoallergenic and safe? Then you can’t go wrong with 14k Gold piercing jewelry! 

Gold does not tarnish like silver, is body safe like Titanium, and if you go with 14k, it's strong enough to last a lifetime. 

When shopping for Gold piercing jewelry make sure you are getting Solid Gold. A lot of piercing jewelry claiming to be Gold is just “Gold Plated”. Gold plating can quickly rub off exposing you to non body friendly metals. The easiest way to spot Plated vs. Solid Gold piercing jewelry is the price, real Gold is pricey. But for safety and luxury, there is no better piercing metal than Gold.

14k Gold is the best option for Gold piercing jewelry, it looks beautiful and it is strong enough to be pierced with and worn everyday. Higher carat counts 24k Gold for example, can be too soft for piercing jewelry. This can lead to lost and broken jewelry, something no one wants when investing in Gold.

Like Implant Grade Titanium, 14k Gold won’t degrade when exposed to the elements, the oils in your skin, water, etc. This makes 14k Gold safe to wear almost anywhere you go, ensuring wherever you are you will have your bling.

At Mr. Inkwells we know you want to look great from the moment you get your piercing, so we offer a large selection of  beautiful white or yellow 14k Gold piercing jewelry for every piercing.

So there you have it, now you know the best metals to get pierced with; Implant Grade Titanium and 14k gold. You also know why they are the best, and what makes them different from other piercing metals. If there are any questions you still have about any of the piercing metals we went over in this article, let us know in the comments.

If you do plan on getting a new piercing, make sure to book it at Mr. Inkwells. Where one of our Master Piecers can create a piercing masterpiece with your flesh.

See you soon!