Surgical steel is a material that is often used for making piercings and other jewelry. Surgical steel piercings are easy to clean and available in many different sizes and designs. Can you safely wear surgical steel in your piercings, and what is it made of? Read our blog post and learn more about it!
What is Surgical Steel?
Surgical steel is actually just stainless steel. You probably also know stainless steel as RVS or Stainless Steel, it is an alloy that is made up of several materials that together form the basis for stainless steel. One of these compositions of stainless steel is 316L. The L stands for 'low carbon', which gives the steel its hardness and keeps it, but is still easy to shape. In addition, 316L stainless steel usually contains other metals such as chromium, nickel, manganese. Each of these metals has different properties in this alloy. For example, nickel ensures that the steel is less likely to be damaged and chrome ensures that the jewelry shines optimally after polishing.
Why is stainless steel called surgical steel? When we talk about surgical steel, we mean 316L stainless steel. This form of stainless steel is widely used in the biomedical industry (such as parts for implants and surgical tools), but is also used in shipping, for example. This form of stainless steel is the most corrosion-resistant of all forms and therefore the best choice for jewelry for piercings, among other things. In order to make a more recognizable distinction between all other forms of stainless steel, this form has been renamed 'surgical steel'. In this blog we will therefore also talk about surgical steel, instead of stainless steel.
The surgical steel used for our jewelry is extensively tested for each production batch, meets the strictest requirements according to EU standards and is therefore ideal for making piercing jewelry.
The advantages of surgical steel for jewelry
The fact that surgical steel is so often used for piercing jewelry is of course no coincidence. The use of surgical steel has a number of advantages. First of all, surgical steel has an incredibly beautiful color. It is very light in color and has a beautiful shine. If you compare piercing jewelry made of surgical steel and titanium, you will see that the steel jewelry is often somewhat lighter in color. The shine of surgical steel comes into its own after it has been polished properly. Because chromium is incorporated into the steel, a beautiful, shiny layer is created after polishing that remains beautiful for a very long time. This layer is able to repair itself from very small damage and also ensures that the steel is corrosion-resistant. This is also called a passivation layer. In addition to all this, surgical steel is relatively low in price, without sacrificing quality of course.
Nickel allergy and piercings
In daily life, nickel is almost impossible to avoid. It is used in many things, even if only in small quantities. The big difference, however, is in the nickel release of these materials. Surgical steel jewelry contains nickel, but this nickel can hardly be released when wearing it. It is bound in the metal alloy, and in addition, the gloss layer (the passivation layer) also ensures that nickel cannot simply be released from your jewelry. This is also called 'low nickel release'. European legislation has set strict requirements for the maximum release of nickel in jewelry. Our surgical steel naturally fully meets these requirements. In addition, all our piercing jewelry is made with the greatest care and all materials are extensively tested before they are made into jewelry. This ensures that the chance of a possible allergic reaction is even smaller.
Do you suffer from a nickel allergy? Then make sure that you have this checked by your doctor first. He or she can immediately advise you as well as possible about any further steps and precautions that you need to take. In addition, it is also good to take a critical look at your current jewelry. In many cases, irritation of your piercing can also occur due to wearing the wrong size, a pinched piercing or other discomfort. In any case, always make sure that you wear high-quality jewelry that fits well, that often prevents a lot of suffering. In addition, there are now also many nickel-free piercing jewelry available, so also check out our titanium piercing jewelry, piercing jewelry made of nickel-free steel and our real gold piercing jewelry.
Surgical steel piercing jewelry in our shop
In our shop you will find a super large assortment of surgical steel piercing jewelry! All made of the highest quality steel and available in many sizes and shapes. For example, we have surgical steel piercing rings, surgical steel labret studs, surgical steel piercing bars, surgical steel navel piercings and much more! Do you want to know more about our materials, or are you missing something in our shop? Please feel free to contact us, we are happy to help you.
