You buy a pair of earrings you love. Within a few hours your lobes feel warm. By evening they are red, itching and sore, and by morning you have taken them out and put them in a drawer with the last four pairs that did the same thing.
Most people conclude they simply have sensitive ears. Usually that is not it. You are reacting to a specific metal — and once you know which one, the problem is solvable.
The culprit is almost always nickel
Nickel is the most common contact allergen in the world. Estimates put sensitivity at roughly ten to twenty per cent of women, and it is more common in people who had their ears pierced young, because prolonged contact with nickel-containing jewellery is one of the ways sensitivity develops in the first place.
It is used everywhere in inexpensive jewellery because it is cheap, hard, and takes a bright finish. Fashion earrings sold at a few hundred rupees are frequently a nickel-bearing alloy with a whisper of plating on top. The plating wears through in weeks. Then the nickel is against your skin all day.
What a reaction actually looks like
- Redness and itching around the piercing, usually starting within hours
- Dry, flaking or scaly skin on the lobe
- In stronger reactions, small blisters or weeping
- Symptoms that fade within a day or two of removing the earring
That last point is the giveaway. An infection worsens over time and needs medical attention. An allergic contact reaction settles once the metal is gone. If a piercing is hot, swollen or producing pus, see a doctor rather than changing earrings.
Which metals are genuinely safe
- 925 sterling silver — 92.5% pure silver with copper or zinc making up the rest. Nickel-free when properly made, and comfortable for most people with metal sensitivities.
- Rhodium-finished silver — rhodium is a platinum-family metal, and a rhodium layer forms an inert barrier between you and everything beneath it.
- Titanium and implant-grade steel — the safest option for fresh piercings and severe sensitivity.
- Solid gold, 14k and above — safe, though white gold is often rhodium-plated over a nickel alloy, so ask.
The phrase to be wary of is "hypoallergenic" on its own. It is not a regulated term in India and it means only what the seller wants it to mean. Ask what the metal actually is.
A word about plating, including ours
Here is something most jewellery brands will not tell you: nickel is widely used as an invisible underplate in the industry, including on genuine sterling silver, because it is the standard barrier layer applied before a final finish. That is not fraud — the silver is real — but it does mean "925 sterling silver" alone is not a guarantee that no nickel is present anywhere in the piece.
So we will be specific about our own collection. Every HEIRA earring and bracelet is finished in rhodium and is nickel-free — those are the pieces we recommend without hesitation if your skin reacts. Two of our ring styles use a nickel-based plating instead, and we state that plainly on their product pages so nobody with a nickel sensitivity buys one by accident.
If you have already reacted
Take the earrings out and leave them out. Keep the area clean and dry. Once things have settled, reintroduce jewellery with a known-safe metal and wear it for a short stretch first to be sure. If reactions keep happening across materials you thought were safe, a dermatologist can patch-test you and tell you exactly what you are sensitive to.
Our studs and huggies are solid 925 sterling silver with a rhodium finish, nickel-free and lead-free — made for people who had given up on earrings. See the earrings, or read about what rhodium plating does.