Sterling Silver

Is sterling silver turning your finger green?

It's very common and perfectly natural for your skin to go green when first wearing sterling silver jewellery. You could have a huge jewellery collection or this could be the first item of silver jewellery you are wearing, either way, the skin is just getting used to the item and this generally will settle down after wearing the item a couple of times. 

What is sterling silver?

Pure silver is too soft to make jewellery that will stand the test of time. Sterling silver or 925 is an alloy, 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. 

What causes, fast tarnishing and skin discolouration?

⸸ pH levels on your skin, some people just have naturally oil skin (this can alter during heatwaves).

⸸ Wearing the jewellery at night - when people tend to sweat more at night.

⸸ Hand lotions, hand sanitiser, sun lotions, basically any of your lotions and potions.

⸸ Not removing jewellery when washing your hands, showering, swimming etc.

If your ring has reacted the oils in your skin, this will have also sped up the tarnishing process, so your ring will appear dark or discoloured. 

What to do now.

⸸ Remove the jewellery and clean using a silver polishing cloth. 

⸸ The green staining is discoloration on the skin, you should be able to wash off the green staining, use warm water and some hand wash, gently rub your finger with a cloth and it should disappear.

⸸ If you are allergic to silver you will need to paint clear nail polish where the item will have contact with your skin, this will form a barrier between the silver and your skin and stop the reaction happening. You’ll need to periodically reapply to keep the green finger from making a reappearance.