Why Does Bronze Turn My Skin Green?

Have you ever taken off your MIMOSA jewelry and thought, "why is my skin green?"

Turning green when you wear bronze jewelry can happen sometimes! In fact, it happens to us, too.

We get questions about "the green" every now and then and figured we could do a better job telling you about why bronze turns your skin green. So, we put together a whole blog post about why this happens and how you can help prevent it.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BRONZE

We cast our jewelry in bronze, sterling silver, and 14K gold, but bronze is by far our most popular metal.

Bronze is composed mostly of copper (like the Statue of Liberty) and a little bit of tin. Each piece of our bronze jewelry is solid cast bronze without any plating or coating. This means the golden color you see on a freshly polished piece of ours is raw bronze!

Bronze is durable and long-lasting (Lady Liberty looks amazing for her age ;) And with a quick search online, you can find near-perfect ancient bronze coins, jewelry, sculptures, and artifacts. Learn more about bronze!

WHY DOES MY SKIN TURN GREEN WHEN I WEAR BRONZE?

Bronze turning your skin green has everything to do with the acid in our skin. It reacts to the copper in the bronze and creates a tarnish that can rub off on us!

Ever notice it’s more likely to happen when you’re sweating or dehydrated? Some of us are naturally acidic, and it almost doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing — our skin turning green will happen.

You can prevent or reduce oxidation by cleaning your jewelry, washing it regularly with soap and water, and drying it thoroughly afterward. — Read — "Cleaning & Caring for Bronze Jewelry"

To further reduce the possibility of oxidation, take your jewelry off at night, when doing yard work, and during exercise. 

HOW TO CURB THE GREEN WHEN WEARING BRONZE

1. Paint the inside of the piece with clear fingernail polish. We've tried all the fancy enamels, but clear fingernail polish is still our favorite. You will need to reapply the polish every now and then.
   
   
2. Don’t wear your pieces when you’ll be sweating (South Louisiana means that’s pretty much always — in that case, see #1. ;)
   
   
3. Go GOLD! 14K gold is certainly an investment, but it’s an option we offer. Contact us for 14K gold pricing. (Pictured below from top to bottom is the Held Ring in 14K gold, bronze, and sterling silver.)
   
   

The integrity of the jewelry we make is top priority for us, and part of that is education on the materials and processes of what we do. We hope this helps answer some questions you had or might have about the metal that makes MIMOSA. 

Please Note: Our bronze is nickel free.

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We want you to love the MIMOSA you're wearing! If a piece is consistently turning you green and you'd prefer to exchange or return it, that is absolutely an option! Contact us to get that process started.