We have been hearing the phrase hypo-allergenic a lot recently. It has become increasingly common for those who have recently become engaged to ask if the wedding band that they are planning on purchasing is hypo-allergenic, or not. Something is deemed to be hypo-allergenic when it causes, or claims to cause in some cases, fewer allergic reactions than similar products on the market.
An allergic reaction occurs when an individual has an allergy, or a hypersensitivity to a certain substance. These reactions are often predictable and occur rapidly. Most often when an individual has an allergic reaction to a band they have been wearing it takes the form of an itchy red rash appearing around the ring. These cases can range from mild to severe but in any case this is definitely not a symptom you want to have whenever you put your wedding band on.
The cause of the majority of these allergic reactions nickel. Nickle, which is used as a binder in many metals today, effects nearly 25% of women and 15% of men. With this in mind if you have an allergy to nickel or you think you may have an allergy to nickel you definitely want to choose a wedding band than contains no trace of nickel. Since this problem has become increasingly common most jewelers will label their rings hypo-allergenic, which in the realm of jewelery and wedding bands has been transformed to mean nickel-free. If you cannot find hypo-allergenic labels you should always be able to ask your jeweler and he/she should be able to answer promptly. Always buy from a reputable jewelers as many less than honest jewelers will use nickel binders as it is less expensive and falsely label it hypo-allergenic.
So which type of metals are hypo-allergenic? In general if you are looking for a wedding bands and have a sensitivity to nickel you are pretty much always safe if you go with precious metals. These would include gold, white-gold, and platinum. Any rings or wedding bands you buy made from these metals are typically not going to use nickel as a binder as should be safe to wear. However, if you are looking for alternative metals for your wedding bands such as titanium or tungsten you will have to do more research before you commit to your purchase.
Metals like tungsten are cheaper metals and as such it is more common to find nickel to be used as a binder in the metal. Although other binding metals can be used, such as cobalt, it is not uniformly so, so you will want to check with your jeweler before you purchase a tungsten ring.
One of the newer alternative metals is cobalt chrome. Cobalt Wedding Bands do not use any nickel as binder and it is always a hypo-allergenic metal. Cobalt chrome resembles the color of white-gold and does not easily scratch, so if you are in the market for a white-gold wedding band without the price tag this would be an excellent choice.
Cobalt wedding bands are always hypo-allergenic and never contain nickle.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7388060
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7388060
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