Why is My 18k Gold Ring Turning My Finger Black? Let’s Discuss!
Hey everyone! 💍
I’m reaching out to this fabulous community because I’ve hit a bit of a snag with my beautiful 18k gold engagement ring. I recently had it confirmed as real by a jeweler—so no worries there! However, I’ve noticed it’s starting to turn my finger black, and even a layer of nail polish to protect my skin isn’t doing the trick.
Has anyone else experienced this or have tips on how to manage (or prevent) it? Here are a few details:
1. The Ring: My ring is a stunning 18k gold piece with intricate detailing. I absolutely love it, but the blackening is super frustrating!
2. The Problem: I’ve done some reading and believe it could be due to a few factors—nickel allergies, tarnishing, or even the pH balance of my skin. I’d love to hear if anyone has had a similar experience!
3. What I’ve Tried: Besides the nail polish coating, I’ve cleaned the ring with a gentle soap solution and tried wearing it less frequently. Still, nothing seems to prevent the discoloration!
Let’s Share Our Experiences:
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Skin Reactions: Have any of you dealt with skin reactions to gold jewelry? If so, what have you found to be effective?
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Ring Care Tips: I’d love to hear any tips or tricks you have for keeping your rings in top shape. Do you use special cleaners? Any ways to create a barrier?
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New Arrivals: If anyone has recently purchased or upgraded their engagement rings, feel free to show them off! Maybe share your experiences with different metals or settings that don’t cause any reactions.
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Long-Term Solutions: Looking forward to any long-term solutions you might suggest! Should I consider getting the ring re-coated or checked for potential metal allergies?
This community is such a wonderful space for sharing knowledge, personal stories, and, of course, gorgeous rings! Can’t wait to read your responses and hopefully get some great insight. Here’s to finding the perfect solution (and flaunting our stunning jewels)!
Much love,
[Your Name] 🌟
You may have low iron
It’s your iron levels reacting with the gold.
I believe this can happen with iron deficiency. Quick way to check is running the ring across your face (forehead or cheek) and seeing if it leaves a black line as well.
It’s when you have low iron. You might be a little anemic.
Maybe it’s a horcrux?
Yellow gold always makes my skin turn green-black. I wear platinum, silver and occasionally white gold.
This happens to me if I don’t take my multivitamin! Happens with rose gold and yellow gold of either 14 or 18k.
Just to make sure there’s also the chill and simple reason coming through (I think I saw someone else mention this), I recently got a gold engagement ring (14K I think), and with certain hand soaps/moisturisers I was getting a similar blackness. I started taking my ring off when I was washing and putting hand lotion on and it stopped happening.
Have your kidneys checked. It might be your system.
Happens to me when I’m anemic
Iron deficiency.
White gold or yellow?
If it’s white, there is nickel in the mix and you could be one of the few people that reacts this way.
At 18k it’s mixed with something and that has to be what’s causing this
Dumbledore?
I’m so glad you asked this!! I haven’t taken my 14k gold ring off in 3 years & only recently have I noticed sometimes my finger is black under the band?! Ive worn gold jewelry my whole life & never had a problem
Mine did this too for ages. Maybe a year? It just stopped after that, I guess my skin just got used to the luxury of 18k lol
I had this and it was from iron deficiency anemia. Once I got that under control (undiagnosed celiac disease was the culprit) I’ve never had that happen to me again.
Hi! Gemologist, appraiser, and jeweler here with over 25b years experience. You have low iron. It’s super common and I get that from time to time when I need to take more iron (I’m vegetarian so it happens) 😊
Get your iron checked! One of my friends’ fingers do this when she’s anemic.
Jeweler here. This looks like metallic abrasion, which typically is a result of product, sweat, or a lot of activity. Some people say it’s a sign of low iron, but I’m not exactly sure if the science backs that up. I’d start to troubleshoot this by taking off your jewelry to clean or shower if you aren’t already, and try a different hand lotion.
I typically get this in the summer when I wear a lot of sunblock. I think the zinc reacts to the metal in my case.
This also looks far more severe than most cases of metallic abrasion, so there’s a chance I’m wrong.
There is an old wives tale to run a gold ring across your forehead and if it leaves a dark mark you’re anemic… worth a shot 😂🫣
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This happened to me. I believe it can be the result of low magnesium or some other minerals, or something off with your pH. I bought rose water toner to wipe my finger with before putting on my ring and it helped.
This happens to me and my 14k wedding set every few years. I believe it’s something within me doing it because other years it’s absolutely fine. I take it to get re- dipping and sometimes it would get worse… I even for sure thought they had contaminated the Rhodium dip lol I’ve owned my rings since 2010 & go through this every 2-3 years.
Iron deficiency!
I’m a retailer with 15 years in the business. I’ve seen this happen once—a guy bought a 14k white gold ring from us but returned it after a few weeks because his finger was turning black. Turns out, it was either the chemical composition or pH of his sweat. I think he went with platinum, which didn’t cause the same problem.
If you’re really low on iron this can happen! Get some bloodwork done
I can not wear watches with gold bands. I’ve tried several high end brands. This always happens. For some reason it only happens on my wrists. Here’s a good explanation and some tips: https://princessbridediamonds.com/blogs/jewelry-education/why-is-my-gold-jewelry-turning-my-skin-black-or-green?srsltid=AfmBOooiM-lLQhPFLkXvfuQR2aucBLHGOonw915VzgcGBtFmOCC_7vwv
It can be your handlotion, it can be hormones in your sweat and it can also be that you are on of the few who can only have 23 carat gold jewellery.