Our house line of 316L surgical stainless steel is hypoallergenic in practice for most people with a nickel sensitivity — but we won’t call it “nickel-free,” because it isn’t.
What “hypoallergenic” means here
316L is an austenitic stainless steel with a specific composition: roughly 16–18% chromium, 10–14% nickel, and 2–3% molybdenum. The molybdenum is what earns it the “surgical grade” label — it improves corrosion resistance and reduces how much nickel reaches the surface. The “L” stands for low-carbon, which is about weldability, not nickel content — it does not mean low-nickel, and we won’t imply otherwise.
What makes 316L skin-friendly despite containing nickel is that the metal is bound tightly in the steel’s crystalline structure and rarely leaches out. For the roughly 85% of people with a documented nickel sensitivity, that’s usually enough for 316L to be well tolerated.
We won’t market it as “nickel-free,” and if you see that claim made about any stainless steel jewelry — ours included — treat it as inaccurate. 316L contains nickel; it’s simply bound in a way that keeps it from reaching most people’s skin in meaningful amounts.
If you have a diagnosed nickel allergy
For the smaller share of people with a more severe, medically diagnosed nickel allergy, 316L may not be enough. The only metal we’d call reliably safe at that level of sensitivity is ASTM F136 implant-grade titanium, which Stylr doesn’t currently carry — if that’s your situation, we’d rather tell you that directly and point you toward a trusted titanium source than sell you something that may not work for your skin.
Before you order
Materials vary across our catalog — not every Stylr piece uses the same base metal, and some styles include stones, plating, or finishes with their own considerations. Check the product page for the specific piece you’re considering, and if you have a diagnosed metal sensitivity, contact us at info@stylr.us before ordering so we can confirm what a style is made of.
If you don’t have a known allergy, you don’t need to do anything special before ordering — just check the product page for the piece’s base metal, as noted above. For the full material and care breakdown, see What is Stylr jewelry made of?
