piercings and nickel allergy

[SillyDreamer]

Wondering if anyone knows more about this than I do.

I have a SEVERE nickel allergy. I cannot wear most metals but I can wear 18-24 K yellow gold. I have 18K gold in my ears and in my belly and have never had a problem with either. I lost my good earrings once and replaced them with cheap, supposedly "nickel free" jewelry and that did NOT go well. I had to have the piercings re-opened and until I could afford gold again I had implant-grade steel put in (like they put for pins in people's bones, low rejection rate)...and that was fine but regular surgical steel is not.

I want to pierce my nose but of course do not want a problem in the center of my face. I want a stud, not a ring (which some places won't do), and i want the smallest gauge possible (like 20-22, which a lot of places also won't do). And of course, in 18K gold. Think i can find a way of making this work? I've wanted one for YEARS...then i broke my face and it took a year of surgeries to put it back together...then i had a job that wouldn't allow it...now i can finally do it and i want to take advantage.

[ebruening]

I don't have any metal allergies, but I have found very small nose nickel-free studs at Hot Topic. I have an extremely small cubic zirconia nose stud, which has never given me any allergic reaction.

[sierra]

I'm allergic to metals too, and for me it's something that's gotten worse over time. I went from having to avoid nickel to the point where I can't wear anything less than 24K gold and I have to put nail polish on my jean buttons so that I don't end up in a rash from where it touches my skin. I don't know if everyone's metal allergies are like that, but I would definitly go for at least the 18k if I were in your shoes, and if you shop around and mention your allergies and reasoning for the specifics, hopefully someone would do the piercing. Good luck!