Earrings for extremely sensitive ears

[DawnM]

I went for years wearing no earrings.   Then my son got his ears pierced and when he took the studs out, I used those until I lost one.   I really don't care for studs though, I want hoops or dangly somethings.

I have Brighton earrings that don't work.  I ordered from some place that was meant to have hypo allergenic earrings and those didn't work either.

I lose things and am hard on jewelry, so I really don't want expensive.

Are there any earrings under $50 that are guaranteed not to cause a reaction?   

I will order TODAY if so.

THANK YOU!

[mmasc]

I go to kohls and pick out whichever sterling silver earrings I like. I’ve found that those never give me a reaction, and they’re pretty cheap. I also need a very thin post/hook so I always get either the fish hook style or the hoops that go all the way around. So basically, I never wear actual post earrings. I have no idea if it’s the nickel that causes my earring holes to itch, but I know the sterling silver/nickel-free from kohls never bother me, so that’s what I buy. 
example:

[mmasc]

I wish I knew exactly what bothers my ears bc my dh bought me a lovely pair of earrings from a jewelry store a few years back and after wearing them for about 30 minutes or less, my earring holes start itching like crazy. And burn a little too. We thought maybe bc the post is a larger diameter than most of my earrings.?? Or maybe they have nickel. ?? I have no idea. 

[DawnM]

5 minutes ago, mmasc said:

I go to kohls and pick out whichever sterling silver earrings I like. I’ve found that those never give me a reaction, and they’re pretty cheap. I also need a very thin post/hook so I always get either the fish hook style or the hoops that go all the way around. So basically, I never wear actual post earrings. I have no idea if it’s the nickel that causes my earring holes to itch, but I know the sterling silver/nickel-free from kohls never bother me, so that’s what I buy. 
example:

I have purchased some I thought were hypoallergenic at Kohl's and they bothered my ears.   Now I am wondering what exactly bothers my ears.   Hmmm....

 

[KungFuPanda]

The plastic kiddy earrings might be nonreactive. And they’re fun. 😬

[mmasc]

I‘m not sure, but if you look at some of the nickel-free earrings at kohls you’ll see the metal listed as “sterling silver”, or “iron”, or “sterling silver with gold plating”. I just know the ones that don’t bother me are the ones that just say sterling silver, so I stick with them. But my impression is that there are different variations of nickel-free (which I think is what hypoallergenic means in earrings, but not certain on that)

[Carrie12345]

Titanium is all I buy. It’s the only thing I’ve found to be 100% comfortable, whether studs or danglies!

[Clarita]

Typically for jewelry it's nickel that you are allergic to. I have not had too much success with stuff less than $50. I haven't tried titanium so all I really can use is gold or certain white gold (depends on composition) and platinum.

[Arcadia]

I typically wear my platinum studs. For occasions where I wear my other earrings,I would coat the back, hook, post with vaseline and remove my earrings on the car ride home. I would also put moisturizer on my ear holes area once I get home.

ETA: I have to do that even for my Gucci, Ferragamo, Effy earrings. For daily wear, its gold plated or silver or stainless steel studs from jewelers. 

Edited April 7 by Arcadia

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Clarita said:

Typically for jewelry it's nickel that you are allergic to. I have not had too much success with stuff less than $50. I haven't tried titanium so all I really can use is gold or certain white gold (depends on composition) and platinum.

I’m the opposite—the only ones that have worked for me are the super cheap nickel free ones from places like Target. I tried a borrowed platinum pair and white gold and both were bad as well. Same with Sterling silver, which is an alloy that often has nickel in it (or copper). I haven’t tried titanium though. Theoretically that should work, but I don’t care enough to try.

 

Edited April 7 by KSera

[Arcadia]

Try the artisans at Farmers Market or County Fairs. I have good luck with those dangling earrings using stainless steel for their hooks. 

[Clarita]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

I’m the opposite—the only ones that have worked for me are the super cheap nickel free ones from places like Target. I tried a borrowed platinum pair and white gold and both were bad as well. Same with Sterling silver, which is an alloy that often has nickel in it (or copper). I haven’t tried titanium though. Theoretically that should work, but I don’t care enough to try.

Definitely the price doesn't guarantee it works for me either, which leads me to just not wear earrings very much. Sterling silver doesn't work for me either. Things labeled "hypoallergenic" and "nickel-free" usually doesn't work on me (maybe they'll last an hour, compared to breaking out in hives 5 in minutes).  

[momto3innc]

I’ve hunted everywhere and finally figured it out for me. I cannot do any of the things that are supposedly for sensitive ears…until someone got me a pair made with surgical steel.

Surgical steel has never bothered my ears. I buy them on Amazon or Etsy for usually in the $20-$30 range. It’s been really nice to get to wear earrings again.

edited to add: they do come cheaper than that, but I’ve never bought the cheaper sets. I’ve only done individual pairs of studs, hoops, or (mainly) dangling.

Edited April 7 by momto3innc

[Arcadia]

2 minutes ago, momto3innc said:

Surgical steel has never bothered my ears

You can get surgical steel hooks or studs from Amazon or hobby stores and make your own earrings. I go to Michael’s and am tempted to DIY but I already have a collection of casual earrings from high school, college days. 

[klmama]

I wear only 14K gold or sterling silver earrings, usually from Kohl's -- I don't know about the rest of the year, but the Black Friday sales are great.  

[Rosie_0801]

My ears are fine with the cheapest sleepers, so that's what I wear habitually. Otherwise I paint the stems with clear nail polish.

[Denise in IN]

I've had best luck with my 14k white gold piercing earrings from Claire's.  They were more expensive, but when my ears are irritated that's all I wear.  

[Jaybee]

I wear sterling silver earrings, for the most part. They don't bother me. Added benefit is that they are not too expensive. Due to sensitivity, I don't wear necklaces anymore, so I enjoy having more interesting dangling earrings (I also have short hair, so the dangly ones show up more.) I have found my favorites at the Sac Silver store on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/08F3EAD9-A4E3-4D0E-B9EF-A497330A60E8?ingress=2&visitId=dfedd527-2aa9-47f5-921b-b83870186f7d&ref_=ast_bln

My favorites are dragonflies (though they are larger than I expected), the elephants that hang by their trunks, and the geckos. I have had lots of compliments on them, and they are fun to wear.

I can also wear 14K gold earrings, even though I have a gold allergy, but silver goes best with most of my clothes. I cannot wear white gold. I have another pair of favorites that I ordered with credit card points years ago that may be surgical steel. 

But the Sac Silver store is my go-to now. Dh likes to get me jewelry for gifts, so now I send him links to the ones I like, and I don't feel guilty over the price.

 

[LifeLovePassion]

Niobium hooks are what I buy after asking a professional piercer who did my kiddos piercings. I just swap them out. I got a bag of them but I can't remember where. 

[KSera]

12 minutes ago, LifeLovePassion said:

Niobium hooks are what I buy after asking a professional piercer who did my kiddos piercings. I just swap them out. I got a bag of them but I can't remember where. 

Your comment made me remember the website I ordered from long ago for earrings for people with jewelry sensitivity: https://www.simplywhispers.com/collections/niobium-earrings

 

[MercyA]

Have you looked at Boma? Hypoallergenic, nickle-free, super cute earrings in your price point:

https://www.bomajewelry.com/

https://www.bomajewelry.com/blogs/news/what-is-the-1-cause-of-itchy-skin-in-jewelry

[DawnM]

Thank you all. I am looking at all options.   I guess it will be trial and error of what works and what doesn't, which is irritating, but oh well.