If you are looking for the best body jewelry on the market, then you might have come across the body jewelry options that are made of acrylic, but are the body jewelry options made of acrylic safe for use on the body jewelry?
Should you avoid acrylic body jewelry and only wear acrylic earrings if you are worried about your safety?
Well, this article takes you through everything you need to know about acrylic jewelry and whether the acrylic body jewelry is really safe for you or not. So, let’s get right into it!
What is acrylic body jewelry made of?
Acrylic body jewelry is made of different polymers, and unfortunately, with the fluctuating body temperatures in the parts of your body around the body jewelry, these monomers degrade, and they are released in the form of body vapors that are just as toxic as carbon monoxide.
It’s also important to note that acrylic body jewelry is also made of ethyl acetate, which is a carcinogen. Besides ethyl acetate, the acrylic body jewelry is also made of methylmethacrylate monomer for the clear acrylic.
And for the colored acrylic, you’d have options like plexiglass, lucite, as well as methylmethacrylate, or acrylic resin jewelry. With that said, you may want to avoid wearing acrylic body jewelry.
Is acrylic body jewelry safe?
Although acrylic is recommended today as one of the safer materials for body jewelry, there is no real scientific proof that shows that acrylic is really that safe, especially if one intends to wear it as body jewelry for extended periods of time.
In other words, if you are considering wearing body jewelry made of acrylic in your mouth, genitals, or the mucous membrane, you may want to keep the acrylic jewelry on, albeit temporarily, or change the jewelry out frequently.
So, why these concerns over the body jewelry? Well, the biggest problem with acrylic is that this material is not inert, and it is rather reactive to changes in your body temperature, which means that the fluctuations in your body temperature would result in the degradation of the monomers that make up acrylic and when broken down, these monomers emit vapors that very dangerous and unsafe to your body.
The vapors from the monomers are considered carcinogens, which is why acrylic body jewelry is not that safe, and you should avoid wearing this type of jewelry.
The good news is that not all types of acrylic body jewelry is unsafe, and there are new types of body jewelry that are safe on the body.
The market today offers a good range of acrylic body jewelry options such as PMMA acrylic, which is one of the types of acrylic materials that are considered chemically safe – the only catch is that there is no way of knowing or telling 100% if the PMMA acrylic is very safe, especially in the absence of a purchase certificate from the manufacturer detailing the production process and the exact materials used to make the acrylic jewelry.
It is also important for you to know that in the case of acrylics made of self-curing monomers, there have been reports of the monomers causing irritation and other forms of allergic reactions. Also, some acrylic plastics have been said to be unsafe, and they have disrupting effects on the endocrine system.
If you are planning to buy acrylic body jewelry, we recommend that you opt for the best quality of acrylic and not just any type of plastic that is considered somewhat safe for use in jewelry making.
You should also know that the newer and safer versions of acrylic that is used for piercings, for example, for the ears and lip piercings, has been improved and is even considered biocompatible, meaning that it is safe on the body.
Why acrylic body jewelry is a good choice?
There is a lot of ongoing discussions about the use of acrylic for body jewelry, with a number of people supporting the use of acrylic for body jewelry and others against acrylic body jewelry. So, what does this mean about acrylic body jewelry and whether it is a good choice or not?
Well, the truth is that although acrylic is used to make some of the most comfortable, lightweight, and largely safe jewelry, we consider it only a good choice for you if you think about getting acrylic earrings rather than body jewelry.
Given its heat sensitivity and the fact that acrylic is not flexible, not to mention how it has microscopic gaps that may harbor bacteria, it is only an ideal type of body jewelry that would work best on your ears because you can remove them easily at the end of the day.
Acrylic as body jewelry can be hazardous because this inflexible plastic can break into pieces, hurting you. An alternative to acrylic body jewelry would be body jewelry made of Bioplast, which is not only medically proven to be biocompatible but is also very flexible, non-porous, and the recommended non-metallic material for the body jewelry.
Pros and cons of acrylic body jewelry
Pros
- Numerous color and style options to choose from
- Lightweight
- Comfortable fit
- Non-irritant and hypoallergenic
Cons
- Cleaning acrylic jewelry can be challenging
- The acrylic body jewelry cannot withstand the temperature extremes in the autoclave, meaning it cannot be sterilized.
- Not the most durable or flexible material for body jewelry
- Not the safest option for body jewelry
Tips for wearing acrylic body jewelry
- Don’t sterilize the acrylic jewelry in the autoclave or high-temperature conditions because it will break down and cause harm.
- Clean it with warm soapy water or a damp cloth
- Avoid dry wiping acrylic jewelry
- Don’t store the jewelry in a place where it would be exposed to direct sunlight.
- Don’t wear the acrylic earrings for too long; they are meant to be worn only temporarily
- Avoid wearing acrylic body jewelry
Conclusion
While you can easily wear acrylic earrings, you should not wear acrylic body jewelry because it is not the safest option, given the inflexibility of the material and its susceptibility to changes in temperature.
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Tiger is a fashion&jewelry lover. He is also a fashion jewelry manufacturer that help thousands of small business to grow and also do business with some big fashion jewelry brands. He is a truly metal expert and he will share some information you are looking for.