If your jewelry has ever tarnished after a beach trip, rusted after a few showers, or left a green stain on your skin, the culprit is usually the metal itself. Most jewelry is made from materials that simply aren't built to hold up against chlorine, salt, or sweat, and repeated exposure will show you exactly what it's made of.
With the right metal, none of that happens, and you can safely swim and shower with your jewelry on.
Why Most Jewelry Doesn't Hold Up
The short answer is that different metals react differently when it comes to water and sweat.
Gold-plated jewelry
The gold layer is just a coating over a base metal, usually brass or copper. Chlorine, salt water, and sweat wear the plating down over time, exposing the metal underneath. That's what causes the green staining and the dull, patchy finish you see after a few months of regular wear.
Sterling silver
Silver tarnishes on its own, and the process accelerates significantly in salt water and chlorinated pools. A few beach days in and your silver pieces will need polishing.
Surgical steel
Often marketed as water-safe, but surgical steel isn't a regulated standard the way implant-grade titanium is. Surgical steel alloys can contain nickel, which reacts with sweat and can cause irritation and discoloration over time.
Brass and base metals
Corrodes quickly with any moisture exposure, and are the most common cause of green skin.
Why Titanium Is Different
Oh Kira! only uses ASTM F136 implant-grade titanium, which is corrosion-resistant by nature. It doesn't tarnish, react with chemicals, or degrade with moisture—because it's the same material standard used in surgical implants, hardware designed to live inside the human body indefinitely.
So, it’s not going to react to pool water and sea salt.
The PVD gold finish on our gold pieces holds up just as well. PVD (physical vapor deposition) plating bonds at a molecular level rather than sitting on top as a separate layer, making it far more durable than traditional gold plating against water, friction, and daily wear. It might lose its gold color over time, but it won’t affect the jewelry’s durability or wearability.
Pool, Ocean, Shower, Gym—What to Know
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Swimming pool: chlorine has no effect on titanium. So you don’t ever have to worry about your jewelry while swimming.
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Ocean: salt water won't damage titanium. Give your pieces a quick rinse with fresh water after a beach day, not because the salt will hurt the jewelry, but just to keep them looking their best.
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Shower: completely fine. Soap and water won't affect titanium or PVD plating.
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Gym and sweat: sweat is acidic enough to accelerate tarnishing on silver and gold-plated pieces, but has no effect on titanium. You can wear your Oh Kira! pieces through every workout.
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Hot tub: the combination of heat and chemicals is more intense than a regular pool, but titanium handles it without issue.
One Exception: Fresh Piercings
If your piercing is still healing, you should not be submerging yourself in any body of water. A healing piercing is an open wound, and pools and hot tubs harbor bacteria that can cause infection regardless of what metal you're wearing.
Once your piercing is fully healed, the restriction lifts entirely. Not sure if your piercing is healed or dealing with a bump that won't go away? Here's how to tell the difference between a healing piercing and one that needs attention.