Implant grade titanium means a specific written specification, usually ASTM F136, which covers a titanium alloy called Ti-6Al-4V ELI. For a fresh piercing it's the better material, and reputable piercers are right to insist on it. For a fully healed ear wearing the same studs every day, the honest answer is that the gap narrows to the point where the measured nickel release matters more than the metal's name. Our materials page sets out what we use and why.
We don't sell titanium. That's worth saying before the comparison rather than after it.
What the specification actually covers
ASTM F136 is a document, not a metal. It's a written standard for wrought Ti-6Al-4V ELI, an alloy of titanium with roughly 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium. ELI stands for extra low interstitial, meaning reduced oxygen, nitrogen and carbon, which makes the alloy tougher and less brittle.
ASTM F67 is the other one. It covers commercially pure titanium, unalloyed, for the same surgical use. Some jewelry is made to F67 rather than F136 and it's equally legitimate.
The relevant point for a parent is nickel. Neither specification permits nickel as an alloying element. Titanium made to F136 has no nickel to release, which removes the most common contact allergen from the equation entirely.
Grade 23 is not automatically the same thing. G23 describes the same alloy chemistry, but the ASTM F136 designation is about the specification, the mill certification and the traceability. Plenty of jewelry sold as G23 has no documentation behind it. One of the most upvoted threads in the piercing community makes exactly this point: most titanium advertised as implant grade isn't demonstrably implant grade.
What the steel side looks like
S316L is an austenitic stainless steel with chromium, nickel and molybdenum. The L means low carbon, which improves corrosion resistance at the welds and grain boundaries.
It does contain nickel. Around 10 to 14% by composition. That number alarms people, and it shouldn't on its own, because composition and release are different measurements.
Corrosion is what converts one into the other. Nickel gets out when the alloy corrodes. The chromium in stainless steel forms a passive oxide layer that resists this, and the molybdenum in 316L improves that resistance further, particularly against chlorides, which is what sweat contains.
ASTM F138 is the steel implant specification. It calls for 316LVM, vacuum melted to reduce inclusions. It exists, it's real, and it's a higher bar than generic 316L.
The comparison, plainly
| Implant grade titanium | S316L Surgical Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Specification | ASTM F136 or F67 | ASTM F138 for the implant spec; most jewelry is generic 316L |
| Nickel in the alloy | None | Roughly 10 to 14% |
| Nickel released onto skin | None to release | Depends on corrosion resistance and finish; measurable under EN 1811 |
| Weight | About 40% lighter | Heavier |
| Right for a fresh piercing | Yes, and it's the standard piercers recommend | No |
| Right for a fully healed ear | Yes | Yes, if the release figure is known |
| Typical cost | Higher | Lower |
| How often the label is abused | Very often | Very often |
Where titanium genuinely wins
A fresh piercing. This isn't close. A new piercing is an open wound, tissue is trying to form a channel, and anything that releases into that environment interferes. Titanium to F136 releases no nickel because it contains none. If you're piercing your daughter's ears, go to a reputable piercer and ask for F136 titanium. That's the right answer and it isn't ours to give you, because we don't make jewelry for that stage.
A diagnosed nickel allergy. If a child has a confirmed nickel sensitivity, removing nickel from the equation altogether is the cleanest approach available. A very low release figure is a good thing, but zero nickel present is a different kind of assurance and a parent in that position is entitled to prefer it.
Weight, for larger pieces. Titanium is substantially lighter. On a small stud the difference is barely noticeable. On anything with size to it, it's real.
Where the comparison stops being the point
Once a piercing is fully healed, the tissue is closed. The skin is no longer an open wound, it's skin. At that stage the useful question isn't which metal has the more impressive specification, it's how much nickel actually reaches the skin over a year of daily wear.
That's a measurement, and it has a test. EN 1811 puts a sample in artificial sweat for a week and measures what comes off, in micrograms per square centimeter per week. The European limit for prolonged skin contact is 0.5, and for jewelry in a pierced ear it's 0.2.
A steel that measures well under those thresholds and a titanium that contains no nickel are, for a healed ear, both answers to the same problem. One gets there by containing none and the other by not letting go of what it contains.
The failure case isn't steel. It's unmeasured metal of any kind, including titanium with no certification behind it.
The question that settles it either way
Ask for the number.
For titanium: which specification, F136 or F67, and can you see the mill certificate? A brand that buys certified titanium has that paperwork.
For steel: which grade, and what did the EN 1811 test measure? Not whether it's nickel free, not whether it's hypoallergenic, but what figure came back.
If neither question gets a straight answer, the material's name is decoration whichever metal it is.
What we do
purepixxi uses two materials for earrings intended for fully healed ears.
S316L Surgical Steel, used throughout our Polished Surgical Steel range. The whole earring, front, post and butterfly back, is the one material. There's no plating to wear through and no second metal underneath.
24K Pure Gold, which is pure 24 karat gold applied onto a solid S316L Surgical Steel core with Aunix™ 24K, our engineered gold finish. It's a gold-plating process and we describe it as one.
Independently tested by SGS. Nickel release under EN 1811: not detected. Not low, not compliant, not detected at the method's limit of quantification. Also tested to ASTM F2923, CPSIA and BSEN 71-3, with lead below a tenth of the United States legal limit. Report BTO 341803/1, and I'll send it if you ask.
Two things we won't claim. Our steel isn't certified to ASTM F138, because we don't make surgical implants and we're not borrowing a specification we haven't tested against. And we won't tell you steel beats titanium for a fresh piercing, because it doesn't.
You can see the range on the Polished Surgical Steel collection.
If you would rather not have to ask any of this again, the 5mm Star Stud Earrings in Surgical Steel are S316L throughout, with nothing plated over anything.
Questions parents ask next
Should I just buy titanium and stop worrying? If she has a diagnosed nickel allergy, or the piercing is new, that's a sensible decision. For a healed ear with no known allergy, a steel with a published release figure is doing the same job.
Is titanium always nickel free? Titanium made to F136 or F67 is. Cheaper titanium jewelry with no specification behind it may be an unrelated alloy, and there have been cases of nickel appearing in uncertified stock.
What does ELI mean? Extra low interstitial. Reduced oxygen, nitrogen and carbon in the alloy, which makes it tougher. It's a manufacturing quality distinction rather than a skin safety one.
Why don't you sell titanium if it's better for piercings? Because we don't make jewelry for piercings. Our range is designed for ears that have fully healed, and we'd rather send you to a piercer than sell you the wrong thing for that stage.
Is anodized titanium still safe? Anodizing titanium changes its color by growing the oxide layer rather than by adding a coating, so there's no dye or plating to wear off. That's different from a colored coating applied on top of a metal.
Related reading
- Is titanium better than surgical steel for earrings?
- Does surgical steel contain nickel?
- Surgical steel vs stainless steel: what's the difference?
- What are children's earrings actually made of?
About the author. Matt Westmore is the founder of purepixxi. He came to children's jewelry from manufacturing and sourcing rather than marketing, which means he has walked the factory floors and knows what is actually inside a product rather than what a label says about it. purepixxi uses two materials only, names them exactly, and has them independently tested.
