A reader recently wrote in asking about a mark left on her nose by the jewelry she had worn for a long time in a nose piercing:

I had my nose pierced many years ago, and bought jewelry at Hot Topic. I had to take my nose jewelry out a few years ago when I was in the hospital, and the jewelry had oxidized and left a little green spot. It's now three years later, and that spot still has yet to fade. Is it permanent? Is there anyway to make it fade? Or disappear completely?? Or should I get it repierced? It's sort of embarrassing to have this noticeable dot on my nose.

This isn't a frequently asked question yet... but sadly as nose piercing has become so pervasive, I'm starting to hear stories like this more and more. Most likely the jewelry you were wearing when your nose piercing was healing was responsible for the skin coloring, and the culprit is sterling silver.

Sterling silver is a metal that is affordable and highly-workable, which makes it a popular metal for earrings and nose jewelry. However sterling silver is NOT supposed to be worn in healing nose piercings. The constant contact with the raw tissues and fluids on the healing surface causes the silver to oxidize. Essentially, it's rusting. Instead of turning reddish like iron does, sterling silver turns black, or if it's got a lot of nickel in the mix it can also turn green. This in turns stains the healing skin surface, leaving a mark that can be anywhere from black, to grey, to greenish. The really bad part of this is that, so far based on everything I've learned, the discoloration IS permanent. It's like the sterling silver tattooed the healing piercing and the color is trapped in the dermis. It might fade really slowly over your lifetime, but essentially, it's just going to stay there.

Getting repierced isn't going to change it, as that won't do anything to get rid of the pigmentation that's occurred. You'll still have the colored spot on your nose along with a new piercing. If anything can be done, you'd probably be best off getting a consultation from a dermatologist.

New nose piercings should get jewelry made from surgical-quality stainless steel, 14k gold (or better), niobium, titanium or platinum. Be sure to ask any questions you have about the metal content of any jewelry you buy if you aren't sure what you are about to purchase.