Ah, the dreaded green ring. This pesky little olive strip shows up on the finger after prolonged wear and occurs due to a reaction between the copper in your ring and the skin, sweat, salt and products on your finger. Surprisingly, plenty of precious metals — including sterling silver and gold — contain a percentage of copper. Though these metals look beautiful, they may leave behind a harmless yet admittedly unsightly ring of green encircling your finger. Your jewelry turning skin green is just one reason why metal is not the ideal material for jewelry, especially for people who do their fair share of sweating and moving around throughout the day. Here are five more reasons why your cheap metal jewelry should get a silicone upgrade. 1. Metal Jewelry Is More Dangerous — If you work with your hands in any capacity, even out in the yard or in the garage on the weekends, you should be thinking about the safety of your jewelry. Ring avulsion injuries — injuries that occur when a metal ring gets caught on something, such as a piece of heavy machinery — range from a slight tear in the skin to a complete finger amputation. Though rare, these injuries can be extremely troublesome and not worth the risk. On the other hand, more flexible silicone rings break under a certain amount of pressure, so they can prevent such injuries. 2. Metal Jewelry Is Way More Fussy — By that, we mean you have to think about it way more often than you would have to think about your more practical silicone stuff. Metal doesn’t do great when exposed to sweat — remember the green ring around your finger? — nor chemicals, moisture or extreme temperatures. With all the stuff going on in life, who wants to think about babying a piece of jewelry? Not us! And, to be honest, when you’re used to a piece of jewelry, it can be hard to remember to take it off when you’re cooking, cleaning or working with your hands. 3. Metal Jewelry Can Trigger Allergies — Metal allergies are shockingly common and can make your experience wearing jewelry slightly uncomfortable at best and downright impossible at worst. Nickel is one of the most common allergens found in metal jewelry. Those who suffer from a nickel allergy may experience a rash, bumps, itching, redness, dry patches or blisters on the skin where the jewelry was worn. 4. Metal Jewelry Is High-Maintenance — If you’re all about that minimalist, low-maintenance lifestyle, don’t waste your time on precious metal jewelry. It’ll only suck up your time and effort. Metals like gold and sterling silver need to be constantly polished and cleaned, yet they’re relatively delicate, so they need special cleaners. If your metal jewelry has a stone setting, cleaning it is even more of a chore because aggressive cleaning can loosen stones or scratch the finish. On the other hand, silicone jewelry requires virtually zero maintenance and isn’t delicate at all. 5. Metal Jewelry Is All-Around Uncomfortable — Wearing jewelry around the clock, especially rings, takes some getting used to. When you’re not accustomed to it, metal rings can feel stiff or uncomfortable on your finger. Due to the fact that they’re reactive with the skin and can cause allergic reactions, they may also cause pain or itching. On the other hand, a comfortable silicone ring is flexible and provides that barely-there feel so you don’t feel like you need to adjust to wearing it over time. Crushing the Jewelry Status Quo Why is metal jewelry the standard? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that we’re just used to it, plain and simple. Precious metals are some of the oldest materials in jewelry-making, dating back thousands of years. But just because they are the standard doesn’t mean they are the best! QALO is here to help you shake up the ring-wearing status quo and give your jewelry box a modern upgrade.