Many years ago I gave up wearing earrings. Every time I tried I would get painful swelling and would even start bleeding. One day I decided I really, really wanted to find a pair that worked. I tried so many “nickel free” and “hypoallergenic” pairs of earrings that almost instantaneously caused a reaction, and resigned myself to the fact that I would never wear earrings again.
I started venting about this to some of my friends, family and coworkers, and was surprised to hear that many of them had the same issue. They would say that either they had the same issue, or their sister or mom had that problem, or they had one good pair of earrings that worked for them and that was all they wore. I thought to myself “if so many people have this problem, there must be something out there for me, I’m just not looking hard enough.” Through a lot of research (aka googling) I discovered that the cause of the issue was a metal allergy that developed from years of wearing earrings made with reactive metals. A person can go years without having issues while their immune system is fighting off the reactive material, and eventually it will get to the point where the immune system reacts violently to the offending substance and the result is swelling, redness, pain, and more. When it gets to that point, even brief moments of contact with the allergen can cause your body to react.
Eventually, deep into the pages of Google, I stumbled upon a pair of titanium starter earrings. These earrings were very utilitarian looking (titanium is a naturally a dark gray/silver color and very difficult to manufacture, so titanium earrings tend to look very industrial). Even so, these earrings claimed to be totally safe – even for people with metal allergies!- because titanium is inert and does not react with the human body (which is why it is the metal of choice for medical implants). So despite their lack of style, these earrings promised to heal my ear piercings so I decided to give them a try.
I was amazed. I wore them for a day and nothing happened. Then a week passed and still nothing happened. No pain. No swelling. Nothing. That was the happiest I had ever been to purchase something and have nothing happen. I subsequently discovered that niobium is one of the most inert metals on earth so I gave a pair of niobium hoops a try and had the same result, nothing happened!
Although I was excited that I had finally found some earrings that I could wear, I was disappointed to find that there were no titanium earrings or niobium earrings available that fit my style. Everything on the market was either very industrial looking or very homemade looking. Not that there is anything wrong with those styles, but it wasn’t the look I was going for. I wanted fun, minimal, gold and rose gold statement earrings and everyday earrings that looked like the earrings that I see bloggers and influencers wearing on Instagram.
Finally, I decided to design my own line and that is how Tini Lux was born. Our mission will always be to create classic, stylish jewelry that is most importantly safe and functional.
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