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Why Does My Ring Turn My Finger Green (or Black)? Causes and How to Stop It

“A green ring line isn't the ring failing you, it's the ring telling you what it's made of. Once you know, you can keep wearing the pieces you love and stop being surprised every time you wash your hands.”Her take

Why rings turn fingers green

Copper is the usual cause. When copper meets moisture, salt from sweat, soap, hand cream or hand sanitiser, it reacts and forms a green compound that transfers onto skin. Copper is in brass and bronze, in the base metal under a lot of gold-plated and costume jewellery, and in sterling silver, which is 92.5 percent silver with the rest usually copper.

It's worse in warm, humid conditions, when you wash your hands often, and as plating wears thin on the inside of a band, where it rubs most.

Why rings turn fingers black or grey

A dark mark usually has one of two causes. Silver tarnishes, forming a dark layer that can rub onto skin, especially if the ring is regularly in contact with sweat or certain cosmetics.

The other cause is make-up and skincare. Powders and creams containing hard mineral particles can wear tiny amounts of metal off softer gold and silver rings, which shows up as a black smudge on the skin or on your clothes. Gold of lower carat, which contains more of other metals, is more likely to do this than high-carat gold.

Which metals won't mark your skin

Platinum, titanium, stainless steel and high-carat gold are the least likely to leave marks. Solid 18 carat gold rarely stains; 9 carat gold contains more alloy metals and occasionally can. Sterling silver can mark if it isn't kept clean.

If you're not sure what a ring is made of, look inside the band for a hallmark. In the UK, anything sold as gold, silver, platinum or palladium must be hallmarked unless it's under the exemption weight: 1 gram for gold and palladium, 7.78 grams for silver and 0.5 grams for platinum. A gold ring heavier than 1 gram with no hallmark is worth questioning.

How to remove the green or black mark

Wash the area with warm water and soap and it usually comes straight off. For a stubborn line, a little make-up remover or a cotton pad with micellar water lifts it. Then clean the ring too, so the mark doesn't return the moment you put it back on.

How to stop a ring turning your finger green

You can keep wearing most of these rings with a few habits.

• Paint the inside of the band with a thin coat of clear nail varnish, let it dry fully, and add a second coat. Reapply when it wears off, usually every few weeks.
• Take rings off to wash your hands, shower, swim, clean or apply hand cream.
• Put hand cream, sanitiser and perfume on first and let them dry before rings go on.
• Dry your hands and rings thoroughly after washing.
• Clean sterling silver regularly so tarnish doesn't build up.
• Have a well-loved plated ring replated by a jeweller once the plating has worn through.

A stain or a reaction?

A stain is just colour on the skin: no itching, no bumps, and it washes off. If the skin under a ring becomes itchy, red, flaky or blistered, that's a skin reaction, often to nickel, rather than a stain. Stop wearing the ring and ask a pharmacist or GP for advice. Nail varnish isn't a fix for a reaction.

Questions people ask

The takeaway

Green means copper, black usually means tarnish or make-up wearing metal away; wash it off, clean the ring, coat the inside with clear varnish, keep it dry, and stop for any itch or rash.

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