Copper and Green Skin

One fact about copper that sometimes puts people off wearing copper jewlery is that copper sometimes tends to turn skin green. The reason this occurs is because the metal oxidizes and reacts with the sweat from your body, creating copper chelates. While pure copper cannot be absorbed by the skin, copper chelates can. The excess copper that isn’t absorbed by your skin is what turns your skin green. The good news is that, unlike some silver staining, green copper stains are not permanent. Simply wash it off with ordinary soap and water. If you maintain your copper jewelry and clean it regularly, this will help in preventing it from causing your skin to turn green. Also, if you want to avoid this altogether, you can purchase sealed copper jewelry, where the copper is covered in a thin coating to prevent it from staining.