Looking for gold-colored jewelry- but without the gold piece tag? Love bright blue, neon pink, or a mix of blue and purple? Love dark jewelry, but don’t love some of the issues with black coated pieces? Look no further- Anodizing is the answer to all your needs! We’ve talked before on this blog about issues with coated and plated pieces, and what makes body jewelry safe. Today I want to talk about Anodizing! This is a safe process of adding color to both titanium and niobium body jewelry. And it’s a very cool process that can often happen right in your own piercing studio!
What is Anodizing?
Anodizing is an electrochemical process that creates a thick oxide layer on the outside of body jewelry. This oxide layer interferes with light as it travels through the layer and reflects off the surface of the metal. The thickness of the oxide layer determines the color that is reflected back to us.
When we anodize things in the studio, we use a machine called a rectifier. It provides a high voltage, low amperage DC current. We can set the voltage to whatever we need, with most rectifiers used for titanium anodizing going up to about 120 volts. We use a chemical compound, trisodium phosphate, mixed with water, in a small container lined with metal to conduct the electricity. The jewelry is submerged in this solution, and then we use a small metal wand that has an electrical current running through it to lightly tap the jewelry. Each time it touches the jewelry, the circuit is completed and the current carried through the cell will oxidize the surface of the jewelry- creating an oxide layer. We set the voltage to our desired level, and that adjusts how thickly the oxide layer forms, controlling the color. A thicker oxide layer reflects light differently, causing it to appear a different color to our eyes.
This oxide layer created by anodizing can actually passivate titanium and niobium. This is a process where the surface of a metal becomes “passive” or less easily corroded by the environment. Painting a wood deck with something waterproof could be considered a form of passivation. Some studios apply a very thin layer of anodizing that doesn’t change the color of the piece just to passivate the jewelry before working with it.
Now, this is a very clinical breakdown of the anodizing process. What actually happens in your studios is a mixture of superstition, practice, and luck. Anodizing is not an exact science, and many factors can affect the end results. Most piercers I know have little rituals to help with getting difficult colors, and methods for perfecting it, and my coworker never tries to anodize high voltage colors when it’s raining.
It is important to note anodizing is not permanent. Abrasion can cause the color to become dull or patchy in areas- sometimes wearing a piece for years and years and years can cause the anodizing to look a little dull. Fortunately, a quick re-zap and things will be bright and beautiful again. Some products, most notably those containing hydrogen peroxide, can damage the surface of titanium, and mess with anodizing. The most common culprit of this is bleach for lighting your hair, and some toothpastes. I see clients a few times a year whose beautiful anodized pieces have turned a dull, dark grey. It’s almost always after a trip to touch up their hair color. Sometimes this can be fixed with anodizing, but often we end up needing to replace the jewelry if the damage is severe.
Anodizing does have some color limitations including red, orange, deep green and black. These colors are not possible with the process of anodizing. Black can be achieved on niobium through a heating and quenching process, separate from anodizing.
Anodizing is a very fun and totally safe method for adding a little pop of color to your titanium and niobium jewelry. You can rest assured that, unlike plated or coated pieces, anodizing will not cause any issues for your piercings (and technically makes jewelry even safer via passivation!) Anodizing is awesome, and one of my favorite things about titanium and niobium pieces!