Potential Hazards Of Working With And Wearing Botanical Jewellery

I recently came across the article, "Wood Hazards: a guide to potentially dangerous hardwoods for the piercing community." It examines some of the dangers of using certain hardwoods in body piercings. I assume though that the cautions that it contains can be directed more generally to those who work with and wear botanical jewelery against the skin.

I'd been wondering about this for some time since I was aware that certain seeds and plant materials contain chemicals that can cause at least dermatological reactions via direct skin contact and I was wondering if there had been any documented cases of adverse reactions to the wearing of botanical jewelery This is the first article that I have encountered on the Internet that deals with this very important topic.

The article focuses on woods and does not look at the products we are most likely to encounter as craftsmen and wearers of jewelry made from seeds, seed pods, etc. A good guide is to follow the lead of the indigenous peoples who over time have settled on the materials that cause least harm. Above all we should just be cautious about materials which have not been in long use or with which we are not familiar, even though I have some questions about using materials like Jumbie beads (Ormosia monosperma) and Datura seeds in jewelery.

The article begins by cautioning the reader against assuming that items offered to the public are safe and I think that this is useful to keep in mind when considering purchasing articles made of wood, especially those that will be used in piercings. For the craftsmen, it is one thing to make jewelery for personal use but when you make them for others, you need to be very sure that your products will not cause injury.