Novelty industrial jewelry is not intended for initial piercings and should only be used in healed piercings as it should not be sterilized with harsh chemicals. Shaft and balls are made with 316L steel. The charm is cast from lead and nickel free brass or zinc and then plated with either 24k gold, rhodium, 14K rose gold, and/or epoxy paint. All plating materials are lead, cadmium and nickel free. Metallic plating can tarnish depending on the environment it is kept in but tarnish remover can be used to clean and remove tarnish from jewelry. Unfortunately plating will wear off after a while but here are some recommendations you can take to make it last as long as possible! Avoid rubbing plating and do not expose to high temperatures. Always take off your jewelry when dealing with cosmetics and chemicals, such as soaps, shampoos and perfumes. Remove jewelry when swimming in salt water or heavily chlorinated pools as they can damage the plating. All materials used meet or exceed CPSIA and Prop 65 standards.