What is Hypoallergenic?

Hypoallergenic, Hypo-allergenic

Hypoallergenic is a word that has been associated with jewelry for more than 30 years. The term was originally coined in 1953 by a group of advertisers promoting cosmetics. The term has never been formally defined and has often been misused or used on products that do not meet the widely accepted definition. From the greek prefix hypo, meaning less than a normal occurrence, combined with allergenic, meaning to cause a reaction or allergy, the word therefore means that the product is just less likely to cause an allergy.  The definition of non-allergenic is "having no tendency to provoke an allergic reaction". Non-allergenict cannot be said in truth about any product because somebody somewhere will have a reaction.

Hypoallergenic sounds like a medical term, but it is not a medical term, although it has become widely accepted to mean that a product will not cause allergies. The Oxford English Dictionary describes hypoallergenic as a diminished potential for causing an allergic reaction.

When Roman Research uses the term hypoallergenic, we mean we take every precaution to provide you with a product, jewelry or ear piercing studs, that will not cause metal sensitivity or nickel allergies. Some people may have rare allergies to pure gold, silver or even to stainless steel. We have found these instances to be quite rare.

However, nickel is the most common allergen in the world. It can cause reactions as light as a small itch or as bad as a skin eruption. Roman Research products are all nickel free or nickel safe. You can rely on your comfort and safety when you purchase Roman Research hypoallergenic products.