Can You Wear Jewelry in the Shower? What's Safe to Keep On

Yes, you can wear jewelry in the shower, as long as it is fully waterproof and metal-free. Solid materials with nothing coating them, like hand-spun rope, real freshwater pearls, and natural stones, hold up to daily water and soap. What you leave off is plated, gold-filled, or coated metal, because the coating wears down over time.

For most women, the shower is where the jewelry comes off. You reach up, unclasp the necklace, set it on the edge of the sink, and half the time it is still sitting there two days later. Sometimes it goes down the drain. We built Tula Blue so that never has to happen again.

So can you actually wear jewelry in the shower?

Yes, with the right materials. The water is not the problem. What your jewelry is made of is. Coatings, plating, glued settings, and soft metals are what break down when they get wet day after day. Solid materials with nothing sitting on top of them do not.

What to take off before you shower

• Gold-plated and gold-filled. A thin layer of gold over a cheaper base metal. Water, soap, and friction wear that layer away, and the metal underneath tarnishes and can turn your skin green.

• PVD-coated pieces. PVD is good engineering, but it is still a coating, and daily water and soap wears a coating down over time.

• Costume and fashion jewelry. Glued stones and painted finishes cloud, lift, and peel.

• Sterling silver. It will not be ruined, but it spots and tarnishes and needs polishing to stay bright.

The pattern is simple. If the finish sits on top of the material, the shower will find it.

What is actually safe to shower in

Solid pieces with nothing to wear off. And rope.

Our signature rope is hand-spun in Texas, nautical-grade, and completely waterproof. It has no metal to corrode and no coating to lose. We finish it with real freshwater pearls and natural stones, not plated charms. So there is nothing on a Tula piece that water can break down. You can wear it to swim, to sweat, to shower, and to sleep, and it stays exactly as it is. It is the same jewelry you can wear through a sauna, a hot yoga class, or a cold plunge. That is the whole idea behind the brand. Jewelry you can live in, and jewelry you can leave on.

Metal-free means there is nothing to react to

Here is the part most brands skip. That green mark under a ring or a clasp is metal reacting with water and your skin. Nickel is the most common contact allergy in the world, and it shows up most in women. Plated jewelry hides it well at first, but once the coating wears through, the base metal underneath sits against wet skin, and that is when the trouble starts. Tula Blue is completely metal-free. No nickel, no plating, no coating. There is nothing to react to and nothing to stain your skin, because there is no metal there in the first place.

The Everyday Pearl, made to stay on

If you want one piece that proves it, start with the Everyday Pearl. Real freshwater pearls on our waterproof rope, in a necklace, a bracelet, and an anklet you can wear together and never take off. It goes from a 6am shower to school pickup to dinner without a single thought.

Our customers already live this way:

• "They've held up so well and I never take them off even to shower." Avery V.

• "The best part is the rope, it makes it possible to shower, get wet, and more with every piece." Nina S.

• "I've never taken these necklaces off whether I'm in the water or showering." Grace K.

The short version

If your jewelry is plated, coated, or costume, keep it out of the shower. If it is solid and metal-free, like hand-spun rope with real pearls and stones, leave it on. That is the difference between jewelry you protect and jewelry you can live in.

By Heather Stringer, founder of Tula Blue.