Contact dermatitis to gold plated mouthpiece

[Worth]

I've played on silver plated, lexan, gold rimmed, sharp, wide, narrow, rounded, etc. (almost everything but titanium) with no issues whatsoever in the past.

After enjoying a gold plated Dillon Roylance for about a year, I've just now started getting a pronounced contact dermatitis (localized and red irritation) on both upper and lower lips which can last for a full day and even into the next. The amount, type, of playing, shaving habits, etc. have not changed. When I switch back to my stainless Blokepiece set-up, no issues. I've not introduced any polishes and clean it with warm water and dish soap like I've done with all my other pieces. The rim on the Dillon piece does not look to be worn and is comfortable aside from an embarrassing all day, long lasting red area encircling both lips with the added pleasure of a small raised area with mini bumps under the lower lip. I've read that anything less than 24K can have slight amounts of nickel and, despite the absence of any visible wear on the rim, maybe this is happening on a level that I can't see. I really don't think it is due to hygiene, rim profile, habits, etc.

I know that the simple solution is to stop using the Dillon piece, which I will. My question is, has anyone else has had similar issues with so called gold plated mouthpieces? Is all gold plating alike in terms of quality and karat? I am not allergy prone and have no issues with my 14K wedding ring and even a cheap substitute (which probably has nickel) I sometimes use, but the lips are a different animal from the finger in terms of moisture and it's effect on the introduction of irritants. I'm thinking this otherwise great piece unfortunately has to go.

[JayW]

I switched to stainless years ago because of the same type of issue, though mine was a general skin sensitivity to just about everything else. My understanding was that while gold itself is hypoallergenic, because the plating is so thin (microns) impurities from underlying layers can still leech out. And plating from one brand/mouthpiece to another can vary in thickness based on several variables, allowing the aforementioned issue to happen at varying degrees. If I am wrong, someone please correct me. But anecdotally, I find only stainless works for my lips/skin.

[Worth]

My understanding was that while gold itself is hypoallergenic, because the plating is so thin (microns) impurities from underlying layers can still leech out. And plating from one brand/mouthpiece to another can vary in thickness based on several variables, allowing the aforementioned issue to happen at varying degrees.

I never considered this and it certainly makes a lot of sense in my situation as it is remedied by switching to stainless without changing any other variables. Now to figure out a stainless setup close to that of the Roylance piece.

[tbonesullivan]

That seems really odd. Gold is supposed to be the cure for metal allergies. But it also depends on what it was plated with, as unless it's 24K gold, there will be other materials in the plating.

Might want to contact Dillon music and see who does their plating. I don't know if they do it in house or farm it out. You could always have the gold stripped off and have it replated silver if you like it that much.

[Worth]

A Google search reveals contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction shared by many people from gold.

WOW I always thought of gold plating as a hypoallergenic option. Damn..... my other gold rimmed piece was a Bobo symphony and that one did NOT get extensive use. Thank you very much for this information.

[Worth]

My son is (well: obviously) allergic to nickel.
He had a nickel-plated belt buckle that he really liked, and would not stop wearing it.
He ended up with a horrible irritation below his navel

Seriously, I used to get this from the inside of my jeans metal button when I was fatter

[Dan Tuba]

I have this problem. From my experience, most mouthpiece manufacturers don't actually use completely pure 24K gold plating. In the past, I have worked with reputable jewlers to have some of my mouthpieces 24K plated. That's the only mouthpieces that have sorta "worked." The plating is fairly soft, so it doesn't last very long. It is my suspicion, based on the severity of reactions by several well known manufacturers, that their plating has very little gold. In fact, some manufacturers advertise gold plating, but they actually use a type of titanium plating, or ceramic coating. This is the type of coating utilized on stainless steel rims/mouthpieces that appear gold or black. Using this type of plating/coating on brass doesn't make a lot of sense, considering brass is so soft. However, I wouldn't be surprised if some manufacturers are using this process/material, and marketing/advertising the plating as "gold." I am not saying that this is the case with your Dillon mouthpiece. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for me. Titanium, Stainless Steel, Silver, Sterling Silver, etc. I have tried just about everything lol Thankfully, Lexan is great!

[tbonesullivan]

A Google search reveals contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction shared by many people from gold.

WOW I always thought of gold plating as a hypoallergenic option. Damn..... my other gold rimmed piece was a Bobo symphony and that one did NOT get extensive use. Thank you very much for this information.

Yamaha takes their gold plating VERY seriously. Heck they take EVERYTHING seriously. I don't think any other manufacturer uses as thick or as pure a layer of gold as Yamaha does. They also limit it to the rim area, where it does the most good. A gold plated shank really doesn't help anything.

So, sounds like I would stay away from GP mouthpieces, as you may just have developed some type of sensitivity to it.

[GC]

This is not an ideal solution, but have you ever tried clear nail polish on the rim? If you don't react then, you can consider having the gold removed and silver re-plated (assuming you have no problems with silver).

[Doug Elliott]

Some people do react to 24K gold. Many platers use nickel plating as a base for goldplating, and that can be a real problem. There is no nickel ever used in my mouthpieces. The base under my goldplating is the full normal silverplate.
Some people even react to stainless. Lexan is a great solution - not everybody likes the feel but it is totally hypoallergenic.

[Worth]

Many platers use nickel plating as a base for goldplating, and that can be a real problem. There is no nickel ever used in my mouthpieces. The base under my goldplating is the full normal silverplate. Some people even react to stainless. Lexan is a great solution - not everybody likes the feel but it is totally hypoallergenic.

This forum is a veritable gold mine of information and I thank everyone for your generosity. When one person has an issue and seeks help and information, we all learn. From Bloke and Tom McGrady I've learned bigger is not always better and I've taken things to a more controllable and consistent level over the past year by scaling back on MP dimensions for my everyday piece. If I combine what we have just learned from Doug Elliott with the earlier post from JayW things just make sense.

[MaryAnn]

A fairly inexpensive check could be to have it re-plated in gold, so that if anything is leaching through due to age and use, that would be corrected for. Then you can find out if it is the gold or the stuff under it leaching through.