Will 18K Gold-Plated Jewelry Turn Your Skin Green? Hypoallergenic Options That Actually Hold Up This post contains links to our own Amazon store. Short answer: gold doesn't turn your skin green — the metal under the gold does. Cheap plated jewelry is usually gold flashed over brass or copper, and once that whisper-thin layer wears through, the reactive base metal meets sweat and leaves that classic green ring. The fix isn't spending $400 on solid 18K. It's choosing plating ov