The color green is all around us in the world. It’s the color of grass, eyes, salad and most importantly…money. It is known to be the color of jealously, but it also takes form in earth tones as well as neon colors. It’s a great color to see around, that is, everywhere but your finger.

  As a jewelry fanatic, I’ve got bangles, bracelets, earrings and necklaces galore. But, my favorite accessory in the world? You guessed it: rings. I find them anywhere and everywhere, often buying them in packs of three for between $5-$10 (college kid probz). They make every outfit better no matter they occasion, and you can often find at least three sprawled across my fingers when I’m just hanging out at home. They are all literally my babies. But the worst part about them is when they leave that awful green mark on my fingers. After seeing this gross patch of color on my fingers daily, I decided to find out what exactly causes this discoloration.

    According to chemistry.com, “When a ring turns your finger green it’s either because of a chemical reaction between acids in your skin and the metal of the ring or a reaction between another substance on your hand, such as a lotion, and the metal of the ring. A common culprit is silver, which is found in sterling silver jewelry, plating for inexpensive jewelry, and as an alloying metal in most gold jewelry. Acids cause the silver to oxidize, which produces tarnish. The tarnish can leave a dark ring on your finger.”

    After reading this, I THOUGHT I’d found that the moral of the story is to spend the extra mula to avoid the mark. However, I decided to pursue the myth that clear nail polish can indeed prevent the chemical reaction. I found that this is indeed true! The top coat nail polish events the metal of the ring interacting with the acids of your skin. It basically survey as a simple barrier, one that ends up saving you a lot of money!