Sex Lubes Guide

If you’re looking to spice up your time in the bedroom or make what you have going on even more enjoyable, sex lubes could help. Refer to this guide on sex lubes to learn about the different kinds of sex lubes and determine which one will be best for you.

The Basics: Who Uses Sex Lube?

Anyone and everyone! Lube is for everyone and can be used in a variety of ways. A lot of women use sex lube to ease discomfort during sex. Men using sex toys like male strokers and masturbators may also use lubricants to increase pleasure and make their experiences with penetrable toys more enjoyable. 

Ingredients in Lube

All lubricants have a “base” that is the main ingredient used to create the lube. Sex lubes can be broken down into 4 main types: water, silicone, plant-oil, and hybrid sex lubes. 

Types of Lubes

1. Water-Based Sex Lube

   Water-based sexual lubricants are made up of 95% water. They are designed to mimic natural lubrication, which is also primarily made up of water. This inexpensive option is an easily accessible type of sex lube that many people use inside male strokers as well as on the body.

   The benefits of using water-based lubes are that they are inexpensive, easy to clean off, and replicate the natural lubrication. The potential downsides to using water-based lubricants are that some manufacturers add other ingredients such as preservatives, humectants, and dispersants to them, which may introduce health problems. Main Squeeze does not use these additives, which makes our products body-safe options.
   
   

   Preservatives are used to prevent mold and bacteria growth while increasing the shelf life of the product. Humectants help prevent evaporation, and dispersants are used to prevent separation. These ingredients may be controversial because certain parabens and petroleum-derived ingredients like glyceride may damage vaginal and anal tissue, which could increase the risk of STIs and irritation. The best thing to do is to find a water-based lubricant formulated without these additives. 

2. Silicone-Based Lubes

   Long-lasting and virtually evaporation-proof, silicone-based lubes are meant to last throughout the duration of sex and possibly beyond. Silicone-based lubes are water resistant, which can be both a good and bad thing. They’re great if you want a lube to use in the shower but are also difficult to wash off. Typically non-toxic and hypoallergenic, silicone lubes are generally safe and gentle.

   The major downside to silicone-based lubes is that they can’t be used with silicone rubber sex toys. The two types of silicone negatively interact with one another, which increases the likelihood of the lub damaging and warping the sex toy. 

3. Plant-Oil Based Lubes

   Made from natural ingredients like cocoa oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, aloe vera, plant-based lubes are typically gentle and mostly organic. It’s unlikely that plant-oil based lubricants will contain added thickeners, humectants, preservatives, which generally means that they’ll be body-safe. While plant-oil lubes are typically safe for use with sex toys, they are incompatible with latex condoms and could cause the condom to break. If you’re looking to use a plant-oil lube and want to use condoms, you may want to explore condoms made of polyurethane, which could be beneficial anyway if you have a latex allergy.

4. Hybrid Sex Lubes

   Sex lubes made of both water and silicone are known as hybrid sex lubes; they are essentially the best of both worlds. They feel slippery like water-based lubes but can last long like silicone-based lubes. Plus, hybrid lubricants tend to be easier to clean up than purely silicone-based lubes and can usually be used with silicone rubber sex toys. 

Final Thoughts: Warnings About Sex Lubes

It is critical to look at the ingredients and claims on a lubricant’s bottle to determine the safety of the product. Avoid parabens, colorants, and petroleum derived ingredients like glycerine, as well as any other harsh preservatives.