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Navigating the slick and varied world of personal lubricants can be as complex as it is slippery. With the market boasting a veritable smorgasbord of options, it's no surprise that choosing the right lube for your intimate encounters is as crucial as it is bewildering. The deciding factors? Skin sensitivity, the specifics of your sexual activities, and the compatibility with toy materials.
Water or oil, silicone or hybrid, each lubricant section will provide not only the essentials of what makes them unique but also practical recommendations and precautions to ensure your explorations are both safe and satisfying. Consider this your comprehensive guide to getting slippery with sophistication and safety. Let's glide through this smooth narrative, uncovering the best picks to make your intimate moments as pleasurable as they are personal.
While there are three main types of lubes available in the market, what you should be using depends on your:
- Skin type
- The sex act itself
- The material of the sex toy.
1. Water-Based Lube
Water-based lube is the safest option, especially if you have sensitive skin. It has fewer ingredients, so you reduce the number of chemicals you can come in contact with which can cause an allergic reaction.
It’s gentle and doesn’t have any taste or smell. It’s compatible with condoms and any kind of sex toy material, including silicone, wood, metal, and plastic.
Since it dries quickly, it doesn’t cling to any material. The cleanup is easier and it doesn’t leave a stain.
But, it might not be for all kinds of sex acts. For example, if you are planning on using a butt plug or a large dildo anally, you will have to keep on reapplying the water-based lube. Otherwise, the lube might dry up while you are still inserting the toy.
It doesn’t work well in the shower either, since the lube washes away.
If you are looking for a water-based lube, the Sliquid H2O Water Based Lubricant has some rave reviews.
2. Oil-Based Lube
Oil-based lube works great with sex toys. You can also use it in the shower. It’s particularly slippery and thicker than other lubes. So, it is harder to clean but lasts longer.
But you should never use an oil-based lube with a condom. Since both have similar types of chemicals, it can cause the latex to break. It might also cause an allergic reaction, whether you have sensitive skin or not.
3. Silicone-Based Lube
Silicone lubes are like the happy medium between oil-based and water-based lube. It’s slippery enough to work with complicated sex toys, doesn’t dry off super fast, and can be used in the shower.
You don’t have to re-apply it over and over again like water-based lube. You can also use it with condoms without worrying about a chemical burn.
But, cleaning it is hard, even with soap and water. In fact, silicone lube can leave a prominent stain on a hardwood floor.
More than anything, you should never use silicone lube with a silicone toy. Since they have the same chemicals, they can burn down the rubber and leave marks on your skin.
4. Hybrid Lubes
Hybrid lubes are generally water-based lubes with a touch of silicone. They have the same quality as silicone and water-based lubes.
They last longer than water-based lubes, though not as long as silicone. They are also less greasy and sticky, which makes them easy to clean up, unlike pure silicone.
Yet, you can use hybrid lube in the shower, which you wouldn’t be able to do with water-based lube.
Hybrid lubes are also safe with condoms. You can also use hybrid lubes with silicone toys, though you should still be careful and avoid it for the most part.
Give the FuckWater Water-based Hybrid Lube a try, and you will understand exactly why it’s the best of both worlds.
5. Warming & Cooling Lubes
Warming lube and cooling lubes are exactly what you think they are. Warming lubes provide a gentle warmth while cooling lubes make for a chilly sensation.
Both have their benefits depending on the season. It also depends on the person itself. Some people like glass sex toys because they give off this chilly feeling. The same appliances to cooling lubes.
On the other hand, warming lubes are specifically enjoyable if you are using a massager type of sex toy.
6. Flavored Lubes
Flavored lubes come in different flavors like bubblegum, chocolate, orange, and so on. Like this Sliquid Swirl lube is peach flavored.
It’s a good choice if you plan on having oral sex. If you are specifically into food play, it’s one way to safely explore it without recreating the “Call Me by Your Name” movie scene.
On that note, don’t use coconut oil, olive oil, petroleum jelly, whipped cream, or any other slippery substance you can think of as lube. There’s no knowing which of these substances you might have an allergy to.
The only things you should be using as lube are lubes.
