Tag: lubricants

uberrimedildos:

As with anything you read on the internet, these days in particular, one must consume things they read with a grain of salt. In this case a seemingly endless dialog on the safety of personal lubes and how contested they are with regards to your toys and body. I preface this little bit with the fact that I am not a doctor or a scientist, rather, someone who has a good idea of both matters and lots of friends who are both. So, among the numerous other ventures I have as a source of income, I do in fact make dildos, butt plugs, and other abstract adult toys using Platinum Silicone. I also have quite a nice inventory of ready to ship items, among those are little butt plugs. I made a batch of 5 a few weeks ago using Dragon Skin 20 Platinum Silicone and a blue mica to color the silicone. All five of those were duly selected to participate in a science experiment and subject to a five day inundation of lube. Lots and lots of lube I say. Fig.1 – 3

The experiment required five exactly the same Butt Plugs. Three lubes purchased at an adult store: One Water Based Swiss Navy, one Silicone Based Swiss Navy, and one Hybrid Water/Silicone “Wet” Elite.  I purchased coconut oil from the grocery store along with a bottle of water, of which I drank half of after the experiment. I filled five jars with one butt plug each, four of those jars with 8 ounces of the associated lubes and one with 8 ounces of water as a control. I allowed the jars to sit for exactly five days – 120 hours, and observed the results. The ingredients list for each of those items in fig. 4.

Tick tick tick, the clock went and five days later I took a look at the jars. Prior to opening, I noticed that the plug in both the water/control jar and the water based lube jar there were bubbles present on the plug itself. Fig. 5. I suspect a very small degree of out-gassing. Otherwise, a few surprises awaited me as I removed the plugs from each jar.  

The first, immediate, most dramatic change was the plug soaked in the Silicone based lube. It had nearly tripled in size, clearly absorbing the lube as there was a measured 5.5 ounces of fluid left in the jar, and the plug was essentially completely ruined. The second, and an actual bit of surprise to me was that the plug soaked in the water based lube had lost some of its color. Most noticeable in Fig 6-7. Additionally the surface was now a matte instead of slick and shiny. Considering the changes that took place to the silicone soaked plug, you might think that the plug soaked in the hybrid water/silicone lube would have displayed a more dramatic change. Only a slight loss of color was observed, about half as much by comparison to the water based lube plug, and to the same extent the surface was slightly more matte than when it went in. The plug soaked in coconut oil displayed no change, and neither did the control plug soaked in water. Fig. 8 shows the plugs side by side. For comparison, the control plug and the water based lube soaked plug are side by side in Fig. 9. There has been a clear change in color.

So, with all of that, I have to conclude a few things that may be contrary to what a good deal in the sex toy, sex toy review industry recommend for personal lubes that are safe for you, and safe for the platinum silicone toys you may use. It’s rather dramatically evident, with at the very least the Swiss Navy brand, that silicone based lubes will in fact destroy your silicone toys. This is not a big surprise as its a bit of a known thing. However, the water based lube, again, with the Swiss Navy brand and may not be the same with other brands, does in fact have an affect on platinum silicone, as does the hybrid water/silicone lube but not to the same extent. Now, given that the plugs sat in these fluids for 120 hours, I would venture to say that regardless of the outcome of my little experiment here, that both are still suitable for use as long the toys are cleaned immediately after use. I would also conclude. Actually let me preface this, again, with the following statement, “I am not a doctor.” Although after seeing the results here, I contacted two doctors and asked their opinion on coconut oil for use as a personal lubrication, specifically with regards to use with sex toys. One that I have known for 15 years replied, and I quote, “ Oh yeah, cooter are coo coo for coconuts.” She further noted that the only downside is that coconut oil can stain sheets but a lot of PT doctors actually recommend it. The other Doc said, as long as you aren’t allergic to it, is a fairly safe alternative to chemical lubes. So there it is and Ill be updating my “What lubes are safe for my new toy?” in the Q&A.

Be well, Marco.