By Rob Siewert
It’s the New Year and even if your new professors are incredibly dry, we are here to make sure that your love life isn’t. Make your New Year’s resolution to be wetter and better! Personal lubricants of all kinds have been available for years but are often misunderstood and under-utilized in the average person’s sex life. There are dozens of brands of lube available. You can get lubes in tropical fruit flavours, lubes that warm, lubes that cool and even lubes that double as massage oil. The downside of all these choices is that it can be difficult to decide which lube is right for you and your partner.
The first thing to keep in mind is that lubes are typically water-, silicone- or oil-based. Water-based lubes are the most common and versatile, they absorb into the skin and evaporate during use so residue left behind is comparable to non-lubricated sex. The potential downside of this is that water based lubricants may need reapplication during the deed, which can be a mood killer depending on your comfort level with that sort of thing. Water based lubricants are also safe for use with condoms and sex toys and are the most likely to be safe for oral play as well.
Silicone lubes don’t contain water so they do not require reapplication and last for a long time, and some find that they are less irritating on the skin than water based lubricants. If you plan on having sex in water, silicone lubricants are the way to go as they will stay where they are put instead of rinsing away like water-based lubes, so they are your best bet for the shower. But, silicone-based lubes cannot be used with silicone sex toys, as they will degrade the silicone of the toy, causing it to become sticky and then disintegrate. Silicone lubes are perfectly acceptable for use with latex condoms though!
Oil-based lubes are harder to find than silicone- and water-based lubes, and have decreased in popularity in recent years. Oil-based lubricants will degrade and break down latex and are unsafe to use with most condoms, polyurethane condoms being the only exception. There are oil-based lubricants still available as an aid for male masturbation, and for that use they are quite safe, just not for penetration. If you insist on using oil-based lubricants look for the few that have been approved by the FDA, exercise caution and make sure you are using polyurethane condoms.
Basics aside, feel free to go out and try different kinds of lubricants, there are lubes available now that are meant to be frozen into cubes for temperature play, long lasting beads that can be inserted into the vagina to relieve dryness for up to four days and lubes that mix together to create different sensations than when used apart. Just make sure you use them safely, and always read the label before trying them out; some massage oils are two-in-one and can be used for massages and sex, others are strictly for external use.
Lubes are a great way to keep going if the finish line of the sprint has passed and you decide to run the marathon. Lube is also one of the key ingredients for not good, but phenomenal sex. Lube is the number one way to increase sensation and prevent condom breakage. There are several popular brands of lubrication, most of which you can pick up in your drugstore, in the condom aisle. Like condoms, they come in a variety of flavours, and have many different uses.
Lubes differ in their taste, texture, slipperiness, longevity and general performance. So send us your personal recommendations and suggestions, let us know your favourite lube or stimulant, and help us help the masses. You can email us at [email protected]. So stay safe, stay wet and have a great slippery beginning to the New Year.