How to Choose Sex Toys for Women: Beginner's Guide

Sex Toy Benefits

All female sex toys have unique benefits, but on the whole, they provide a common purpose with one goal in mind – female pleasure. Still, apart form the female orgasm, we list the benefits sex toys for women bring:

• Improved mood: Women’s sex toys certainly lift the spirit, as the body releases endorphins – the feel-good hormones during and after an orgasm. These feelings can be habit-forming and addictive (in a good way);
• Introduction to intercourse: women who are not ready for penetrative sex can use a non-insertable sex toy that will introduce them to sexual pleasure. In time, they can introduce penetrative toys to get their bodies used to the feeling of penetration.
• Vaginal elasticity and pelvic floor strength: regular intercourse promotes vaginal elasticity, better blood flow through the pelvis, natural lubrication, and other benefits. The right sex toys can stimulate the vagina, help maintain elasticity, strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, and even help improve incontinence.
• Extra stimulation: many women can’t orgasm through penetration alone, and adding an appropriate sex toy during intercourse can help with extra stimulation, which can lead to more powerful orgasms.

Types of Sex Toys for Women

There are numerous types of female sex toys, each equipped with unique and varied ways of pleasuring. Take Lelo's sex toy for women selection as a example where you can find many different alternatives.

Here are the main sex toy types of female sex toys you should consider:

Dildos

Realistic Dildos: These are an anatomical replica of the male penis and come with the same rigidity yet offer some of the natural softness of a real, live erect penis. Along with this, they come with the exposed glans (tip or head of the erect penis), with accented veins to further add to the realism. Some realistic dildos come with testicles, with many being molded from real-life male porn stars.

Black Dildos: When a realistic dildo doesn’t deliver, or you just feel like testing your limits, then this is where a black dildo takes over. With additional length and girth, these are for the women who want that extra fullness. With over-emphasized veins, enlarged glans, and heavy-duty testicles, these chocolate-colored dildos need some getting used to, as they most certainly will stimulate the innermost reaches of even the most seasoned explorer.

Vibrators

Rabbit Vibrators: This type of vibrator set the personal service world ablaze, mainly because it was the only one that could perform vaginal penetration and clitoral stimulation at the same time. These now come in a wide range of designs and colors. Apart from just vibrating, some models now come with soft or hard beads rotating under the surface of the shaft for added and intense pleasure.

G-spot Vibrators: These perform toe-curling miracles with their curvature that can be directed precisely to the G-spot, delivering the most intense and often first-time authentic G-spot orgasms for many females. What these bad boys lack in length, they more than make up for by hitting one of the most sensitive erogenous zones. It’s not how big it is, and it’s what you do with it that counts!

Vibrating Panties: These are designed for discrete and prolonged stimulation. They come in a variety of designs depending on how they will be stimulating the vagina. Some consist of insertable nubs, and others are contoured to rest against the clitoris or have other anatomically suitable designs. No matter which variety of vibrating panties you choose, they come with a remote which is almost always wireless.

Wand Vibrators: these are exciting and mighty sex toys that are favored by many women. Even though these were intended for another reason altogether, persona massagers that we now call wand vibrators are powerful and play a significant role in many women’s pleasure plays. Today we have various models packed with features like USB rechargeable and waterproof, but the intended use stays the same.

Wearable Vibrators: these are designed for prolonged periods and come in various shapes, makes, and models. The most common types are egg vibrators, but there are other exciting app-controlled wearable sex toys designed to be worn during partnered sex or masturbation.  

Sex Toy Material Options

Female sex toys are made from a multitude of materials, and we list the most common materials that you can purchase today. Please note that we are fans of silicone, glass, and metal sex toys for women, but other materials have thier merits also:

• Silicone is by far the most popular material to use in sex toys for women. It is a non-porous material that can withstand high and low temperatures, so it can easily be sterilized by carefully using boiling water. Silicone provides a feeling of softness while retaining a welcoming hardness and is very comfortable to use.
• Jelly is the cheapest sex toy material that is still used, and it comes with a tell-tale taste and smell. Many of these come from manufacturers that may also include potentially toxic chemicals to make them more colorful or flexible. Jelly sex toys are porous, challenging to clean, and are not very recommended.
• TPE  is a blend of thermoplastic elastomers; sex toys like TPE dildos made from this material are soft and feel very close to the real thing, but unfortunately, these are porous and challenging to clean.
• Steel or medical-grade stainless steel is widely used for dildos and is one of the best body-safe materials. Steel dildos and anal sex toys are fun to use, are easy to clean and sterilize, and provide unique sensations because they are rigid and don’t conform to the body. Steel and other metal toys can be sensibly heated or cooled for unique sensations.
• Glass is a good choice for unque sex toys, especially European glass or borosilicate (Pyrex). Glass dildo is not porous, is compatible with all lubes, and can be adequately cleaned and sterilized. However, it is rigid, and some women avoid it because of fear of it breaking.
• Hard plastic or ABS is a common sex toy material that is non-porous and is easy to clean. However, the hard plastic is non-flexible, and ABS toys don’t conform to the body, which can be offputting for some users.
• PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride and is a type of plastic that is regularly used for sex toys like dildos. This material is slightly porous and can contain toxic chemicals like phthalates to make the surface flexible, which is not recommended for insertable sex toys for women.

How to Choose the Right Sex Toy for You

When choosing female sex toys, there are a few things to think about:

• Size – Choose a sex toy that will fit your body’s abilities, what you can actually and safely handle, and not what you think you can handle.
• Materials – always select sex toys that are made from body-safe materials that are easy to sterilize and keep in pristine condition.
• Desired stimulation – think about what you’d like to use the sex toy for, like insertion, clitoral stimulation, or something else, and choose appropriately.
• Solo or Partnered play – you can get a variety of sex toys for solo or shared play, depending on your experience level and needs and wants.

Short History of Dildos and Sex Toys for Women

Sex toys are not a 21st-century invention; they’ve been around for ages, since the days of the ancient world. In fact, the first historical mentions of dildos predate civilizations and are believed to be over 28,000 years old. It was in Ancient Greece where the sex toys were called “olisbos” and were made of stone or wood, while the “olisbokollikes” were made from hard bread. During Roman times, wealthy people had phallic objects made from wood, ivory, marble, and other materials, and some were inlaid with gold for aesthetic reasons.

In the Middle Ages, people resorted to phallic root plants like carrots or parsnips. There is also the “Cantonese Groin” plant: a phallic root plant that, when soaked in hot water, becomes rigid and is used for insertion.

The Rennaissance in Italy brought a sort of sexual liberation, and it was there when the word dildo was coined, deriving from the Latin “dilatare,” meaning to open wide, or the Italian “diletto,” meaning delight. In these times, dildos were made from glass, wood, metal, and stone.

During the Victorian era, women were often diagnosed with hysteria, which we now know was horniness or sexual arousal, and doctors prescribed medical massages (yep, just what you think)! Because it was tiresome to manually massage every female patient with hysteria, a vibrating device was introduced in France called the “tremoussoir” and was soon followed by the invention by Dr. J Mortimer Granville. A patented electromagnetic vibrator became a popular treatment for hysteria in women, and the sex toy market just took a new turn, and the rest is history.

The industrial revolution in rubber and latex materials joined hands with the sexual revolution that took place in the mid-late twentieth century; things have never been quite the same ever since. The basic principles and functions are the same, but the designs and materials have come a very long way, and now we have top-of-the-line, high-tech sex toys that we all know and love.

The Bottom Line

We hope we covered the basics regarding sex toys for women, including the key things that are important for the safe, secure use of these exciting tools. But please read our guides below, where we share more detailed info on the various models and tell you other things you should know about using various sex toys.

Also, you can browse our sex toy store, as we provide a lot of options for you, including a great variety of dildos, vibrators, and much more.