How to Use Lube: All You Need to Know About Sex Lubes

What Is Lube?

A lubricant is usually a liquid or gel that is designed to reduce friction during sex and to provide a slick, comfortable feeling. Using lubrication helps intensify the pleasure and helps reduce the chance of pain, skin rashes, and irritations. Whether you engage in solo or partnered play, you should always have lube handy.

How to Use Lube?

Using sex lube is intuitive, as you only need to spread a good amount of it on your body – vagina or penis, and the sex toy you want to use, and you are all set to play. When it comes to the quantity of lube to use, it depends on the application and your individual preferences. For toys intended only for external play, you can use as little as a few drops on your body and the sex toy, let’s say, a bullet vibe.

The activity you engage with also plays a significant role in the amount of lube you use. Because the vagina is self-lubricating, you may initially need a tiny amount of lube to get things started, as it will become wetter as you get aroused. However, if you have vaginal dryness problems, a good amount of water-based lube will be more enjoyable.

When you engage in anal sex, using lube is a different story, as the anus is not self-lubricating, you need more lube. Also, the anus is smaller and tighter, and it needs more time to relax, so you need a fair amount of lube to enjoy anal play.

Because some lubes dry out faster than others, you need to consider this and adjust accordingly. Still, it all comes down to feelings and sensations, and if you start to feel uncomfortable and feel friction or tugging of the skin during play, it is time to add more lube. However, you must know the suitable lube to combine with your preferred condoms and sex toys, which is what we’ll cover next.

Lube Types

Personal lubes can have a water or silicone base, and you can also use some oils as lubes. There are also hybrid lubes that are blends between water and silicone-based lubes, and these combine the properties of the two basic types. However, sex lubes also have other ingredients in the mix that may cause different reactions in different users, which is why you need to be aware of the risky substances and know what to avoid. Here we break down the lube types you can find in our sex toy store and all the critical particulars about each type:

Water-Based Lube

Water-based lube uses water as its base and contains thickening agents that give it a gel-like consistency, making it more manageable and easy to apply. Quality water-based lube features a soft texture and is easy to use, as it is thick and stays where you want it.

Water-based lubes are easy to clean from the body and the clothes, as they dissolve in water so that they won’t stain your sheets, nor will they leave a sticky feeling on the skin. These are also pH neutral so that they won’t disturb the vagina’s natural balance. Most water-based lubes are also unscented, which is also a good thing for people who are prone to yeast infections and skin irritations.

Water-based lubes are the best choice for solo play or sex, as these are safe to use with latex condoms and diaphragms, and they combine well with all sex toy materials, especially silicone. A main thing to note is that you won’t notice that you have a water-based lube on, but it will still provide the lubricity you need for comfortable playtime.

The downside of water-based lubes is that they are water-based, which means they tend to dry out quicker than other lube types. It also means that you will probably need to reapply them more often during longer sessions. As the water-based lube dries, its texture changes, becoming stickier. You can quickly fix this with a few drops of water from a glass nearby or with some saliva. Another thing to note is that you can’t use water-based lubes when you play in the shower, the bathtub, or the pool, as they will get washed away in moments.

Silicone-Based Lubes

The silicone-based lubes are based on silicone – a synthetic polymer consisting of silicone-oxygen units. These are thicker than water-based lubes, and they may feel heavier, but these provide excellent lubricity and allow smoother penetration by significantly reducing friction.

Quality silicone-based lubes are made with high-end ingredients that are body-safe and are designed not to irritate the skin. Most of these are hypoallergenic and are designed not to react with the skin or with most sex toy materials. Also, it is relatively easy to wash the silicone lubes from the skin and sheets, and they won’t leave stains. However, it is possible for silicone-based lubes to leave a residue on some clothes and sheets, so we suggest you place a towel underneath you when you play.

A key thing to note about silicone-based lubes is that they are waterproof, so you can use them when you play in the shower, bathtub, or pool. Also, these don’t dry out as quickly as water-based lubes, but they retain their lubricity for much longer, and you don’t need to reapply them during play.

Silicone-based lubes are compatible with most condom types, but unfortunately, these are incompatible with silicone toys. Because silicone-based lubes and silicone toys are both made from silicone blends, the two can interact, which is why you should never use silicone-based lube with your silicone toys.

We must note that most silicone-based lubes are not pH neutral; using these for penetrative sex may increase the probability of getting a yeast infection, a UTI, or an STI. When you initially apply the silicone lubes, you may find these too sticky and heavy; some people have reported that they feel like they have a coating on their skin and need to thoroughly wash them after play. We need to remind you that silicone-based lubes are not recommended for oral sex, as these are not tested for ingestion.

Hybrid Lubes

The hybrid lubes are a blend of water-based and silicone-based lubes; the idea is to utilize the properties of both types of lubes. This way, you are getting the longevity of silicone-based lubes with the body-safety of water-based lubes. These last longer, are easier to wash off skin and sheets, and you don’t need to reapply them as often.

However, these are not lab-certified, which is why we urge you to be careful and handle these with care. Also, while you can use some of these with silicone toys, please be careful and check the labels on the bottles, and don’t combine these with condoms, just to be on the safe side.

Oil-Based Lubes

As the name says, oil-based lubes are based on oils; basically, these are various body-safe oils you can use as personal lubricants. Most of these are body-safe and provide good lubricity that helps you enhance sexual playtime. Some of the oils you can use as sex lubes are coconut oil, olive oil, or any other edible oil. Please note that you can’t use oil-based lubes with most sex toys, as these can deteriorate their surface, especially with TPE, TPR, Cyberskin, or jelly toys.

We must note that oil lubes are not recommended for vaginal play, as these are not pH balanced, which may harm the natural vaginal balance and cause yeast infections, UTIs, and STIs. Also, you can’t wash the oil-based lubes from the skin easily, as these leave an oily residue on the skin, and they definitely stain sheets, clothes, and furniture.

Lube & Sex Toys

We touched upon using lube with different sex toys, so please check out our blog, where we cover all essential aspects of choosing and using different sex toys, and here we explain how different sex toy materials pair with the different lube types:

• Water-based lube pairs with all sex toy materials; you can use it with silicone, PVC, TPE, TPR, wooden, metal, glass, and even marble sex toys.
• Silicone-based lube pairs only with metal, glass, PVC, wooden, and marble sex toys and should never be used with silicone, TPE, or TPR sex toys.
• Oil-based lubes are not a good choice for sex toys, except for glass and metal sex toys, as they can degrade the polymer materials.

Lube Ingredients to Avoid

Because not all lubes are created equal, and these are not in a regulated or certified field, manufacturers don’t have to follow strict standards. That is why there are so many different choices regarding texture, scent, flavors, and other features of sex lubes. The lack of standardization also increases the possibility of some lubes containing harmful chemicals, which is why we only carry products from reputable manufacturers. We urge you to check the safety of the products you use. Here we list the main irritating ingredients that can be found in some sex lubes:

• Glycerin – this compound is added to water-based lubes to make them ticker and help them retain moisture. However, some studies indicate that glycerin can damage the surface of the skin, making it prone to infections and rashes. These also found that glycerin can disturb the natural balance in the vagina.
• Propylene glycol – very similar to glycerin, propylene glycol, or PG, as it is often listed on the ingredients list, can have adverse effects on the vaginal tissue. It is a slight allergen compound that can cause skin irritation and rashes, so please try to avoid it as much as possible.
• Petroleum – commonly found in oil-based lubes, this is the base of petroleum jelly or Vaseline. While this is a highly lubricating compound, it can weaken condoms and have adverse effects on silicone and TPE/TPR sex toys. Lubes with petroleum can also increase the susceptibility to bacterial vaginosis.
• Nonoxynol-9 – this ingredient is advertised as a spermicide and is often added to lubes. But this can also have adverse effects on sperm mobility and is linked to decreased fertility. Also, nonoxynol-9 can cause vaginal irritations and can increase the risk of yeast infection.
• Chlorhexidine gluconate – this ingredient is found in some sex lubes, but it is linked to damage to healthy cells, which can increase the risk of bacterial infections and yeast infections.

A healthy vagina has a pH level of 3.5 to 4.5, so the sex lubes you use should have a pH in this range. Check this on the tube, and if it is not listed, you can get litmus strips from any pharmacy and test it for yourself.

Final Thoughts

Personal lubes are an integral part of sexual play, and they do much more good than bad. It does not matter the type of sex play you engage in, and lube will always make sex better. Please follow our guidelines on combining the suitable lube with the adequate sex toy material, and make sure you choose a lube that works best for your skin.

Before we let you go, we must note that no lube can protect you from an STD or unwanted pregnancy, so you must use appropriate contraceptives. If you use condoms, make sure you use lube that won’t deteriorate the condom. Check out our sex toy store, where we carry an excellent selection of sex lubes, massage oils, and other essentials you need for better sex.