Let's clear up the silicone lube question once and for all!
I love lube! I absolutely love lube! Some people love golf, or model trains, or cars, with me, it's lube. I know it's weird but it's my thing. I find lubricants fascinating and I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading about them, buying them, trying them out, and studying them. Lubes are fun and they are all very different. With everything I know about lube, I find there's still more to know. And because I am so passionate about personal lubricants, it pisses me off when people dis a lube that I love.
The 'other' sex toys shops in my city seem to love to tell people that Silicone-based lubricants and not condom-safe and should not be used internally. They tell people that silicone lubes are made only for massage and hand jobs. Let's be clear about this. This is not, I repeat, NOT TRUE!
And here are the many reasons why silicone lubes are safe and actually better, in most cases, than water-based lubes:
1. the three types of silicone used in lubes, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, and Cyclomethicone, are completely inert. That means that they will not bind to anything, including bacteria or fungus. Therefore they do not promote bacterial growth. Some of the additives in water-based lubes, and some of the oils in oil-based lubes can promote bacterial growth.
2. silicone lubricants are much less likely to drastically change the PH level of the vaginal enviroment - other types of lubes can do this which can potentially lead to infections and can interfere with conception
3. although silicone lube does not wash off with water, there is no causes for concern with that inside the body because while it remains in the body, it is inert, not causes irritation or infection, and then is naturally flushed from the vagina as are other foreign substances
4. women experience all kinds of microscopic damage and trauma to vaginal tissues during sex. Those small tears and irritations can create openings for viruses that live in the bloodstream, such as HIV. A personal lubricant helps to reduce the friction and therefore the amount of damage. Silicone lubricants are even more smooth and slippery than other lubes and are thus even better at this.
5. Because silicone lubricants do not wash off in water, they are perfect for play in the shower or other wet environments.
6. Silicone lubricants are not thick and sticky and so they don't leave that awful gunky I-must-shower-right-now feeling after sex.
7. silicone stays on the surface of the skin for a long time which makes it the perfect handjob lube - ever so much better than the Jergens which has to be constantly reapplied, truly ruining the mood!
8. silicone lubes are super-slippery so, as Cory Silverberg write on about.com, "If you live in an area where there is snow in the winter, silicone based lube is great for putting on the bottom of a sled or toboggan and going down hills!" They are also great on a slip-and-slide.
Silicone lubricants are used by many manufacturers of lubricated condoms, so the claim that they are not condom-safe makes no sense at all. Really, the only danger you're likely to face from a silicone lube is slipping in it and cracking your head open on your bathroom counter.
For more info., check out these links:
http://tantusinc.com/content/silicone-lubricant-vote-safer-alternative
http://sexuality.about.com/od/sextoybuyingquicktips/a/silicone_lubric.htm
The 'other' sex toys shops in my city seem to love to tell people that Silicone-based lubricants and not condom-safe and should not be used internally. They tell people that silicone lubes are made only for massage and hand jobs. Let's be clear about this. This is not, I repeat, NOT TRUE!
And here are the many reasons why silicone lubes are safe and actually better, in most cases, than water-based lubes:
1. the three types of silicone used in lubes, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, and Cyclomethicone, are completely inert. That means that they will not bind to anything, including bacteria or fungus. Therefore they do not promote bacterial growth. Some of the additives in water-based lubes, and some of the oils in oil-based lubes can promote bacterial growth.
2. silicone lubricants are much less likely to drastically change the PH level of the vaginal enviroment - other types of lubes can do this which can potentially lead to infections and can interfere with conception
3. although silicone lube does not wash off with water, there is no causes for concern with that inside the body because while it remains in the body, it is inert, not causes irritation or infection, and then is naturally flushed from the vagina as are other foreign substances
4. women experience all kinds of microscopic damage and trauma to vaginal tissues during sex. Those small tears and irritations can create openings for viruses that live in the bloodstream, such as HIV. A personal lubricant helps to reduce the friction and therefore the amount of damage. Silicone lubricants are even more smooth and slippery than other lubes and are thus even better at this.
5. Because silicone lubricants do not wash off in water, they are perfect for play in the shower or other wet environments.
6. Silicone lubricants are not thick and sticky and so they don't leave that awful gunky I-must-shower-right-now feeling after sex.
7. silicone stays on the surface of the skin for a long time which makes it the perfect handjob lube - ever so much better than the Jergens which has to be constantly reapplied, truly ruining the mood!
8. silicone lubes are super-slippery so, as Cory Silverberg write on about.com, "If you live in an area where there is snow in the winter, silicone based lube is great for putting on the bottom of a sled or toboggan and going down hills!" They are also great on a slip-and-slide.
Silicone lubricants are used by many manufacturers of lubricated condoms, so the claim that they are not condom-safe makes no sense at all. Really, the only danger you're likely to face from a silicone lube is slipping in it and cracking your head open on your bathroom counter.
For more info., check out these links:
http://tantusinc.com/content/silicone-lubricant-vote-safer-alternative
http://sexuality.about.com/od/sextoybuyingquicktips/a/silicone_lubric.htm