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sex education
SEX EDUCATION ARTICLES
Written by:
Metis Black
Tantus Silicone
Phone: 619.426.6400
Fax: 619.426.6401
Email: metis@tantusinc.com
www.tantusinc.com
© 2009
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Silicone Lubricant: A Vote for a Safer Alternative
I have a passion for the adult industry- I think we do a public service by making and selling products that improve people's lives. Nowhere is that more apparent than our making and marketing personal lubricants.
I remember when personal lube choices were limited. It was a choice between KY Jelly (never made for the friction of sex, it became gummy and made rubber cement like balls all over you) and Crisco (rancid sheets and bacterial infections).
Lubes have definitely come a long way. I walked one distributor's hallowed isles of lubricant last year- 3 full long isles, with both sides completely packed.
Not all lubes are equal though. After researching ingredients such as glycerin, parabens and propylene glycol (the mainstays of most water-based lubricants and all of which irritate some people), I came to realize the complexity of making good lubricant; lubricant that stays slick and slippery for extended encounters, that worked with the body and didn't affect the body negatively.
The simplicity of silicone's three ingredients won me over: Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, and Cyclomethicone.
But what's a silicone toy maker doing writing about silicone lube?
Silicone lubricant is the smartest health safe option in the market. There are no topical body reactions to pure silicone lube. There are no irritations, no allergens and no microbes that can attach to the molecules and grow bacteria. It's been around for 20 years as the lubrication on your pre-lubricated condoms. Still there are a lot of misnomers about these products. Hopefully I can give you a few answers for the questions that are asked daily.
Aren't silicone lubricants and silicone toys incompatible? Well yes and no. Depending on the grade of silicone lubricant used and the grade of silicone used in the toys, there is a chance that the lubricant will bond to the toy, creating a gummy mess. Tantus uses platinum grade silicone, so we rarely have a problem with any lubricant; I still recommend people do patch tests on the bottom flange of their dildo to make certain there will be no reaction. The bonding is an immediate chemical reaction and it's impossible to clean a toy that has lube bonded to it.
Silicone lubricant doesn't wash off; that can't be good for you. 100% silicone lubricant with no aloe and no vitamin E or any other fillers, is completely inert. It has no affect upon the body. We use personal lubricants in vaginal and anal orifices, which are made for ridding the body of extra waste. The silicone will quickly be eliminated by the body's own natural methods. I always want to ask the critics that bring this point up: do you douche or have an enema after using water-based lubricant? If not, your body rids water-based lubes the same way.
How can silicone be so safe when leaking silicone breast implants can be fatal? Let me explain what happens regarding implants. Theoretically, silicone breast implants should be safe because the silicone gel encapsulated in the breast form is inert, right? Even when leaking, they shouldn't interfere with any of the body's chemistry. The problem is this: the loose silicone in your blood system while inert is still a foreign body. It isn't absorbed into your blood like saline. Your white blood cells recognize the silicone and try to fight this invader. If the silicone adheres to a bone, your white blood cells attack the bone. Silicone lubricant never hits your bloodstream. It's in your digestive tract and protected by skin no matter which orifice you put it in- even if you swallow a little. In fact many gel capsules you buy from the pharmacy are packed with silicone lubricant.
Silicone lubricant is so thin, is it safe for anal? Silicone molecules have a spherical shape. These microscopic spheres roll over each other like ball bearings. The lubrication is perfect for anal use, it's just very different from water-based ingredients or fatty oils. Using silicone lubricants anally reduces the need for reapplication.
There's a wide price gap for certain silicone lubes, are all silicone lubes the same? Health wise, as long as there are no additives, the answer is yes. But the viscosity of silicone lubricant, the thickness, changes from product to product.
Dimethicone is much denser than the other two silicones - it's also more expensive as a raw ingredient.
Silicone lubricants are more expensive because of the cost of these special liquids. But the premium grade ones, such as ID Velvet and Eros Pjur have a much more velvety finish than the other, less expensive silicones.
Try a rub test between your thumb and forefinger, you can feel the subtleties- you can feel them even more in use with toys or partners. I am a connoisseur- I love, and prefer, the richness of these premium lubes.
Our business is about improving people's quality of life, giving the public products to make their experiences safer and more satisfying. To use "novelty" regarding lubes is a misnomer; what they really are is "essential". Silicone lubricants not only raise the bar of intimacy products, they are the bench mark.
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