What's your favorite lube?

[lisas_touch]

We aren't sure how we ended up on the subject, but my friends and I ended up talking about personal lubricants today. We talked about what we used, what we had tried. What worked, what didn't. All of us had used at least one kind, others had tried several. Why one over the other?

So I'm wondering what everyone else's thoughts are? What have you tried that you liked and why? My friends and I have all used KY of some sort, and a couple have tried others. So, what do you recommend?

I'll start by saying I've tried several. I like Astroglide myself. Whether for m/f sex or with my toys. Seems smoother to me and isn't so sticky. I also like the KY silk for sex, doesn't seem to last as long with toys. I have one for use with my silicone vibe, but I can't remember it's name - it's in a clear bottle with a pink top. Got it at an adult store cause it was safe with silicone toys.

Thanks for any feedback. I hope this helps others as well as me.

-Lisa

 

[popcorn2721]

We like ID personal lube, its great... and will last a long time. The silicon version works very well, but Im not crazy about rubbing my inner parts down with that synthetic stuff. Also, Ive had great luck with olive oil. It works extremely well for anal and we have used it for vaginal as well. To me, anyways it seems like the kinda sex one is having makes a difference...So I guess the big question is, what kinda sex are you having?

 

[SweetErika]

We use silicone lube (ID Millenium, specifically, just because I was able to get 16 ounce bottles for $20) for everything except toys that contain silicone IF we don't use condoms on them, which makes them silicone-lube compatible.

On the rare occasions we're forced to use a water-based lube, we usually use Wet Original, ID Glide or Probe because I haven't found them to contain enough glycerin and other junk to promote infection, like Astroglide and KY products do (no infections is just one of the many reasons I love silicone so much!).

You don't need a special lube for silicone toys - any water-based lube (e.g. Astroglide, Wet, ID glide, even the yuck and ineffectiveness that is KY Jelly [which is so ineffective because it's not a sexual/personal lube, BTW - it's designed for one-time insertion for medical procedures]) will be compatible with ANY type of toy. I think it's a shame the adult store staff didn't tell you that. I know they want to make as much money as possible, but I'd think they'd feel a responsibility to be honest and educate their customers about toy use and care. A few bucks can't be worth the loss of a loyal customer who feels deceived when they learn they didn't need a special lube or toy cleaner.

Even oil-based lube, like pure olive or coconut oil, will work fine on pure silicone toys (all bets are off when they contain rubber and other materials, so make sure the toy isn't just labeled "silicone" like many are). However, many oils are incompatible with the vagina, so you want to make sure you're not using something that will screw up its natural cleansing mechanism, balance or feed bacteria. Petroleum products like Vaseline and mineral/baby oil are NEVER a wise idea.

Medical grade silicone toys actually aren't harmed by silicone lube, either, but you should only try that if you KNOW the toy is that type of silicone and/or the manufacturer says it's silicone lube compatible.

 

[brightondream]

Personally I like the astroglide and other top-shelf lubes. But the cost is so outrageous. May I suggest one that has been around a long long time.
Corn Huskers Lotion. Purchased at any grocery/drug store, it is only $3.00 or so and if you mix it with about 25% water; it makes for a very good lube that we have used in all of our orifices. There is a faint odor, but one gets used to that after awhile.
This lotion has been around for decades and used a lot in the Mid-West to soothe the dry hands of farmers and such.
Well that's my 2 cents worth.

 

[SweetErika]

Personally I like the astroglide and other top-shelf lubes. But the cost is so outrageous. May I suggest one that has been around a long long time.
Corn Huskers Lotion. Purchased at any grocery/drug store, it is only $3.00 or so and if you mix it with about 25% water; it makes for a very good lube that we have used in all of our orifices. There is a faint odor, but one gets used to that after awhile.
This lotion has been around for decades and used a lot in the Mid-West to soothe the dry hands of farmers and such.
Well that's my 2 cents worth.

Astroglide is a "top-shelf" lube?

I'd think the premium specialty brands that feel really good and use natural ingredients, and silicone lubes are more likely to be considered high quality, but everyone has a different threshold.

The cornhuskers stuff looks great as a HAND lotion. I think I'm going to pick some up online. Here are the ingredients, courtesy of Drugstore.com and Pfizer:
Water, Glycerin, SD Alcohol 40, Sodium Calcium Alginate, Oleyl Sarcosin, Methylparaben, Guar Gum, Triethanolamine, Calcium Sulfate, Fragrance, Calcium Chloride, Fumaric Acid, Boric Acid

I don't know what some of those are, but that much alcohol would be problematic for my pussy, and I'm not about to put Boric Acid and fragranced products in my pussy or ass.

 

[BosozokuX]

Personally, after alot of experminting and having acess to everything under the sun after a stint working in a porn store, we settled on ID Glide. Water based, lasts a long time, no odor, easy to clean up.

We found out that silicone based lubes are a PAIN to clean up...

 

[photo_chick]

Might I recommend

http://www.lavenderlane.com/store/default.asp?type=Retail&parentid=10928

You can buy large quantities of very pure natural oils, if you're interested. A gallon of grapeseed, coconut, sweet almond, etc. all run right around $30. You can buy smaller quantities as well.

 

[Guest]

Might I recommend

http://www.lavenderlane.com/store/default.asp?type=Retail&parentid=10928

You can buy large quantities of very pure natural oils, if you're interested. A gallon of grapeseed, coconut, sweet almond, etc. all run right around $30. You can buy smaller quantities as well.

uh, sorry.

Vaginas don't like scented stuff. Butts should see no oil at all... the skin however

Maharat

 

[photo_chick]

Uh ... if you actually go look at the site, none of the carrier oils are scented.

They are pure natural oils. Perfectly acceptable for pussy or ass use.

 

[midwicket]

------- Saliva, or if artificial then SYLK

 

[Chicago69]

ID Glide. Feels great, it's water based, and easy to clean. Works with all toys and can even be used to give a massage if you run out of babyoil.

 

[dlj403]

Astroglide

 

[koalabear]

Karma Sutra Chocolate......now pussy cums in my favorite flavor.

 

[KokopelliRises]

Personally I'm fond of Pjur silicone lube, the plain stuff, not the stuff specifically for women (what's the difference anyway?). As for water-based (I have silicone toys I love very much) I have tried a couple kinds and I've found JO System plain lube works wonderfully (it might be specially designed for women, I don't remember exactly).

 

[PertPerth]

I'm not a toy fan, so any silicone lube is my choice. I agree with KokopelliRises, the simple stuff. Added extra's just mean less fun for me.
Silicone lube might be a little more expensive, but you don't need to use as much, nor do you need to re-apply it as often. The only drawback is that I'm not a huge fan of the taste - but then I hate the taste of all the others (including flavoured) too!

 

[lisas_touch]

Thanks for everyone's response

Thanks for all the feedback everybody. I appreciate everyone's time for answering my question. And as always, thanks to SweetErika for her knowledgeable answers. If anyone deserves a PhD in all things sexual, she certainly does!

So is everyone trying these things because they heard it from a friend or they saw it on the shelf? I hadn't that about posting the question until just the other day, but I have gotten most of my info from friends and magazine articles. (Sorry, I work in the advertising world, and I'm just wired to think this way. I always want to know why someone choses one thing over the other.) When I became sexually active, there wasn't an internet yet, and KY was all you could buy, and that was before the days of self checkout! Now there are so many choices and I don't have to buy 12 other things to camouflage my personal lubricant purchase!

Thanks heavens for forums like this. And all of you who take the time to join in.

–Lisa

 

[Filly Gal]

Lisa, pm me sometime!!

 

[SamanthanLiam]

Ky Silk, Ky Natural, and Astroglide.

We have some of the tingling KY which feels really good for a good ol fashioned back massage!

 

[SweetErika]

Lisa, if you're going to buy a higher-end lube, like silicone, or something other than what you find in the drug/grocery store, you might want to buy online.

Once I know what I want to try (to get there, you can buy a selection of "sample" or "pillow packs" online to try, just like you can get sample packs of condoms) in a larger size, I google the name and do some price shopping. Buying online gives me a much better selection, the best prices, and I don't have to worry what people might think. I don't care if the person at the counter sees me buy sex supplies anyway, as I figure they probably envy me for having great sex, but if I did, I'd much prefer shopping in the privacy of my home.

Even sites like Amazon, eBay and Drugstore.com can have great prices on a variety of lubes.

I'd suggest checking out http://www.babeland.com/lotions-and-potions for info on the different types of lubes and to narrow it down to what you might want to try. Babeland has great info in general, and I've found the staff to be more concerned with educating people than making money. They research like crazy and warn us about products that could cause health problems (e.g. lubes w/ glycerine and harsh additives causing infections, chemicals in toys). I use Babeland as more of an educational resource than store because we still have to try to save money when possible, but it's one of the few companies I'm proud to support.

I'm not a toy fan, so any silicone lube is my choice. I agree with KokopelliRises, the simple stuff. Added extra's just mean less fun for me.
Silicone lube might be a little more expensive, but you don't need to use as much, nor do you need to re-apply it as often. The only drawback is that I'm not a huge fan of the taste - but then I hate the taste of all the others (including flavoured) too!

I couldn't agree more on the cost issue PertPerth. I was just lamenting on my inability to get a 16 oz. bottle of ID Millennium for $19.95, since the place I was buying it from realized they were selling it too cheaply! However, the last bottle made it for about 18 months, so even if it's $40 or so now, that's still a good deal since it really enhances our play and it's a multitasker (I even use it as a skin moisturizer, for massage and to combat period-related dryness).

What brand are you finding to have a bad taste? The only taste we've noticed with the ID is a slightly salty one. I'm sensitive to tastes and smells, but I find it to have so little taste and no smell to the point where I can put a drop on to moisturize my lips or even do oral with no problem if there's some residual lube.

We find just a tiny bit of silicone lube enhances oral for both of us; our lips and tongues glide over the bits more easily even if our mouths are a little dry or there's a lack of natural lube, that small reduction in friction makes oral feel better and the giver gets fatigued less quickly. The downside is that too much lube can reduce the friction enough to reduce pleasure; it's a fine balance and depends on how much saliva and natural lube is being produced on any given occasion, so we always start with a miniscule amount of lube and add more little by little, if necessary, once the natural lubrication situation becomes clear.

I don't get why some people say silicone is hard to clean up. We find it comes off with warm water and soap, which we're likely to use to clean up anyway. It's a silky-feeling moisturizer, though, so more often than not, I'll just rub whatever still might be on my hands on other parts of my body. We've never had it stain fabrics like oil - if a few drops gets on the sheets, it always comes right out in the wash.

 

[BlowTheseDice]

I'd have to say Astroglide is my favourite so far. Although there was a tester (hands only) I tried of JO, and I'm pretty sure my hand felt like silk for a good couple of hours. It's pretty expensive however.

 

[PertPerth]

SweetErika : Responding to taste : with the silicone it just taste greasy, so I guess it's more the texture/feel on my face which I don't really like. The flavoured ones I have tried tend to be really sweet which I find sickly-sweet. The usual water-based lube doesn't taste like anything.
Responding to getting the silicone out of sheets etc : Normal wash doesn't work for me, but a simple pre-wash remover did the trick. I'm guessing a hot wash would also help - but I use cold mostly.

 

[SweetErika]

SweetErika : Responding to taste : with the silicone it just taste greasy, so I guess it's more the texture/feel on my face which I don't really like. The flavoured ones I have tried tend to be really sweet which I find sickly-sweet. The usual water-based lube doesn't taste like anything.

That makes sense. It does feel like a light oil to me, and Hubby doesn't like that texture on his lips, either (sometimes I'll put a little on mine when they're getting dry from a lot of kissing). Then again, he doesn't really like lotion or anything on his face or lips, unless they're exceedingly dry.

I've never met a flavored lube I've liked. I suppose something with a natural mint or cinnamon flavor would be okay, but they're always so fake- smelling and tasting and disgustingly sweet, like you said.

Most water-based lubes taste sweet and unnatural to me due to the glycerine and additives/preservatives. They have a better texture than silicone on the lips/mouth, but I prefer the flavorless silicone overall.

Responding to getting the silicone out of sheets etc : Normal wash doesn't work for me, but a simple pre-wash remover did the trick. I'm guessing a hot wash would also help - but I use cold mostly.

Yeah, I usually wash our sheets in warm and use a stronger detergent, oxygen laundry booster or color safe bleach, and spot treat if I'm having trouble with it.

It may not be the easiest thing to clean up, but I just don't find silicone to be "a PAIN to clean up" as someone suggested. We clean ourselves and fabrics with soap and warm water, regardless of the lube we use. It might take 5-10 more seconds to get the silicone off, but that's not a big deal to me, and at least silicone can be left on the skin without feeling sticky and gross to us.

 

[johnnynice02]

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[BlueSugar]

We use silicone lube (ID Millenium, specifically, just because I was able to get 16 ounce bottles for $20) for everything except toys that contain silicone IF we don't use condoms on them, which makes them silicone-lube compatible.

If you love ID Mill, or Wet Plat, try using Pjur Silicone based, safe, luscious AND you can use it as a moisterizor AND a massage lotion ::nods:: awesome shit.


...even the yuck and ineffectiveness that is KY Jelly [which is so ineffective because it's not a sexual/personal lube, BTW - it's designed for one-time insertion for medical procedures]) will be compatible with ANY type of toy. I think it's a shame the adult store staff didn't tell you that. I know they want to make as much money as possible, but I'd think they'd feel a responsibility to be honest and educate their customers about toy use and care. A few bucks can't be worth the loss of a loyal customer who feels deceived when they learn they didn't need a special lube or toy cleaner.

I mention that I work in an adult store now? Anywhoot... yea, most are in it to make a buck, but then there are people like me who educate. First think I did was make a big stink about KY and Astroglide. I talk everyone who picks up a bottle, out of buying it / educating them all.


Medical grade silicone toys actually aren't harmed by silicone lube, either, but you should only try that if you KNOW the toy is that type of silicone and/or the manufacturer says it's silicone lube compatible.

Yeah, but sorting through the nonsense to get to the medical grade toys is a pain in the ass often - and usually the people behind the counter don't know either, too many of them will say anything. Stick with Silicone toy + Silicone Lube = No, formula and just be safe.
And yes, the toy cleaners in the store work - but you're better off using a mild antibacterial soap, or boiling (depending on the toy of course) your product. Don't clean them too harshly or they will fall apart, and sometimes the soap can sting naughty bits... moderation w/ soap is proper care, take the batteries out after each use, AND wrapping them in an old Tshirt before you put them away will increase the lifetime of your toy.


oh, and... I like Wet Platnum or the Pjur, but usually lube isn't an issue with me

 

[Mystique_Maven]

I have to swear by Sliquid personally...I haven't tried their whole product line, but Silk I love. It is water-based, toy-safe (works wonders with my Smartballs) and yeah....I'd recommend it to anyone I know

OH, the Swirl line (flavored) is SO SO tasty...I was impressed...