Personal lubricant

Personal lubricants are used on or around the human body to reduce friction, particularly during intimate sexual acts, but also for medical treatments and procedures.

Types

Water-based

Water-based personal lubricants are water-soluble, and are generally the type which is least irritating to body surfaces. They do have a tendency to dry out during use, but application of additional water is sufficient to re-activate them. These properties lead to their frequent use for sexual activity.

Popular brands include:

• K-Y Jelly
• Astroglide

Petroleum jelly

Petroleum jelly has long been used for medical procedures. Begin oil-based, it does not react with body fluids in the same way as water-based products, making it longer lasting, though it is somewhat less lubricating. Petroleum jelly is sometimes used as a lubricant for anal sex. Although petroleum jelly is inexpensive and readily available, it can often be very difficult to clean off the body after sexual activity, due to the fact that it is not water soluble.

Popular brands include:

• Vaseline

Silicon-based

Silicon-based brands tend to retain lubrication longer than water-based lubricants.

Popular brands include:

• Eros

Uses

Sexual

A sexual lubricant (or masturbation lubricant) is a used to increase pleasure or reduce pain during sexual activity and may be used for lubricating the penis or dildo and/or the vagina or anus before sexual intercourse.

Intercourse

Personal lubricants make bearable and even pleasurable acts that would otherwise be painful, such as anal sex or vaginal intercourse when the woman experiences vaginal dryness or her vagina is contracted. It is generally sufficient to apply a good drop of gel on the vaginal entrance; anal sex may require a more generous application. There are also available combinations of personal lubricants with spermicides, to be injected into the vagina prior to intercourse.

Masturbation

Males and females masturbate differently. While males do produce a lubricating fluid (Cowper's fluid), the informal name for this fluid, "precum", already indicates that this may often be released only relatively shortly before orgasm or after intense mental stimulation. Moreover, the circumcised penis lacks the little amount of extra lubrication produced by the foreskin, often making artificical lubrication necessary for starting masturbation. For uncircumcised males, lubrication is usually desirable mainly for extra stimulation and to allow more intense stroking of the penis. A lubricant may be used to facilitate the use of certain sex toys, or with females as part of prolonged clitoral stimulation.

Concerns

• Water-based lubricants are incompatible with underwater sex as they can be dissolved or dispersed in water.
• Silicone-based lubricants are incompatible with, and may cause damage to, silicone-based sex toys.
• Oil-based lubricants such as Vaseline weaken latex and may reduce the effectiveness of latex condoms as a contraceptive and protection against sexually-transmitted diseases. Water-based personal lubricants may be used with latex condoms, instead.

Alternatives

Other substances improvised as sexual lubricants:

• moisturizing body lotion
• saliva
• cooking oils
• egg white
• fruit pulp and other foods

Medicinal

Any type of personal lubricant can be used for:

• gynecological examinations
• digital rectal examinations
• enema nozzles
• rectal thermometers

Petroleum jelly in particular can be used as a treatment for:

• dry hands or skin
• chapped lips
• toenail fungus

Homemade lubricant

Ingredients

(available from any pharmacy)

• 90 ml distilled water
• 10 g Glycerol 85% (commercially-available glycerin)
• 2.5 g Hydroxyethylcellulose
• 0.1 g Sorbic acid
• 0.1 g Potassium sorbate

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Cooking pot
• Electric mixer
• Scale
• Thermometer
• Storgage container for the finished lubricant

Preparation

1. Sterilize mixer beaters, mixing bowl, and pot with boiling water.
2. Boil distilled water in cooking pot for at least 5 minutes, to a temperature of approximately 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit).
3. Place glycerin in mixing bowl and beat in Hydroxyethylcellulose.
4. Dissolve sorbic acid and potassium sorbate into heated distilled water.
5. Mix heated water mixture into Glycerin mixture, beating constantly.
6. Refrigerate mixture for 24 hours.
7. Beat mixture well, and pour into container.

The sorbic acid and potassium sorbate are preservatives which may be omitted if the user is allergic to them. However, doing so will reduce the shelf life of the lubricant from six months down to one or two months. It is generally recommended to keep it refrigerated.

Recipe makes 100g (~4 oz.) of lubricant. Note: It may be advisable to triple or quadruple the recipe above, as the quantites given here are so small as to make mixing difficult.