I tried to buy lube last weekend and there were like 6 kinds? What do I want to buy and is there a difference?

As far as what you want to buy, it all depends on what your plans are for the lubricant. People use lubricant, or lube, for personal dryness, to make sex easier or feel better, for sex toys, and to pleasure themselves.

There are two basic types of lubricant: water-based and silicone-based. Water based lubes, such as KY, ID and Wet, are usually clear, odorless, tasteless and won’t stain. The benefit of water-based is also its detractor: it will simply wear off after awhile, so you don’t really have to “clean up” too much after using it – but you will also eventually get dry if you are engaged in prolonged sexual activity. If your partner doesn’t exactly ‘last too long,’ then water-based lubes are fine.

Silicone is a synthetic substance that primarily has industrial uses. Don’t use silicone lubricant that isn’t designed for personal use – there are silicone lubes for skateboards, sewing machines, engines, and so on. These lubes are NOT designed to be put on your most private of areas, so don’t get cheap and try to raid the toolbox for a quick fix. Silicone-based lubes, such as Wet Platinum and ID millennium, are newer to the personal health market. Silicone-based lubes won’t wear off, so you won’t need to reapply, but you will need to wash with soap and water to get it off of you. Silicone lube doesn’t react with your body, and it’s not absorbed by the skin or digestive tract if you end up swallowing some. This type of lube is ideal for extended intercourse, as well as underwater sex; silicone lubes are also preferred by many for anal use. Using condoms, male or female, with either type of lube, will make the experience not only safer, but more pleasurable. A dry condom is likely to undergo more friction and tear, as is the fragile skin inside the vagina and anus, if exposed to prolonged, dry rubbing.

A lube that you plan on using with a latex, male condom needs to be water-based or silicone-based so it won’t damage the latex. This means you need to stick to the stuff that is specifically designed to be lube – no whipped cream or massage creams on the condom since the oil would break down the latex and put you at risk of pregnancy and infections. Also, sex toys can be made of a wide variety of materials, so it’s important to read any “instructions” that come with them to be sure of what is safe to use for lube, as well as how you should clean the toy between uses and/or partners. Putting a little lube inside the tip of a male condom will increase the sensation for the guy and won’t make it slide off – just don’t squirt half a bottle onto your penis and expect to be able to get any type of protection to unroll and stay on.

They also make lubricants now that give you a warm sensation from friction. This is really just a personal choice – do you want a warm sensation from the lube? Will it add to your experience or will it detract? If it sounds appealing to you, try it out and decide for yourself. There’s nothing harmful about this type of product; it’s personal preference.

Flavored lubes are a great novelty and have a great deal of appeal to people who wisely use condoms for oral sex. Latex isn’t exactly flavorful, but a little bit of chocolate lube might make the experience a bit tastier. Flavored lubes are not necessarily designed for vaginal or anal sex, so be sure to read the packaging to see if they can be used for any type of intercourse or if they are only designed for oral sex. While they are safe to eat, some of the flavorings may be irritating to the sensitive skin in the vagina, penis and anus.

Lubes that contain spermicide (nonoxynol-9) are fading from the market because it’s been found that the N-9 can cause irritation and tiny abrasions that make you more susceptible to getting a sexually transmitted infection, including HIV. Some forms of birth control, such as the diaphragm, require the use of a spermicidal jelly, so be sure to check with your health care provider if you are using a product that contains spermicide.

So try buying a small size of a couple of the different products and experiment to see what you prefer. Talk with friends about what they have used and liked. It’s your body, so figure out what makes it feel the best.

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