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15thJune, 2008 : All You Need to Know About Vaginal Lubricants

When it comes to vaginal lubricants, there are a plethora of options to choose from. The first thing you need to figure out before you make your decision is what you need vaginal lubricants for in the first place. You may need them for everyday comfort (often times, women naturally dry out on their own. This is particularly true of women entering the menopause phase of life), or you might need them to increase sexual pleasure. Whatever your reason for needing vaginal lubricants, there are some things that you need to consider.

For everyday comfort purposes, there are lots of solid brands within the feminine hygiene industry that make vaginal lubricants. To find out which one is right for you, the only way to go is trial and error. Some everyday vaginal lubricants may be too greasy for you, while you may find that your skin absorbs others too quickly. Test out several of them until you find the brand of vaginal lubricants that works best for you.

As far as vaginal lubricants for sexual purposes go, there are even more options available than there are for everyday purposes. These all have either a silicone, oil or water base, and which one works best for you is really just a matter of personal preference. However, you should probably avoid all oil-based vaginal lubricants, for several reasons.

First, the oil in oil-based vaginal lubricants has a tendency to break down latex and other types of rubber. This means that the likelihood of a condom breaking during sex is greatly increased with oil-based vaginal lubricants. Furthermore, the oil can break down other forms of contraception as well, including diaphragms and cervical caps.

As if an increased risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are not enough to keep you away from all oil-based vaginal lubricants, they can also promote bacterial infections. This is because oil-based vaginal lubricants tend to leave a thin film on the skin, which can irritate it over time and cause tiny lesions to occur. Since the genitals are usually warm and wet, this results in the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. All in all, oil-based is just something you want to avoid.

On the other hand, water and silicone based vaginal lubricants are effective and very safe. There are no weird chemical reactions that will come out of their use, and they can even help prevent condoms from tearing.