I review sex toys for sextoy.com. You can find Water Slide and other lubricants on their site.
I’ve always been a bit of a lube snob, disdaining almost anything you can buy in your grocery store’s condom aisle (though Noelle tells me she just found Wet Platinum at HEB). There’s good reason to be picky, because many lubes contain dangerous ingredients including sugar-like substances such as glycerine that are likely to cause yeast infections. But a good lube makes sex feel so much better, aiding with all kinds of activities from masturbation to the use of vibrators. In 2011 I made it my goal to review as many lubes as possible along side my normal sex toy reviews.
Last week I reviewed Aloe Cadabra, a lube which was advertised as “natural” but turned out to contain an extra scent (vanilla essential oil) and among other potentially harmful ingredients. Since that lube was a painful and expensive disappointment, I thought I’d choose another lube with “natural” ingredients, but one which has turned out to be a fun, rewarding addition to my sex life.
Water Slide is from Earthly Body, a company which specializes in skin and hair care products. As always, we’re going to take a look at the ingredients list, but in this case it’s refreshingly short and simple:
- Purified Water. This is a water-based lube, and therefore safe with all condoms and sex toys including silicone.
- Propanediol, which is described as “natural humectant.” This chemical is probably propylene glycol, which is considered harmless except in very large quantities, though it can cause irritation in some, and according to wikipedia should be avoided if you already have a yeast infection.
- Carrageenan, essentially seaweed, a slippery substance which some studies have shown may actually help prevent STD transmission.
As always, I recommend you use your judgment. Experimentation may be required to determine which substances work best for you, and research needed to decide what you consider “safe,” but this is a much shorter ingredients list than I’ve found in almost any lube.
I’ve had this lube in my collection for a about a month now, and I’ve slowly been adding it into my normal use. I’ve played with it for masturbation and found it to have an enjoyably slick texture that stays wet longer than some other water-based lubes, though I have still found a need to reapply sometimes.
Where this lube seems to really excel is in enhancing a woman’s natural lubrication. I’ve tried this lube with pet when using her kegel beads. It made them easy to insert but we had to be careful not to use too much, if she wanted them to stay in. I brought this lube out the other night when two of my female lovers, Honey J and Grace, were paying a visit to my bedroom. We reapplied a few times during an extended session of play and mutual pleasure. It kept things slippery, but when I went down on both of them I was still left with just their natural flavors. Water Slide is very faintly sweet to the tongue, but otherwise tasteless. On another visit with Grace she told me the lube worked well, it was not irritating and helped her get through the initial dryness she sometimes feels until her own natural lubrication takes over.
Water Slide is a slippery, fun lube which I recommend unless you have a known issue with it’s ingredients. It’s probably not my first choice for anal play or masturbation, though it is not terrible for either. I especially recommend it for fingering, or for sex toys, play or penetration of any kind with female genitalia.
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Disclaimer: I am not paid for these reviews (unless your purchase something via an affiliate link) but I am given free products in return for my honest opinion.
