Lubricants
Selecting an anal lubricant
Getting enough slip to slide.
Got the green light to go for it? Looking to explore on your own? One way or another you’ve taken a step into the hidden gem of anal play and you’re getting your tools together. Exactly what tools you decide to use and how you use them will greatly affect how you utilize the greatest asset of anal play… Lubricant. Lubrication is essential to any anal experience, as our bodies don’t naturally create any form of it in the area. Friction and force can cause damage unchecked, so it’s best to keep the area as slick as possible. But with what?​
When to Use What: No matter how you go about anal play, lube is absolutely essential. But just what lubricant should you be using? Well, that depends. Whether or not toys are involved changes the criteria a lot. Toys are a very common addition with anal play and as such tend to be a good chunk of people's backdoor action. Others might want to explore with fingers, a partner's penis, or activities like fisting. The lubricants you can use with each situation goes as such;​​
Silicone, Oils, and Hybrids: These lubricants can be a fantastic choice for anal due to their tenacity and ability to stick around longer than water based lubes. After all, the less a lube absorbs, the less reapplication you should have to do.
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However, due to the way these lubricants interact with toy materials, they can only be used with certain ones. If you’d like to learn more about the science of what and why, check out our Learning Center entries on Lubricants. In general these lubricants are safe for: Metal, Glass, ABS Plastics, and Toyless Play, as it won’t break those materials down. If you have no intent of using toys in this sexy equation, you’re good to go with these lubes. Generally, we recommend not using silicone lube with silicone toys due to sciency things. However there can be rare exceptions. Always ask a professional if possible, or test the toy and lubricant in question on a spot that will never see internal use (such as the bottom of a suction cup or the handle).​​
Water based: A fantastic choice for anything and everything. Water based is the safe go to for any toy, and is tried and true for penetration as well. The only drawback with water based is that it evaporates and absorbs easily and might need a bit more reapplication. Luckily you’re not the only one thinking about anal. A lot of manufacturers have developed specific water based anal lubricants that are thicker than the original recipe. The thicker the lube the longer it will stick around. Because of this, water based lubricants tend to work best for anal penetration when they are of a gel consistency. Some even come with relaxants to help your body ease into the experience, which can be incredibly helpful.​​
Now that you’ve got an idea of which lubricant fits your unique desires, just know; you will be using a lot. Feel no shame in dumping on more and more of whatever slick substance you decided was right for you. There’s no point in playing around down there if you’re not having a good time. It has to feel good, too. In that respect we should touch on one more thing. You need to be able to feel it.​
Anal is a very body responsive experience. You need to listen to what your body is telling you loud and clear. Because of this, we never recommend using any lubricant that numbs the area. If something's going wrong you need to know. Even if the discomfort is bad in the moment, it’s there for a reason. In the end it’s better to feel it and react accordingly than to keep doing something harmful by accident.
Since the backdoor is quite resilient (ex: the stuff already inside it), you can bet it’s just as accepting of any lubricant you’d put up there. That said, you should never find your choice of lubricant causing discomfort. If you have any concerns, discontinue its use and look into reasons why or alternatives. Otherwise, grab your new tools and gear up. It’s time to pioneer a hole… new world.