You’re sticking these things in your most vulnerable areas. Shouldn’t you have an idea of just what your adult toys are made of? Let me guide you through pretty much every material known to (wo)man. This will help you to make the best toy selections for your needs. This guide doesn’t cover sex toy care - I’ll be writing up a separate article on that. I’ll start off with some of the most common materials and move down to the obscure stuff. I’ll try to include as many alternate names as I can think of. Remember though, that there’s some really weird brand names out there.

Silicone (soft to hard, expensive) - This is a high quality material that you see in a ton of toys. It’s very adaptable to nearly any application which makes it a joy to design with. Other than the luxury toy materials, silicone is going to be the most expensive option for sex toy materials. Why is this? It’s simple - you’re paying for quality. Here’s a quick run down of what makes silicone toys so nice:

• Easy to care for
• Hypoallergenic
• Holds body heat
• Non porous
• Long lasting
• Majority are hand crafted - it’s difficult to mass produce silicone

The one thing that you’ll have to avoid is silicone based lubricant. Use water based lube for your silicone toys. If you don’t, you run the risk of breaking the toy down. That isn’t entirely a proven statement (there have been tests and articles to the contrary, but then again it’s better to be safe than sorry). The highest grade silicone is 100% food or medical silicone - this is the stuff you want to use. Make sure to check on the kind of silicone - the sex toy industry isn’t very regulated (since most are marketed as novelties) and someone can claim they have a silicone toy when it only contains 10% of the material. If you’re looking for a long term sex toy investment, silicone is what you want to go with.

Jelly (soft, inexpensive)- This material is typically polyvinyl chloride and rubber combined. At times latex is also used in the mixture. While the material is commonly used, it contains phthalates - a rubber softener chemical that has been getting some bad press lately. There isn’t near enough research conducted at this point to say what’s going on with it either way though. Jelly material is popular because it’s soft, flexible, and very easy to work with and mass product. It is also quite inexpensive. Unfortunately this type of toy is not very durable. You can treat it like a queen and it will still end up breaking down in a year. That shouldn’t be too much of an issue considering the cost, however. This material is porous so you will want to make sure that it is cleaned thoroughly. You don’t want to have any bacteria growing on the toy! As far as lubrication goes, you will need to stay away from silicone based lubes - that will break down this material extremely quickly. That’s not even in question as it is for silicone toys.

Elastomer (soft, mid range) - Is set to eventually replace jelly sex toys. It is phthalates free (whew) and a bit more expensive than jelly. Not really enough to notice, though. It is a porous material so make sure to keep it clean.

Metals (Steel, titanium, etc) (hard, expensive) - You see this toy material come up a lot when you’re in BDSM circles. It’s great for holding temperatures, non porous, and extremely easy to care for. The other thing is that it is amazing for transmitting vibrations. The hardness helps you to feel every last little bit. One thing to keep in mind is to try and stay away from softer metals (such as gold) unless they are strengthened by an alloy. Not all metals are created equal, and you don’t want one that will break down extremely quickly.

Stone (hard, expensive)- This material is only used in higher end toys. It requires hand polishing and finishing so it is extremely expensive. It is non porous, holds heat and cold very nicely, and has a very smooth feel to it. It is also very easy to care for. The types of stones that I have seen used in sex toys are very hard, but if you are unsure of a material just look up the type of gemstone it is. There is a hardness scale that all stones are rated on called Moh’s Scale.

Glass (hard, expensive) - These toys are typically made out of Pyrex, an industrial grade type of glass. If you’re into the technical details, it’s a borosilicate glass It is incredibly durable - this isn’t glass that is prone to break, trust me. These toys all look absolutely beautiful. You’ll want to sit them out and have everyone take a peek. They are sleek, smooth, non porous, and will last you a lifetime. Care is also extremely simple for glass toys - hell you can throw them in the dishwasher if you want! Most glass toys are dildos, but I have seen a few glass vibrators kicking around. I’m actually surprised by that - the hardness of the material makes it very good for carrying vibrations. Acrylic and Lucite toys are also other names for glass sex toys.

Cyberskin (soft, expensive)- This type of material goes by many different brand names - cyberskin is only the most commonly known. All of the mixtures that go into making this extremely expensive, hyperrealistic material are both propriety and secret. There’s no way to tell for sure exactly what materials are being used. The basic compound is made up of silicone and plastic. There have been reports of phthalates being used as a softener. Just be careful! While it does feel incredibly real, it is also incredibly hard to care for. It is the most porous type of toy you can have so you need to keep them clean after use. Because the toy contains silicone, you will need to avoid silicone based lubrication. Stick with water based, instead. There is a type of sex toy material that retains the feel of cyberskin with all the benefits of silicone - it’s called Vix Skin.

Plastic (hard, inexpensive)- You might not think plastic is very good for sex toys. You’d be wrong. In addition to “personal massagers” that are not intended to be inserted, hard plastic is amazing for stimulators and vibrators. This isn’t for thrusting - it’s for relaxing and letting the vibrations bring you to ecstasy. The plastic is a perfect transmitter for letting the vibrations go across the entire toy - and transmit right to you. This material is also super easy to care for as well as non porous. Not many people have allergic reactions to the material either.

Wood (hard, expensive) - It was only a matter of time before someone decided to give a new meaning to ‘tree hugging.” There is only one crafter of wooden sex toys that I know of, and all of the toys are made of high quality hard woods. The material is smooth, holds body heat well, and is non porous. It is a bit more complicated to care for a wooden toy than it is many others, but it is definitely worth it.

Vinyl (soft, mid range) - This is a semi porous material. It’s been described as being in between silicone and jelly for both price and durability. It is a harder material that still has some give to it. It is very easy to care for - you can stick it on the dishwashing rack right next to the glass toys. It’s obviously a hit with the BDSM crowd since it matches with their vinyl clothing. Keep it all material coordinated!

Latex Rubber (hard, inexpensive) - This is simply the most common sex toy material around. It’s a harder material than most, although it does have some flexibility to it. It’s not very durable and the material is incredibly porous, making for a clean up hell. However, it’s also the bargain bin of sex toy materials. If you need a quick, cheap toy fix you’ll find it here. Many people have an allergic reaction to latex though, so make sure you ask before you get hot and heavy whether it’s okay to use them. You can also try to use synethic latex toys (it should say on the packaging). New innovations are being developed all the time - this list is as comprehensive as it can get without being able to predict the future. Expect a feature article on sex toy care soon!

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 4th, 2007 at 1:33 am and is filed under Sex Toy Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.