Lubricants
Compatibility
Three rules cover almost every case. The grid exists for the combinations that fall outside them.
The three rules are short. Oil destroys latex. Silicone lubricant can damage silicone objects. Water based works with everything. Almost every real situation is answered by one of those sentences, and the grid below covers the rest.
The grid
| Water based | Silicone | Hybrid | Oil | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silicone objects | Yes | No | Usually, test first | No |
| Glass and steel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ABS and rigid plastic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not advised |
| TPE and blends | Yes | No | Test first | No |
| Latex condoms | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Polyurethane condoms | Yes | Yes | Yes | Check the maker |
| Polyisoprene condoms | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Latex gloves and barriers | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
How to test a combination
- Clean and dry the object completely.
- Apply a small amount of the lubricant to the base or another area that is not used.
- Leave it in place for at least an hour, longer if the object is very soft.
- Wipe it off and feel the surface. Any tackiness, swelling or dulling means no.
Barriers as a shortcut
A condom placed over an object solves compatibility, cleaning and shared use in one move. It converts any surface, porous or not, into a disposable one, and it removes every lubricant restriction except the oil and latex rule. For anyone using a blend object, or sharing between partners, it is the single most effective habit available.
Barriers also make sense between different uses of the same object. Moving from anal to vaginal use without changing the barrier or washing thoroughly is the classic route to a urinary tract infection, which the anal safety page covers in more detail.
What the grid does not cover
Coated rigid plastics are the awkward case. A soft touch coating can be attacked by silicone and by oil, and there is no way to tell from the outside what the coating is. Water based is the safe answer there. Sealed wood is similar: the seal decides, and the seal is not visible.
Two formulas at once
Mixing a water based and a silicone formula in the same session is common and mostly harmless, provided the silicone formula never reaches a silicone object. In practice the two do not blend so much as sit in layers, and the result is usually slippery for longer than either alone.
What does not work is layering a fresh water based formula over a dried one. The thickener already on the surface is the cause of tackiness, and adding more of it makes a thicker tacky layer. Water is the answer there, as set out on the water based page.