Hey Dr Sue — What In-Home Lubrication Is The Best To Use For Sex?

Lube is definitely one of those things that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough! We often tell people to just use lubes but then don’t talk about what kind of lubes are available, and what the differences between them are.

Let me start by saying that there are a lot of products in your home that could theoretically be used as lube but absolutely shouldn’t be used as lubes!

First let’s go over the basics. There are essentially three different types of lubes: water-based, oil-based and silicone-based.

If you’re using a water-based lube you may need to reapply it depending on how long you need to use it for, and it’s not as thick as some of the other options. You also need to think about things like pH and osmolality. Using a lube that isn’t the right pH can lead to infections, damaged tissue and just overall discomfort.

One of the main issues is that the pH of the vagina is different from that of the rectum, so you may need different lubes for anal sex and for vaginal sex.

If you want to read more about the science of all this, check out my articles on lube pH and osmolality.

Oil-based lubes are thicker than water-based lubes, and you don’t need to worry about pH. But, they will break down latex and…