What Natural Ingredients Are The Safest For DIY Lube?
Some people can tolerate almost anything on their skin.
If you’re anything like me, however, you can’t reach for just anything in your pantry, even if it’s safe to eat and completely natural.
Personal lubricants come into contact with your most sensitive areas and as such, it’s important to be aware of what you should — and shouldn’t — use as a lube ingredient.
Let’s take a look at five common (and safe!) lubricant ingredients you likely have at home right now.
Aloe vera is very moisturizing, soothing, and great at healing sunburned skin, but it can also be an excellent option for lube.
Aloe is cheap and readily available, especially if you grow your own plants at home, and it’s also known to be calming and gentle on all skin types, provided you don’t have any allergies to latex, as aloe leaves contain natural latex.
Aloe vera has a pH of around 4.5, closely matching normal vaginal pH (3.8 to 4.5), so it makes a good choice for vaginal lube.
You can even use it to soothe vaginal dryness and irritation.
If you use store-bought aloe vera gel, always make sure it is 100% pure and contains no added sugars or artificial ingredients.
As long as it is virgin and unrefined, coconut oil is an excellent ingredient in homemade lube.
Some women use coconut oil for vaginal dryness as well as a sexual lubricant.
It can also be beneficial to use coconut oil as a vaginal lube because it’s antifungal and antibacterial.
Remember, however, that those properties do not offer protection against STIs, and oils (of any kind) will degrade STI and pregnancy barriers made from latex or polyisoprene.
Almond oil has a light, silky texture that is great for dry skin. It also smells good and is completely edible, so it’s a fan favorite for oral sex.
As we mentioned earlier, all lubes that are oil-based will break down latex and polyisoprene condoms, diaphragms, and dental dams.
Although considered a safe lube alternative for many, it is a nut-based oil and as such, should not ever be used as a homemade lubricant ingredient if you or your partners have a known (or even suspected) allergy.
Vitamin E oil is often used as a moisturizer and also as a carrier oil to dilute various essential oils.
Vitamin E oil has also been recommended in the treatment of vaginal atrophy.
Care must be taken, however, because when used in its pure form — such as from a capsule — and applied directly to the skin, vitamin E can cause allergic reactions, especially on thinner and more sensitive skin.
And again, it’s an oil that will break down latex or polyisoprene barriers against unintended pregnancy and STIs.
Grapeseed oil is perfectly safe for oral sex and vaginal sex, but with caveats.
Grapeseed oil can safely be used as a lubricant for vaginal sex unless you’re susceptible to recurring yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, or if you have sensitive skin.
The only problem with grapeseed oil as a sexual lubricant (by itself) is that it isn’t very thick, so it has to be applied often.
However, when blended with other safe lube ingredients, it can be a great addition to homemade lubricant.
Don’t forget that any oil-based lubricant will break down condoms, diaphragms, or dental dams made from latex or polyisoprene, which can result in unintended pregnancy or STIs.
