Are OTC (Non-vegan) Lubricants Creating a Public Health Crisis?

Article contributed by Liz of Good Clean Love, whose company mission is to increase the quantity and quality of love relationships in the world; it offers a line of premium quality organic and natural intimacy products that are vegan, cruelty-free, and made with edible ingredients.

As a culture, we have gained an awareness of the importance of natural high-quality ingredients in our food. The demand for healthy food is ever increasing and people are starting to transfer that awareness to their personal care products. Everything from lotion, to shampoo, to intimacy products can be full of dangerous chemical compounds that can not only make their way into the overall eco-system, but can be damaging to your body in an immediate way.

Lubricant is prime example of this. Over 95% of OTC (over the counter) lubricants are made with petrochemical ingredients (propylene and polyethylene glycol) which are also used in such products as anti-freeze, brake fluid and oven cleaner. These products are largely preserved with methyl- and propyl-parabens, which have been shortlisted as potential carcinogens and have been banned in the EU.

New lubricant studies conducted by biophysicists, commissioned by the NIH, produced some shocking results. Researchers found that heavily concentrated petrochemical-based lubricants are actually damaging to sensitive tissues. The problem is a bio-physics issue; Human skin tissue cells weigh around 300 isomoles, whereas a product such as KY warming jelly’s cellular weight was 30x that of skin cells. Hyperosmolar lubricants literally squeeze human tissue cells to death. The warming sensation that is associated with these products is actually the skin cells shriveling up and falling off the tissue, causing small tears and compromising the natural immune functions of the genital walls.

They also found that women that use hyperosmolar lubricants are:

• 13x more likely to contract bacterial vaginosis (BV) compared with

women using nothing at all

• 29 and 51% of women have BV, making this a public health crisis.
• 84% don’t know that they have BV.
• Women with BV are 60% more likely to contract other STIs, including HIV
• 3x as likely to transmit the disease to their male partner.

What’s the good news? The study found that 1 brand of lubricant, Good Clean Love, was shown to work with the body, not against it. Formulated with an organic aloe base, Good Clean Love lubricants are free of parabens, glycerin, silicon and petrochemicals (and free of all animal-based ingredients). Unlike other lubricants that cause vaginal tissues to dry up and tear, Good Clean Love lubricants are designed to enhance and protect the moisture naturally found in these sensitive tissues.

Remember to read labels and listen to your body’s reactions to guard your most sensitive tissue. Look for lubricants that have a base of aloe vera or water and list any petrochemical ingredients. Choose wisely and realize that the body can teach the mind, and arousal and sexual enhancement may be as easy as having the right bottle on your night stand.

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