What women don’t know (but think they do) can really hurt them.

Sex, desire, intimacy, connection, pleasure…most of us really enjoy it and always seem to want to learn how to make it better – but how about safer? Practicing safe sex with partners goes without saying but what we want to talk about with our readers is being safer in ways that have a different impact on the body. Time and again, women consider a variety of approaches to spice up or enhance their sexual experience…toys, films, costumes and products, including massage oils, aphrodisiacs and lubricants, those fun potions we keep in our trusty “goody drawers.” For some women, choices are made by determining what will make them blush the least, typically selecting a bottle of personal lubricant from the drug store shelves. But what we do we really know about the potion inside the bottle?

It seems pretty harmless…pick a bottle, break it out when needed and let the games begin – pleasure at our fingertips (sometimes, literally). Lubricant, after all, is not like buying ice cream at the grocery store. We don’t usually read the label to see if it includes undesired ingredients because it’s not a food item but it is being applied to rather delicate areas of our body and it is being absorbed into the skin. The same reasons we started combing through ingredients on the foods we consider purchasing is exactly why we should be reading the labels on the personal lube we pick up.

Here’s the wake-up call… many leading lubricants found in drug stores contain the same ingredients found in antifreeze, food preservatives and cleaning solutions like harsh oven cleaner. It’s a little hard to fathom but it’s true. Obviously these are not just undesired ingredients to absorb into the body but are actually bad for a woman’s body (and not too great for the environment either). We know the human body is made up of chemical compounds (hello, H20!) but methylparaben, found in some fo the biggest names in intimate moisturizers, has been shown to have some serious health dangers. Methylparaben is not found in Aloe Cadabra intimate moisturizer. As it is, between work and the pressures of everyday life, the last thing a woman needs is more chemicals throwing off her chemistry.

So, before making any decision on something that goes in your body or on your body the best thing you can do is to arm yourself accordingly. Learn more regarding the truth about lubes and make informed decisions that are really right for you.

Some food for thought…should intimacy products clearly disclose ingredients or have warning labels on them? Let us know what you think.