The top 4 things to consider when purchasing a vibrator
How is it that something as fundamental to humans as sex, can leave so many people feeling overwhelmed, shameful or uninformed. Not to mention the stigma that so often surrounds the openness many people with vulvas feel when talking about sex, pleasure and pleasure products.
So, maybe you’re reading this because you don’t have a Samantha Jones in your friend group or simply because you’ve purchased a vibrator solely based on Amazon reviews, or better yet by venturing into the plastic-circus we call an adult store.
We started Flossy because we were tired of feeling less than satisfied with the information we’ve received ranging from high school sex-ed to our adulthood. The following is our simplified how-to guide for picking a vibrator. We hope it will be the only cheatsheet you’ll ever need.
Price
Listen, we totally get feeling reluctant about wanting to spend a pretty penny on sex toys. While there are plenty of valid reasons for not being able to shell out for one, it’s worth addressing how we’ve been conditioned to think that investing in our pleasure is frivolous or indulgent. Where does this notion come from? Shame. If we are taught pleasure is something to be embarrassed about spending money on, it might seem straight up treasonous. So before reading any further, repeat after me:
“Your body and pleasure is worthy of investment, time, focus, money, etc…!”
When it comes to price, go to the absolute top of your price range with one caveat: if you’re completely new to exploring pleasure products, we recommend starting with a beginner toy such as a bullet so you don’t end up with something pricier and overly stimulating to a beginner.
Some other advice when looking for the right price-point for the right vibe:
- Higher priced sex toys are typically designed with a higher focus on how the end-user will be using the toy, taking into consideration what type of motor, shape and texture will bring the highest pleasure potential.
- It will likely be made with body-safe materials. In cheaper toys you will often find something called “jelly rubber” which is porous, meaning it can start to harbour bacteria over time. Nobody wants a vibe to be changing colour, holding onto smells, or worse — giving you a vaginal infection!
- You’ll save $$$ in the long run. A $15 toy with a 30-day warranty that breaks after 2 months (all too typical), will leave you needing a replacement and you’ll also be adding more unnecessary plastic to landfills!
Society teaches us that sex is shameful — it’s time to take back the fact that our pleasure as worth the splurge.
Quality
By far the most important aspect of quality is that the sex-toys you are using are made using body-safe materials. But before we discuss what this means, it’s important to understand that there are currently no legal regulations in Australia (or the US) for the production of sex toys. For authorities to effectively regulate the sex toy industry, society must first admit that there is a demand for them — a demand which needs to be normalised.
How to avoid purchasing a low quality toy:
- As previously mentioned, avoid anything with porous materials to prevent getting an infection. These include: PCV (Polyvinyl Chloride), latex, thermoplastics, TPE (thermoplastic elastomer), TPR (thermoplastic elastomer), TPR (thermoplastic rubber), silicone blends, jelly, rubber, Cyberskin, and ultra realistic materials.
- Look for only 100% body-safe silicone that is made with non-porous materials. These include: metal, borosilicate glass, ABS hard plastic, speciality treated wood, 100% pure silicone, ceramic, wood, stone.
Always be sure you evaluate the quality of the retailer you purchase from so you avoid putting anything less than S-A-F-E on your most sensitive bits.
Feel
Once you’ve determined your price range and the products you may be interested in (provided they are high-quality and body-safe), it’s time for the fun part… a little self-exploration!
If you’re like us, you may have had the experience of looking at a page of sex products online or a wall of vibrators in an adult store and thinking, “Hmm… now how would one use that?” or “I wonder how that would actually feel and if I’d like it?”
We recommend doing a gut check for the top 2–3 products that you’re gravitating towards the most. Maybe you’re thinking more external stimulation? Or more internal exploration? Or maybe you just feel like a certain vibrator interests you. Our tip? If it’s visually interesting and intriguing to you (even if you’re not sure how it would actually feel with your body) it’ll most likely be worthwhile the purchase. After all, this is something you’re using to get turned on so skip any vibes that look scary, garish or aesthetically unappealing.
If you have no idea what your gut feel is or what type of stimulation you prefer, you’re not alone. A great starting point is a bullet which is discreet, approachable and a great way to start exploring what feels good!
Especially when it comes to pleasure, tuning into your intuition about what you think would feel best can be a very powerful and investigative experience. While you will end up with a great product, you will also end up discovering something you may not have known about yourself!
Features
“Enough of the woo woo intuition stuff — how do I get specific about choosing the right product for me?”
Good question. Here are a list of questions to ask yourself when thinking about what features are important to you:
- Does it need to be super discreet or are you planning on smashing shame by adding your wand vibrator to your flower arrangement when guests come over?
- What do you imagine would feel the best: gentle sensations or rip-roaring rumbles? Does it need multiple intensity levels?
- Are you planning to submerge it in water for some bathtub sexy time? Or do you need to make sure it’s splash-proof for the shower?
- Do you want it to be easy to use with a partner or more ideal for solo pleasure?
At Flossy we are fixated on bringing you pleasure in its most shame-free form. That starts with helping you understand that your pleasure and desire is wonderful and worthy of attention. So whether you purchase a vibrator after reading this or not, that’s not our goal. However, what we do hope is that by bringing you this information to your attention, you have a better understanding of how you hope to experience pleasure… and above all that your pleasure always deserves to be prioritised.
Still have questions? Reach out to our team directly and we will gladly help you personalise your pleasure experience: hello@feelflossy.com.
