Water-based or silicone lubricant
Not which one is better. Which one your toy survives, and where you plan to use it.
| Water-based lubricant | Silicone lubricant | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Silicone toys, condoms, and anything you are unsure about | Shower use, long sessions, glass and metal toys |
| Not ideal for | Shower use, or sessions where you do not want to reapply | Anyone whose toys are silicone |
| Base | Water | Silicone |
| Glycerine | Avoid if prone to thrush or irritation | — |
| pH | Around 4.5 is the target | — |
| Compatible with | Silicone, TPE, latex, polyurethane | Glass, metal, ABS, latex, polyurethane |
| Fails by | Drying out, not by damaging anything | Being used on the wrong material |
| Reapplication | Needed past roughly fifteen minutes | — |
| Not compatible with | — | Silicone toys, silicone condoms |
| Volume per use | — | Roughly a third of water-based |
| Removal | — | Needs soap, water alone leaves a film |
| Browse lubricants at Lovehoney | Browse lubricants at Lovehoney |
Start with the material, and stop there
Silicone toy means water-based, with no exceptions and no safe smaller amount. Silicone oil migrates into silicone rubber, softens the surface and eventually cracks it. This rule outranks everything else on the page.
Then the setting
Shower or bath points to silicone, because water does not wash it off. Anything longer than about fifteen minutes also points to silicone, because water-based will need reapplying and you will notice.
Then the cost, which is not what the shelf label says
Silicone costs more per bottle and less per use, roughly a third of the volume each time. If you can use it at all, it works out cheaper. If your toys are silicone, you cannot use it at all, and the comparison is moot.