Blog (informational articles)
Body-safe sex toys: the word means nothing, the material means everything
Sex toys are sold as novelties in most of the world, which means nobody has to prove anything about what they are made of. Here is what you can check yourself.
There is no legal definition of a body-safe sex toy. In the United States and across the European Union, these products are regulated as novelties or general consumer goods rather than as medical devices, so no agency reviews what a manufacturer puts in one and no certification is required to use the phrase on a box.
What is real and verifiable is the distinction between porous and non-porous materials. A non-porous surface can be cleaned. A porous one cannot, no matter how carefully you wash it, because the bacteria sit inside the material rather than on it.
Materials, sorted by what they are
| Material | Porous? | What that means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum-cure silicone | No | Soap and water, or boiling if there are no electronics. The default good answer. |
| Borosilicate glass | No | Non-reactive, dishwasher tolerant, compatible with every lubricant. Inspect for chips. |
| Stainless steel | No | Sterilizable, lasts indefinitely, heavy. Compatible with every lubricant. |
| ABS plastic | No | Hard and non-porous. Common as the outer shell of powered toys. |
| TPE and TPR | Yes | Soft and cheap. Cannot be sterilized. Degrades over time and should be treated as a short-life item, with a condom over it. |
| PVC and jelly rubber | Yes | Often softened with phthalates. Porous, degrades, and can leach plasticizers. The clearest material to avoid. |
| "Body-safe material", unnamed | Unknown | A listing that will not name the polymer is telling you something. Treat it as porous. |
What to read on a listing, in order
- A named polymer. "100% platinum-cure silicone", "borosilicate glass", "316 stainless steel". A name a maker can be held to.
- Who made it. A brand with an address, a materials page and a warranty has something to lose. A marketplace listing with a generic brand name does not.
- Price against plausibility. Platinum silicone poured well costs real money. A realistic dual-density toy at the price of a takeaway is not made of what the listing says.
- What the seams look like. Visible mold flash, a seam you can feel with a fingernail, or a glued-on base are all signs of a process that was not controlled.
- Smell, once it arrives. Cured platinum silicone is odorless. A chemical or sweet plastic smell out of the bag means a different material, whatever the page said.
Living with the toys you already have
Sort them into two piles
Named non-porous material in one, everything else in the other. You do not have to throw the second pile away today.
Put a condom on anything porous
It is the standard mitigation and it works. It is also non-negotiable if the toy is ever shared between people.
Stop storing them touching each other
Silicone can react with silicone, and plasticizers migrate between soft plastics, which is what causes two toys to fuse into a sticky mess in a drawer. A cotton bag each.
Replace on signs, not on a schedule
Stickiness, a change in color, a stronger smell, or a surface that has gone tacky all mean the material is breaking down. That toy is finished regardless of its age.
Questions people ask
- Is TPE safe for sex toys?
- It is widely used and it is porous. It cannot be sterilized, so it holds bacteria through washing and degrades over time. Used by one person, with a condom, and replaced when it changes texture, it is a manageable compromise rather than a good material.
- Does "medical grade silicone" mean anything?
- Less than it sounds. There is no enforced definition on a novelty product. "Platinum-cure" describes an actual curing process and is a more meaningful claim than "medical grade" on its own.
- Can I boil my toys?
- Pure silicone, glass and steel with no electronics and no glued joints, yes, for a few minutes. Anything with a motor, a battery or a bonded base, no. Soap and warm water is enough for a toy used by one person.
- Are phthalates still a problem?
- They are restricted in childrens toys in the EU and elsewhere, and not in sex toys, which is the gap. Soft PVC is the material where they show up. Avoiding soft PVC avoids the question entirely.