briannasaurusrex92

GIILLLLYYY!

I think what MitchOssimPants was asking was more like, if I ate Stouffer's for every single meal, and had recommended levels of things like exercise and additional snacking, would I get fat? Would I have health problems?

It's a hypothetical, although I used to cashier at a grocery store and we had several people (usually twenty-somethings who looked like maybe they had never had to use a kitchen appliance themselves their whole life) who would come through with just microwave dinners, every week.

Since you asked about safety, and of course dude gave you the official answer -- you should know that there are different schools of thought on material safety in sex toys. Chemical softeners called phthalates are mostly being phased out in the industry (thanks to consumer backlash only, most companies wouldn't have given a shit if it hadn't been affecting sales) but there are still porous, plasticized substances used to make toys that are passed off as "safe." PVC is my least favorite common material -- if the oily softener leaching out of the surface of the toy into sensitive mucous membranes doesn't make you worry, then the fact that it is a porous material (i.e., retains bacteria and other microorganisms, cannot be cleaned fully even with antibacterial/sterilization cleaners; over time will likely develop dark spots and "off" smells, and potentially cause infection or reinfection to the user) should. Or maybe you just don't want to put something that smells like a tire factory into your body. TPE and TPR are also porous materials; they're less smelly and have fewer dangerous ingredients, but there's still usually mineral oil leaching out of the toy (oil-based products are not recommended for vaginal use, as they're difficult for the vagina to self-clean effectively), and the porosity makes all of these materials a 100% no-go for me personally.

Silicone is the only soft/flexible material that is non-porous (actually it is porous, but the pores are effectively small enough to prevent bacteria or water/nutrition sources from making their home inside. So, effectively, non-porous.) and guaranteed non-toxic (no weird nasty shit leaching out of the toy). It can be pricier though, leading to large manufacturers resisting a switch away from cheap, porous, smelly, "jelly" toys. After all, it doesn't matter if the customer is educated about the toy, or gets home and discovers it causes them pain -- that just means they'll have to come back and get another one! Haha.

Doc Johnson in particular has an additive called Sil-A-Gel which they mix into some of their porous toys to, supposedly, kill bacteria living inside of them. Yeah, well:

1) there have been multiple reports of users having extreme and immediate reactions to toys containing this substance. Bad reactions, painful reactions, internal reactions. 2) well, perhaps they're allergic, and it's just them, right? ... Except that to know that for sure, or for these people to safely be able to avoid similar additives in the future, they'd need to know the name and structure of tbis additive. Buuuuut DJ refuses to release the name or any details about the composition of Sil-A-Gel or how it kills bacteria. 3) Speaking of the name, Sil-A-Gel, many users believe it to mean that toys with this emblem are a "blend" of silicone and other materials (this doesn't exist. There would be no point. It just doesn't work that way) or that it's a jelly with the properties of silicone (also nope) or some other misconceptions. DJ claims that it's not misleading at all, but c'mon -- what did you think of when you first saw it? They also refuse to change packaging or make it clear to the customer standing in the aisle (surrounded by toys they'd never be brave enough to Google, let alone do in-depth research on) that it's a chemical additive, NOT a non-porous miracle material. 4) Not certain whether this is on DJ or what, but apparently some toy store clerks have told customers that toys with S.A.G. are safer than pure silicone, because the bacteria get killed. Um... which would you prefer, getting voluntarily cut on the arm and having Chemical X dumped in there to kill the bacteria, or, you know, not having to encounter bacterial colonies in the first place by dint of non-porosity? It's an easy choice for me.

Over at /r/SexToys there's a whole discussion of truly safe toys, with recommendations, sales announcements, and accessible explanations aplenty. Mind, DJ isn't, like, the devil incarnate (that would be more Pipedream's territory...), they do have a decent selection of Platinum Premium silicone items, but their reticence on the Sil-A-Gel thing is baffling and worrying. I really think they're on the wrong side of history with this, and hopefully one day with widespread education and discussion we can turn sales away from bad toys enough that they're discontinued altogether. (Also, despite a lot of great packaging on the PlatPrem items, they never mention that silicone is non-porous. Gee... Guess they wouldn't want to make themselves look bad. Way to be transparent, y'all.)

Sorry for the enormous comment -- I work in the industry as a product manager for a small store and have really begun doing a lot of critical thinking and assessment of our inventory since I discovered this information. It's kind of a passion of mine, you know, keeping people safe :P

...just the mod comment saying "verified" at the top...

Be careful when purchasing soft, squishy toys -- companies (esp DJ) don't like to advertise this, but porosity is a pretty big safety factor when choosing insertables. UltraSkyn and similar materials are all porous; in fact, silicone is the only material that can be soft and squishy without being porous. Most soft, squishy materials (except for silicone) also contain some sort of plasticizer, which is usually not inert and will leach out of the toy (and into mucous membranes) with every use. Check out /r/SexToys for help finding a safe, soft, squishy dildo to give you peace of mind and happiness of the ... uhh... Heart. Lol ;)