A condom with the wrong lubricant is a condom that tears. This is the short, unambiguous list.
Safe with latex condoms
- Water-based lubricant. Every product in the water-based range. Safe with all condoms and all toys.
- Silicone-based lubricant. Safe with latex and polyurethane condoms. Not for silicone toys.
- The lubricant already on the condom. Obviously, but adding water-based on top is fine and often helps.
Not safe with latex condoms
- Any oil. Massage oil, coconut oil, baby oil, cooking oil, shea butter. Oil weakens latex within sixty seconds; in tests, condoms exposed to mineral oil lost most of their strength inside a minute.
- Petroleum jelly. Vaseline is the most common cause of "the condom broke and we do not know why".
- Body lotion, hand cream, hair products. All oil-based.
- Saliva. Not harmful to latex, but it dries in seconds and adds friction, which is its own risk.
Polyurethane and polyisoprene condoms
Polyurethane (the thin, non-latex ones) tolerates oil. Polyisoprene (the other non-latex type) does not. If the box does not say which, treat it as latex.
Flavoured and warming lubricants
Water-based flavoured lubricants are condom-safe. Check the label for "oil" anyway; a few flavoured products are oil-based. Warming and tingling products are condom-safe but irritate some people; a plain water-based formula is the safe default.
Massage oils
Massage oil is for massage. Keep it away from condoms and from silicone toys. If a massage turns into sex with a condom, wash or wipe first and switch to water-based. Couples who use both keep them in different-looking bottles for exactly this reason.
How much, and when
A few drops inside the tip of the condom before rolling it on adds sensation for him; a generous amount outside reduces friction for her and lowers the chance of a tear. Reapply if it dries. Condoms and condom-safe lubricants are in the condoms range and the finder filters for condom-safe only.
