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Organic Personal Lubricants - Overview

You've come to associate Organic Lifestyle® with the core concept of the Organic Bedroom such as:
 
Mattresses / pillows / comforters:
  • Formaldehyde and fire retardant chemical FREE
  • Certified organic materials
 
Linens:
  • Pesticide free
  • Low impact dyes

 But sleeping isn't the only thing we do in the bedroom (wink, wink) ...

organic-personal-lubricants-paraben-free-fertility
 

 Think about it, we use personal lubricants on some of the more sensitive part of our bodies, so shouldn't we try to reduce our exposure to potential toxicity? Furthermore, this affects not only couples who use it during procreation, but also those trying to conceive with fertility drugs and those with menopause.

Excerpts from an article from Ecologist:
"Because of the way in which personal lubricants are used - intimate places and in the heat of the moment - most of these ingredients are preservatives such as sodium hydroxide (also known as lye or caustic soda) that can be irritating to the mucous membranes. Some, like parabens, are not only irritating, they are oestrogenic."

"... there will be someone who argues that very large doses of these chemicals need to be ingested or absorbed before they cause harm; but what are the effects of low but chronic exposure over time?"

 Given Organic Lifestyle's mantra of "We read the labels, so you don't have to", I was interested in finding out more about the ingredients in popular personal lubricants. It seems many don't declare under the guise of proprietary information but came across this breakdown for K-Y Jelly:

organic-personal-lubricants-paraben-free-fertility

 When researching this topic, it brought to my attention of the potential impact conventional lubricants can have on fertility.

Excerpt from the same article from Ecologist:
"Several studies that have looked at the effects of lubricants like K-Y Jelly and its brand rivals, such as Astroglide and Replens, have found that they can be as lethal to sperm as a contraceptive jelly. For instance, in laboratory data presented to the 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Andrology and Andrology Lab Workshops in March 2003, exposure to K-Y Jelly after fertilization was found to cause a severe decline in the ability to embryos to form in vitro."

 "Data from the World Health Organization says that the optimum pH value for sperm migration and survivalin cervical mucus is between 7.0 and 8.5. In contrast, vaginal lubricants tend to have pH values below 7, and often as low as 3.5."

"A common misconception is that if a lubricant does not contain a spermicide or if its water soluble, it will not impair sperm function. However,water based lubricants ofter contain glycerine (as in K-Y Jelly) and propylene-glycol, both of which are highly hyperosmotic. This results in irreversible damage to sperm and a loss in motility.

This is important information for couples who are trying to conceive; around 75 per cent of these couples report an increased incidence of vaginal dryness due to stress and fertility medications. Data show that around 43 per cent of such couples trying to conceive use personal lubricants to deal with this problem." 

 
Click here for another article titled  PRACTISE SAFE LUBE: CHECK THE LABELS by NOW Magazine's ELIZABETH BROMSTEIN

 

I hope what you'll take away from this, is to always read the labels. All products will have pros and cons and only you can decide on what you are comfortable with.

 

ALTERNATIVES
Doom and gloom aside, we like to present alternative, non-toxic products. As you can imagine, there are several "natural" and "organic" lubricants on the market.

 

We selected Yes® Products 'cause of their commitment to certified organic products (UK based Soil Association whose certifications are usually more strict than North America standards) and strong fair-trade and environment policy.

 

Here is how they compare to other lubricants on the market:
organic-personal-lubricants-paraben-free-fertility

 

All Yes® products are certified organic, which is your guarantee of product purity, giving you the assurance there is nothing unknown, hidden, or damaging present in our organic products.
  • YES Water-based: Aqua (Water), Aloe barbadensis (Aloe Vera)*, Cyamopsis tetragonolobus (Guar Gum)*, Ceratonia siliqua (Locust Bean Gum)*, Linum usitatissimum (Flax extract)*, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Potassium sorbate, Phenoxyethanol 

  • YES Oil-based: Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Prunus Dulcis (Sweet Almond Oil)*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower Oil)*, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa Butter)*, Cera Alba (Bees Wax)*, Natural Tocopherols (Vitamin E) 
    *organically grown ingredients... Yes products are protected by international Patents.

Yes® products contain:

  • No petrochemicals (thick oils like petrolatum that coat skin)
  • No parabens (skin irritants and have cancer concerns)
  • No known skin irritants
  • No grapefruit seed extract because it is often adulterated with parabens)
  • No glycerine/glycerol (Causes Thrush outbreaks, is a skin irritant and leaves skin sticky)
  • No hormones (safe to use if recovering from Breast Cancer or wanting to avoid HRT)
  • No silicone (coats skin, feels yucky and is really hard to wash off)
  • No propylene glycol (cell wall disrupter, pulls chemicals through and into the blood stream)

Yes® products do contain pure plant extracts laden with skin healing and nourishing properties, grown and manufactured to organic standards.

Trying to determine the difference between water or oil? Click here.
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