The Best Lube for Women, According to Experts and Reviewers
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You've explored a bajillion guides to sex toys and shopped the best online boutiques (so much more discreet than heading into your neighborhood adult boutique). You've even brushed up on all the definitions of the latest pleasure gizmos. But while you may have an opinion on the best rabbit vibrator or c-ring, have you taken the time to explore the side salad in this veritable sexual feast? Consider, if you will, the humble bottle of lube. Recent years have seen new formulations flood the market, full of active ingredients, unique textures and other surprises. We spoke with OB/GYN Maria Sophocles for some help sorting through the plethora of options. Here's our look at the best lube for women.
Meet the Expert
Maria Sophocles, MD, FACOG, NCMP is a board-certified OB/GYN with more than 25 years of medical experience. She is the medical director of Women’s Healthcare of Princeton in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Sophocles is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the North American Menopause Society and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health. She is also a fellow of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is a certified menopausal specialist and a fellow of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease.
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The Best Lubes for Women at a Glance
1. Dame Aloe Lube
We’d be happy to have this cute blue bottle on our bedside, and even more pleased to use it, since it is toy- and condom-safe. Plant-derived (with aloe vera juice, quinoa seed and oat kernel extracts), this non-irritating formula leaves your intimate area conditioned without any stickiness.
2. K-Y Ultragel Lube
Great for quick application, this low-cost, pleasantly thin formula gets high marks for what it doesn’t have: hormones, parabens, silicone, artificial colorants and fragrances. “Unlike other lubricants, this is very smooth and it is not sticky,” says one user. K-Y is safe for use with condoms and sex toys, and this classic lube washes up easily.
3. Foria Awaken Arousal Oil
Used topically, CBD promotes blood flow, and health and wellness brand Foria is a category leader in spicing up products with it. Case in point: The brand's innovative arousal oil just requires a quick application to your clitoris, inner labia and inside your vagina to encourage more sensation, faster.
4. Maude Shine Organic
Made with moisturizing aloe, the Maude 100 percent natural lubricant is organic and ultra-hydrating. The gentle pH-balanced formula is free from glycerin and parabens and manufactured to the ideal osmolality for the body. On top of that, the pump top is thoughtfully designed for easy (and tidy!) hands-off dispensing.
5. CG Blow Me Gel
Flavored lube can stimulate more of your senses and make oral sex even more fun, and this smooth, lubricious gel from Blow Me has a sweet berry flavor for an added sugar rush. Its gel texture means it’ll go on thick and stay where it's applied, plus, if you were wondering, it doesn’t contain any parabens, mineral oil, sugar or gluten.
6. Aloe Cadabra Natural Lube
If you’re hoping to avoid a lot of unnecessary ingredients, Aloe Cadabra’s Natural Lube boasts a makeup of 95 percent organic aloe vera, meaning not only lubrication but gentle, soothing moisture for your skin. It’s safe to use with condoms and dental dams, and users say a little goes a long way for the smooth water-based product.
7. Lelo Personal Moisturizer
This pH-balanced moisturizer gets high marks for gliding on smoothly and not drying sticky like so many lubes. Glycerine-free, paraben-free and unscented, this is a water-based fan favorite that’s safe for bodies and for your sex toys. It’s also enriched with aloe vera so you know you’re getting a non-greasy, non-staining lube.
8. Lulu Lube Water-Based Lubricant
Gel lubricants have a thicker texture than their thinner counterparts, and this water-based one from Lulu won’t run where you don’t want it to. Its sleek, hand-soap looking bottle—complete with a pump on the top—makes dispensing a breeze (plus, gives it a discrete look if that’s a concern!). It doesn’t contain any glycerin or parabens, meaning irritation is less likely (but like with any lube, test it out first), and its long-lasting formula doesn’t easily dry out.
9. Woo More Play Coconut Love Oil
An organic coconut base with a slight vanilla flavor, this creamy, lotion-like lube does double duty as a good massage oil, too. It is oil-based, so if you’re using any latex barriers for pregnancy and STI protection, this might not be the best lube for you (or you could get some non-latex options); alternately, the coconut oil gives Woo More Play a lovely moisturizing component (just note that it might leave some unwanted staining behind).
10. Sliquid Satin Lubricant
Sliquid’s Naturals Satin is beloved not only as a gentle water-based sexual lubricant, but as an everyday moisturizer for older women who find themselves experiencing natural vaginal dryness. The blend of aloe vera, carrageenan and vitamin E make for long-lasting hydration that emulates your body’s natural lubrication, and its paraben-, DEA- and sulfate-free formula won’t irritate.
11. Hello Cake Tush Cush Lubricant
The “cushy” Cake Tush Cush formula is a thicker consistency gel lube that aims to create an air cushion for easing discomfort and increasing pleasure. The hybrid water-silicone formula aims to soothe and slide, and is safe for sex toys and easy to clean up with some soap and water. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the packaging is super cute.
12. Good Clean Love BioGenesis Lube
Paraben-, petrochemical- and glycerin-free, this specially formulated lube is engineered to encourage sperm motility and contains calcium and magnesium to potentially support fertility. “This product really works,” says one user. “I read so many reviews thinking that it wouldn’t assist me when TTC [trying to conceive]. I used this during my ovulation and here I am four weeks pregnant, and this is my first time using it.”
13. Unbound Jelly Lube
A thick, vanilla-and-lemon flavor lubricant, this has 95 percent organic ingredients, and it’s safe for use with latex condoms. Additionally, its pH is carefully formulated to be between 4.3 and 4.8, which is close to the average healthy vaginal pH of 4.0.
14. Pulse Pods Travel Kit
There’s something for everyone you might hook up with on your travels in this two-lube, one massage oil set—all of which come in TSA-approved small sizes. Of the lube choice, one is water-based while the other is formulated with aloe and silicone, and both are condom- and toy-friendly.
15. Überlube Silicone Lubricant
The thin and silky texture of this silicone textured lube doesn’t dry out quickly, making it a must-have for women experiencing vaginal dryness caused by menopause. The glycerin- and paraben-free vegan formula contains added vitamin E to comfort skin without stickiness, and it works great underwater. The adorable packaging resembles a perfume bottle, and even if the small spray nozzle can get a little slippery, it’s worth it for how nice it is to look at (not to mention its discreteness).
16. Intimate Earth Discover G-Spot Gel
Sunflower seed and peppermint oils, fruit extracts and arginine (an amino acid that's popular as an oral treatment for erectile dysfunction) are found in this lubricating gel. For best results, this 1-ounce bottle comes with a detailed set of instructions on internal application and use so you can increase the size and sensitivity of the G-spot.
17. Pulse Warming Dispenser
This rechargeable gizmo dispenses a dollop of warm lube with just a wave of your hand, thereby letting you keep your hands doing...whatever else they were doing, instead of fiddling with a slippery plastic bottle. The Pulse warming dispenser comes with four personal lubricant pods, and you can also swap in massage oil pods.
18. Rosebud Woman Arouse Stimulating Serum
This ambitious product aims to help the body relearn self-lubrication, deploying traditional aphrodisiacs, maca, damiana and ashwagandha, to wake up the external folds and creases of the vulva. Unlike a traditional lubricant, which solely reduces friction during sex, this “arousal serum” also aims to generate a warmth and tingling sensation and stimulate natural moisturization.
19. Flora + Bast Aphrodisia
The makers recommend using this warming, blood flow-enhancing oil not just on the genitals, but also ingesting one to three pumps orally. That means when you’re oral sexing, the combination of coconut oil, CBD, cardamom and cinnamon essentials oils will allow you to share the tingle.
20. Frenchie L’Essential Doublé Bundle
A box of 12 condoms and a bottle of water-based, aloe lube make a great gift (and a handy bedside necessity). The condoms are 100 percent latex and don’t have a strong odor or taste, while the water-based lube is totally safe to use with them (duh). It’s also hypoallergenic, glycerin- and paraben-free and vegan and cruelty-free, so you can be sure you’re getting a gentle product.
What Are the Different Types of Lube?
There are several different kinds of lubes to help meet every need—from different textures, to how they work with sex toys or whether or not they’ll leave you with a lot of cleanup afterwards. The three main types are water-based, silicone-based and oil-based lubricants. There are also lots of lubes with special ingredients to encourage warming, stimulation and, for those with CBD, relaxation.
“Find the lube that gives you the best sex,” Dr. Sophocles says. “Lubricants can also be used to treat dryness—they are great for everyday use as well as for sexual activity." She cautions that, along with more bells and whistles, scents and ingredients, there's more opportunity for an unpleasant irritation or allergic reaction. Keep that in mind as you as you browse our 20 picks.
What Helps a Woman Lubricate?
Put simply, Dr. Sophocles says, “Blood vessels in the vagina make moisture when you get aroused.” When your blood pressure increases during arousal, those blood vessels, as well as fluid from the cervix and Bartholin glands—two pea-sized glands at the entrance to the vagina—help with vaginal lubrication.
While vaginal tissue is naturally moist, occasional dryness can occur, especially with changing hormone levels as we age. “Lube can help make things even more ‘wet,’” encourages Dr. Sophocles. “Lube is used to increase the comfort of vaginal or anal sex.”
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