My Racy ToyBox Blog

From ToyboxCharley at http://MyRacyToybox.com

Do you travel by air from time to time? Most of us do. I recently had a situation where I bought a sex toy when I was away from home and had to consider how to get it home without problems. It turns out that it is not a big deal, but there are a few aspects of the situation which require attention:

• First of all, and fairly obvious, THINK AHEAD, and don’t leave it for your carry-on luggage! You can do without having the inspectors pawing through your carry-on, and looking at, or asking about, your new and wonderful vibrator.
• That said, remove the batteries. That’s a good policy for whatever device you are packing, but a buzzing suitcase will get you a lot of undesirable attention.
• Place it in a plastic bag so that even if they do open your travel bag, they will not touch the device directly.
• One last thing, you probably won’t have any problems in the USA, but there are some restrictions in other countries. It would be worth knowing about them, even if you figured that your items would most likely pass undetected in the checked baggage. Airline representatives can advise you about such restrictions.

Happy flying.

ToyboxCharley

From ToyboxCharley at http://MyRacyToybox.com

If you have no experience with Aneros Sex Toys, please read on. This has been a real eye-opener for many of us.

This post has nothing to do with physical Anal Sex ! It has only to do with Anal Sex Toys, and of them, only Aneros Sex Toys.

Whether we are inclined to use them or not, all of us are familiar with the well known term ‘butt plug,’ and it’s use. Those of us, men and women, who use them will tell you that the anus has a great deal of nerves which provide a pleasant sexual sensation, and in some cases, even an ‘anal orgasm.’ Additionally, it is a given that most men can receive very special excitement through the touching or massage of their prostate gland, which is to be found a few inches from the anus, and can be affected by finger or material objects making contact through the wall of the rectum.

Having said all that, the Aneros company has dedicated a great deal of  energy to the study of the ‘what, where, when, and how’ of the production of these prostate produced sensations. And if one is to believe the numerous ecstatic users, the results of their studies are totally apart and distinct from the ‘normal’ responses which we get from having sex or from the use of a typical ‘butt plug’.

The official Aneros web site has the usual testimonials, which, in all sites, carry a burden of doubt because they are self serving, and can be easily produced. However, the forums and blogs are enormous, and obviously represent the writings of actual users, covering thousands of varying experiences with the products. Most of them make up a group of loyal followers who have even developed a set of terminology to describe the distinct pleasurable results which are in many cases totally unlike those produced by conventional sex.

All that is enough to catch the attention of even a reluctant anal toy prospect. “Can these things REALLY do THAT?”, you ask. Yes they can, pretty much differently for each person, but falling into ‘named’ categories in the descriptions provided by the delighted users. Follow this link to the forums. There are eighty-five pages of just the TITLES of the forum threads. And clicking on the ‘BLOGS’ in the navigation bar on the Aneros site will take you to the blogs which are even more explicit. To read you need not join in any way.

After you read some of the forum threads and/or blog posts, you will remember names of the Aneros products commented on by the users, and you can take a look at them on our My Racy Toybox site here: Aneros Sex Toys.

Thanks

ToyboxCharley

From ToyboxCharley at http://MyRacyToybox.com

Do you share sex with your partner, or is it a personal gratification for each of you?

Would you agree that with the use of toys you are ‘giving,’ along with the ‘getting‘?

My ‘ToyboxCharley’ Twitter bio says, “Sex toys are not bizarre, surreptitious, or immoral. They offer all sexual persuasions a richer sexual experience.”

We really believe that! Sex is such an intimate thing that there is a tendency to sense a Victorian attitude which sees all these sex products as reserved for improper, immoral, or bizarre activities for which we should be ashamed. Modern medical and psychiatric thought refutes that perception completely. If you are a user of sex toys, although you may not announce that to all contacts, it is certainly not something to be ashamed of.

In a very low key daytime conversation with a 50-ish member of my wife’s family and his wife, the subject of adult toys came up as a result of my working with this site. They said that they had never tried any such thing, and felt a little timid about even bringing up the subject.

With no more ado, we gave them a boxed, very simple, moderately sized, vibrating toy, and went on to other subjects. Some time later during another visit, they calmly said that the use of that toy and others that they acquired had really changed not only their enjoyment of sex, but even more importantly, had profoundly changed the level of intimacy and openness of their sexual relationship after many years of little changing sexual routine.

Surely such is the case with many couples of some years, where pleasant sex is routinely experienced, but where it has become considerably less of a sharing experience and more of a personal gratification for each partner. When you touch your partner with a toy, you are giving, sharing, at a level that is difficult to match without that helper. The real problem is to recognize that the relationship and the experience are not at their best, and that there are simple and easy options which can improve them immensely.

ToyboxCharley

From ToyboxCharley at www.MyRacyToybox.com

To set a base for such a discussion, let it be said that phthalates are to be found in thousands of the items we use from day to day, from pills to glues to paint to floor tiles to perfumes to pesticides, and on and on. Four hundred thousand tons of phthalates are produced each year.

On the surface, it will be said that their prime use is to soften plastic, often called plasticizing, and although many of these uses mentioned and unmentioned don’t seem to be related to plastic as we know it, it is not hard to get from plastic to sex toys. Although toy manufacturers do not commonly call the material of their products ‘plastic,’ that, indeed, is the generic term that can be applied.

The highest percentage of phthalates in sex toys is found in what is often called ‘jelly,’  ‘jelly-rubber,’  or sometimes just ‘rubber.’ These toys are porous, can harbor bacteria, and exude phthalates and more. They can usually be recognized by a chemical or other smell, because the good materials do not have any smell. (To be fair be careful, because the packaging itself might might have a temporary smell.)

What is our interest in Phthalates?

Since 1999 there has been concern about the possibility that exposure to phthalates could cause birth defects. It is important to note that we are all exposed to many forms of this product. As the various plastic products break down, the phthalates are released into the air. The concentration is reported to be higher and lower right where you might expect: more in rooms, then in cities, and finally less in less occupied areas. There is a study reported in 2005 that appears to show some genital development problems in boys born to the mothers who were more exposed. We can only say that the validity of that report has been challenged by a number of serious medical research groups. However, remember that if the percentage of phthalates is above a few percentage points, cleaning and disinfecting the toy becomes difficult or impossible.

So…, where does that leave us? Even though the jury is still out on the subject of risk and harm, you may decide that it simply behooves you to avoid contact with a suspect substance. You might call it an insurance policy against the possibility of problems.

OK, Where are they so that I could avoid them?

That seems to be the real question.  First of all, let’s take this with a grain of salt. The last study (it was called ‘exhaustive’) came up with a negative result. If it’s that hard to determine that there is a problem, it’s certainly not a problem that is very evident. Never-the-less, this post is not intended to tell you how you should think about this subject, but rather to give you a bit more information upon which to make your decision.

Many, perhaps most, sex toys come out of the factory with absolutely no comment on the existence of phthalates. However, in some cases, especially recently, manufacturers, wanting to show their standard on the subject, will note in their description of the product that it is free of phthalates. It’s understandable that no one is announcing that their product HAS phthalates, and, although I have no reason to challenge such a statement, either positive or negative, it would take chemical analysis by gas chromatography to be sure.

What are my options?

You have several:

• Use only those that specifically say they do not have phthalates.
• Use your unsure toys with condoms
• Accept the reports that say they can find no danger

And MyRacyToybox?

At this time, if the factory has indicated in their description that the product is phthalate free, we report that in our description as well.

But having had this opportunity to consider this subject from the view of our clients, we have made the decision to put several new specifications in our ‘More Information’ product page. One of them will be a ‘Yes, No, or Don’t know’ specification with regard to phthalates. If we have such an interest for our own use, the least we can do is make the information available to the people who trust us enough to shop in our store. (This change will take around 30 days to be implemented.)

Thanks! Please leave your comment on this subject!

From ToyboxCharley at www.MyRacyToybox.com

Some presentations of lubricants

First of all, I am NOT an expert on this subject. In fact the reason that I am writing is that I was confused by the ‘this is great for silicone’ type of statement, which certainly implies that it is NOT great for something else,… or the reverse: ‘Do NOT use this on rubber!’ Does that imply that it is good for EVERYTHING else? Hmmmm. As I was seeing certain lube products being put on www.myracytoybox.com for sale, I felt that we should be able to give the possibly confused buyer some good counsel on the uses of individual classes of lubes, and, perhaps even better, an overview from which he or she could actively LOOK FOR what they needed rather than passively being told that this is not suitable for the particular toy being considered.

Why lubricants in the first place?

Sex without lubricants would, in most cases, not happen, but fortunately, nature has prepared us for this eventuality by producing natural lubricants. Otherwise, our ancesters would surely have never reproduced, and you and I would not be reading this at this moment. However, there are two points which bring us to the subject of lubricants for sex.

• In some cases our bodies do not produce sufficient lubricant for real freedom and enjoyment.
• We  have discovered that desirable sexual pleasure can be acquired from activities for which our bodies do not produce lubricants.

As a result of this, lubricants have become an important part of many people’s intimacy.

I’d like to believe that we should not have to be chemists or physicians in order to have good sex, but, if not, at least we need to be aware of dangerous uses and mixes of lubricant, sex products, and our bodies. In some cases the manufacturer of a product or a lubricant will put some comment in the description of the product, but most of the time we are on our own when it comes to looking out for such problems.

OK, let’s get into it. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NOT THOSE CHEMISTS OR PHYSICIANS. THESE COMMENTS ARE DERIVED FROM THE INTERNET, AND YOU NEED TO DO YOUR OWN ASSURANCE STUDY. This is intended to give you a general idea of what you need to consider, and a point of departure in your study of the subject.

It’s not as complicated as it sounds! There are two major areas of concern:

• Irritation-free and yeast-free vaginal sex
• No damage to your condoms or sex toys.

With that in mind let’s run through the possibilities:

What kinds of lubricants are there?

• Water based lubricants: One size fits all. This is the big one that causes no problems. You can use water-based lubricants without concern for your body or your pariphernalia (they do not destroy latex or silicone). It’s draw-back is that it tends to dry out rather quickly, and obviously disappears immediately in the bath or jacuzzi. In spite of those short-comings, for vaginal sex, it may be the right choice. They very rarely cause irritation, even for folks with allergies, and they are edible, can be flavored, and don’t stain clothing. That’s a pretty good report card.

 

• Silicone based lubricants: We found no references to vaginal irritation, or changes to the pH factors which cause or allow yeast infections. In addition, they do not dry out rapidly and are water proof, so they go well with longer sessions, even in the bath or the jacuzzi. Painting with the broad brush, as we say in Spanish, silicone-based lubricants come highly recommended, especially for their durability and their being water-proof. Their short-coming is that, for vaginal sex, they do coat the vaginal area, which takes longer to be cast off after the sexual activity terminates. They also do NOT destroy latex, so can be used with condoms and other barrier forms of birth and desease prevention. HOWEVER, note this:…. THEY CANNOT BE USED WITH SILICONE SEX TOYS OR OBJECTS! They will interact with and break down the silicone in the toy.

 

• Petroleum based lubricants: NOT RECOMMENDED! These include the baby’s baby oil (which is basically mineral oil), other forms of mineral oil, Vaseline, and some other lubricants from your bathrom. They do all the bad things: destroy latex, irritate the vagina, and stain your bedcloths. If your use is none of these, such as male masturbation, their next attribute is that they are very long lasting. Have at it!

 

• Vegetable oil based lubricants: Sometimes called ‘natural’ lubricants, these may be nut-oil, corn-oil or such. These have all the negatives of petroleum except that they do not irritate the vagina, so if your vaginal sex is without latex (completely unprotected), they are long lasting and suitable. Also considered very suitable for masturbation, either sex.

In addition to the class of lubricants, you can choose between pump bottles, sprays, cremes, and other presentations, but within their class, these qualities are just your choice of favorite. You can check out our offering at http://www.myracytoybox.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/lubes_lubricants.htm.

Well, that’s the quick rundown. If you were not aware of the above, this may give you a starting point to look into your own needs and interests. There can be errors or important information that is lacking, so do your homework, and tell us what you learned. Leave a comment.

ToyboxCharley