How to Clean a Vibrator and Other Sex Toys Safely
We spoke to sex experts and sex educators to answer the biggest questions about these sex toys and break down the very best panty vibes for your (uniquely private) pleasure. For far too long, sex toys missed the mark, especially when it came to people with vulvas. Studies have repeatedly shown that people with vulvas need clitoral stimulation to orgasm, but it wasn’t until 2014 that the first clitoral suction toy hit the market. These days many suction toys (also called clit suckers) have been designed by the people using them.
“My wife and I have known about this wands for a long time, but I finally decided it was time we get one since she is highly dependant on clitoral stimulation to reach climax. Believe me when I say if you have a clitoris, you want one of these,” wrote one reviewer. I have never been into masturbation and self pleasure … After hearing from one of my female partners about a biird product, I decided to buy the Namii. The material and colour are amazing, it looks cute and fancy on my nightstand and its functionality is absolutely fantastic. I kid you not, it has given me orgasms as quickly as 10 seconds into using it,” one five-star reviewer wrote.
Fast-forward to the 1950s, when one company began marketing the Vibra Finger “Gum Massager” (uh-huh). Featuring a “full-size” finger attached to an electric base, the massager was dentist approved. The money-back guarantee is nice, but we have a feeling no one ever took advantage of it.
The fixed tail keeps it in just the right place and at just the right angle for the kind of O’s you really deserve. “Solo play allows for leaning into pleasure without having to think about anything else. It’s a good opportunity to find out for yourself what your pleasure potential is and how you get there. This can be really empowering,” explains Rachel Zar, LMFT, CST, a relationship and sex therapist at Spark Chicago Therapy and Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine & Menopause. All the tone in the world doesn’t mean much if a guitar plays like a log.
“It gave me the most intense orgasms I’ve ever experienced,” said one satisfied tester. Some brands may note that their toys are made from “body-safe” materials. All medical-grade silicone is also body-safe—but the reverse isn’t always true. To find the best wand vibrators, SELF contributors pulled on their combined nearly three decades of experience testing and reviewing sex toys. We also consulted 10 experts and asked them to share their tried-and-true recommendations. The final list includes high-quality, top-rated wand vibrators across different sizes, price points, and intensities.
It’s both a clitoral and internal stimulator and is a source of “pleasure for both partners,” according to one tester. Grinding mimics the “humping” motion that many people learn to masturbate with (say, against a pillow), as well as the thrusting motions that people with penises do during penetrative sex. Toys elevate the sensation of grinding by adding vibration, texture, or other stimulating features. The noisy, room-shaking sex toys of years past have graduated to sleek, high-quality, and near-silent designs that don’t sacrifice power for discretion. From suction vibrators that are all about the clit, to precise G-spot vibrators, to backdoor action anal vibrators, there are a ton of whisper-quiet vibrators that get you there without waking up the whole house. Cue the Greek chorus, this is the ultimate trifecta of suction sex toys.
If you want vibration and air suction, try the newer Pro 2 Plus which combines both sensations. «If you look at the categories of vibrators, you can kind of pare down everything into wands, ‘twice as nice’ and bullets vibrators,» says Coyote Amrich, director of purchasing and product development for Good Vibrations and Babeland. From bullets to air suction , these are the bestselling and highest-rated vibrators out there.
All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors. Below, we’ve chosen the best anal vibrators according to experts and shoppers. Overall, this toy achieved a high satisfaction level among our panel, with the majority saying they’d recommend it to a friend. Use vibration energy to sift bulk solids or sort small items by size.
The Satisfyer Pro 2 uses suction technology similar to that of the Womanizer models. We recommend water-based lube because it is safe to use with all types of toys. There is some controversy surrounding the impact of silicone lube on silicone toys, so we decided to conduct our own test.