Very few things in this world make me as happy as a good lubricant.
Lubricant is just so valuable for so many things.
For anal it’s an obvious must. Same with many strokers, fleshlights, and cock rings too. I still remember my writing associate, Lemon Fresh’s folly in thinking that they did not need lubricant with their stroker, only to be proven swiftly incorrect.
Lubricant is also very useful for someone who suffers with Vaginismus, or those who have similar sexual dysfunctions and need a little more assistance and/or reassurance during penetration.
But, more to the point, lubricant just feels good, augments sensation, and facilitates new ways to approach and experiences bodies of all kinds.
Many adult products try to present themselves as inherently ‘male-driven’ or inherently ‘female driven’. Fit for a specific person or designed for a specific role.
Lubricant’s strength, on the other hand, is its diversity and acceptance of whatever it is spread upon. If lubricant were a person it would be the most accepting, open, and loving person you would likely encounter that day.
That is, if the lubricant is good.
This can’t be said of all lubricants: Some sting, some burn, some are made with dangerous chemicals, and some leave a rash. More still might be harmful to the environment, involve ingredients that are unnecessary, or might even be tested on other living individuals in cruel and non-consensual ways (the fact that those individuals are typically non-human being an irrelevancy).
Getting a good lubricant can sometimes seem like quite the challenge when considering all of these factors. But, thankfully, effective, body-safe, and trustworthy lubricants do exist, and the Intimate Earth Defense Protection Glide Lubricant is among them.
The Intimate Earth Defense Protection Glide Lubricant
The Intimate Earth Defense Protection Glide Lubricant is a water-based lubricant created by Intimate Earth and provided by TooTimid for review.
The focus of Intimate Earth on providing sustainable, effective, and environmentally products is proudly represented through its company name. This company wants to enable intimacy while showing consideration to the earth, and doesn’t believe that these two ideologies are in opposition to each other. The result is a range of ‘apothecary products’ which are created from organic ingredients, combined with soothing aloe, and 100% vegan by default (with no animal testing involved at all).
The Defense Protection Glide Lubricant is part of this collection and its focus, as you might imagine from its own name, is focused on providing additional protection (or, at the very least, nurture) during use.
In order to achieve this specific goal, the Defense Protection Glide Lubricant sticks to many of the default ingredients in its lubricant range but adds two key additions to improve the products antibacterial properties. These two ingredients are carrageenan seaweed extract and tea tree oil.
Tea tree oil has long been championed as an antibacterial, and the science behind its use as an ‘effective topical antimicrobal agent’ is pretty solid. Interestingly, one study made a specific point of noting the effectiveness of tea tree oil in eliminating harmful organisms from the ‘groin and perineum’, making it even more on-point for sexual use than one might initially think.
Carrageenan is a bit trickier to pin down. Right now it’s getting a lot of flak in terms of its dietary use, and the potential bowel irritation that it might cause. However, a recent review found that carrageenan is currently considered safe for consumption. But what about genital use?
If nothing else, carrageenan is hydrating and provides the appropriate glide and thickness for enjoyable use. Some say that this oceanic offering can help with inflamed skin, but there really aren’t enough studies on this yet for me to present you with evidence (bar this interesting study on its effects on HPV).
Aloe, on the other has been shown to improve skin integrity, help with dehydrated skin, and assist in treating certain skin conditions, and this lubricant does contain aloe.
The complete breakdown of this lubricant’s ingredients is as follows:
Water, Carrageenan, Guava Bark Extract*, Goji Berry Fruit Extract*, Lemongrass Extract*, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Tea Tree Leaf Oil*, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Alcohol
*Organic ingredients
Pouring this lubricant out of its generous and easy-to-use bottle, the carrageenan’s thickening properties are swiftly encountered. This lubricant is not a gel, by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have a lovely glide to it, which makes its name an apt one.
This lubricant, when spread on the skin, gives a semi-glossy layer which helps buffer nicely for external toys and allows tricky internal ones the extra water-based goodness they might require to slip happily in. There have been a few occasions where I’ve been struggling trying to take a larger toy dry only to yield, grab for this lubricant, and then wonder why I didn’t do it sooner.
Yet this lubricant does not feel invasive, heavy, or in any way over-bearing. Once done with a sexual experience I can easily remove the brunt of this lubricant with a few swift wipe aways and then resume my day without a single itch, unwanted wetness, or any other irritation.
This is likely reflective of this lubricant’s ingredients which, in addition to being antibacterial, contain no parabens, glycerin, or any other nasty and unwanted additions.
The lubricant itself has a very light odor in which the aloe comes through most notably but, when trying orally the shart bitterness of the aloe (though still present) is taken over slightly by the unmistakable taste of seaweed and a dash of lemongrass for good measure. In a way it reminds me of one of my herbal teas or the seaweed I put in my broths (instead of processed salts), but with bitter aloe ruining it all a bit.
I don’t know that I’d use this lubricant orally, as a result of this, but I don’t think it would make all taste-based contact a complete no-go.
This lubricant is the height of convenience, conscience, and ease of use. When I use this lube I know i’m in keeping with my morals, will always have a good, effectively assisted sexual experience with a product that has ingredients actively designed to help avoid the UTIs that I am so easily prone to. Because of this, I’d probably use this lube as my default when using a TPE/R toys as well, either on myself or others (strokers are, sadly, often made from porous materials).
Are there any clear downsides to this lubricant?
Only if you want a thicker/thinner lubricant, dislike water-based lube, or know you have an allergy to any of the ingredients included. I used to have an aloe sensitivity but that seems to have faded with age, and I have no issue at all with this product.
The only thing that did make me chuckle a bit was the description of it on its bottle as ‘Pure Vegan’.
What the heck makes a product ‘Pure Vegan’ as opposed to just ‘Vegan’ or, more commonly, ‘100% Vegan’?
I may be a professional (and a rather serious vegan activist when need be) but when I saw that label I couldn’t help but think of this guy from Scott Pilgrim:
Is this lubricant the go-to product of the Vegan Police, perhaps? I think I’ll accept that head cannon.
Final Thoughts
I’ve yet to try an Intimate Earth product that I dislike so far and the Intimate Earth Defense Protection Glide Lubricant joins the rest of the IE ranks as a product that I highly recommend.
If UTIs, HPV or anything other skin or health complaints are something that you know you struggle with, then I’d put particular emphasis on trying this product. Granted, it won’t work miracles, but it does have a solid foundation of logic behind its ingredients list, and that makes me feel pretty confident about its overall composition.
If you prefer silicone lubricants, or are trying to avoid carrageenan, then I can respect that too, but anyone else can consider this lubricant as a very good go-to top shelf option.