Thanks to our Lube, it's not just for porn stars blog you should know now how important vaginal lubricants are for sexual health. But there’s more to vaginal lubrication, and also more to treating vaginal dryness. That’s why we thought it was important to briefly explain the difference between vaginal moisturizers and personal lubricants, why one is good for some things and why one is better at others. Finally, this comparison guide will help walk you through why you might choose a vaginal moisturizer over vaginal lubrication.
Vaginal Moisturizers
Vaginal moisturizers are specifically designed to provide long-lasting relief and comfort for women experiencing vaginal dryness in their day-to-day lives. This is different than situational dryness associated with not enough natural lubrication for sexual activity - instead, we’re talking about long-term vaginal tissue dryness, often with an underlying medical cause.
In fact, this type of vaginal dryness is often caused by vaginal atrophy or atrophic vaginitis— an inflammation of the vagina that causes thinning and shrinking of the vaginal tissues along with dryness, itchiness and irritation. Vaginal atrophy is actually really common and can happen at any age, which means that there’s a need for vaginal moisturizer products to help provide relief for women looking to treat vaginal dryness.
This condition is generally caused by hormonal changes. This means that it’s often to see vaginal atrophy often in women during and after menopause, but also as a result of childbirth, breastfeeding, the pill, and cancer treatments. Anything that alters your hormone balance can have an effect on your natural vaginal secretions, and vaginal dryness is the result.
Vaginal moisturizers are specifically formulated to combat this vaginal dryness. They often contain polymers that adhere water to the vaginal walls, meaning they rehydrate the vaginal tissues helping them to recover their natural elasticity and lubrication. They stay in the vagina for an hour or more, allowing the vaginal lining ample time to absorb and rehydrate, and are generally reapplied every couple of days.
Vaginal moisturizers are also classified as Medical Devices by the American Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This is because they do last so long, which means they are more heavily regulated and tested for safety and efficacy than vaginal lubricants are.
One of our favorite moisturizers is Enchanted Rose Natural Vaginal Moisturizer, from Intimate Rose. This organic vaginal cream is designed to to relieve and treat vaginal skin irritation, redness and dryness without fillers, chemicals, dyes, parabens, phthalates or gluten.
Personal Lubricants
Personal lubricants, on the other hand, are designed to be used over a shorter period of time to make sex (and all that entails!) more enjoyable. This is not new, of course - just about everyone has either used a personal lube product or at least heard of one. They’re darn effective—provided you get the right type of lube for your needs and use it correctly.
You would think that lube isn’t something that would benefit someone much if they’re already using a vaginal moisturizer product. However, you would be surprised - vaginal lubricant is still really helpful for women with vaginal dryness because of atrophic vaginitis during sex. This is because women with atrophic vaginitis may still need additional help when it comes to keeping lubricated through the use of an artificial lubricant.
Not only that, but lubricant products are also also super useful for women with dyspareunia, vaginismus and other sexual disorders to have more comfortable sexual experiences. In fact, it’s often quite common for someone who uses a vaginal moisturizer for long-term care to also use lubricant during sexual activity, so don’t feel that you shouldn’t need to combine the use of both at the appropriate times.
You don’t need to be suffering from vaginal health issues to use lube, of course. Plenty of women (and men!) love the extra feeling personal lubricants provide during sex. However, when it comes to their effectiveness for women who are dealing with vaginal issues, lubricants are often just what the doctor ordered. Plus, because they’re designed to be used short-term there’s no need for them to be regulated nearly as closely as moisturizers are!
Types of Lubricants
We’ve gone over this before, but it’s important to understand that there’s a wide range of personal lubricants on the market that are all good for different reasons.
Water-based lubricants are ideal for using with silicone sex toys, as this type of lube protects the silicone skin of your toy. Natural lubricants, such as those made from coconut oil, are ideal for anyone with skin allergies, provided it’s not an allergy to the substance!
Synthetic oil based lubricants, such as those made out of mineral oil, are also an option, though you do need to beware: oil-based lubricants, both ones made from natural oils and synthetic ones, can destroy latex condoms easily. Make sure to use water or silicone-based lubricants if you’re having sex with a condom.
Ready to buy?
You know we only stock the.very.best products. If you’re ready to try a vaginal moisturizer or lubricant, check out the collection at Intimate Rose.
Other resources
This has just been an overview of vaginal moisturizers and lubricants - there’s so much more to learn about both these products! If you’re looking for even more great information on how to use lubes, check out our Lube, it’s not just for porn stars blog for more info on how lubricant can help and what to look for. It’s got all the answers you need - and even some you might not have been looking for!
Following on from our Lube, it's not just for porn stars blog we thought it was important to briefly explain the difference between vaginal moisturisers and personal lubricants. And why you might choose one over the other.
We’ve got some great recommendations for personal lubricant, of course. We love to recommend the products at Intimate Rose, but if you want to go out and do your own shopping, or check the products you’re already using, we’ve created this handy downloadable checklist that covers everything you need to look for in a good lube. This will take the guesswork out of the process for sure - and when it comes to finding the right lube, there’s no better place to start!
