so this fun guy came in the post today! nice, right? here’s a thread on sex toy safety and while this pretty dude will never be going inside me

on the website I bought this from, http://kawaiibdsm.com , it promised it was made of “100% hygienically superior skin safe smooth silicone”. I didn’t believe that for a second, because clear silicone toys are not too common and are expensive af

plus this was being sold by one of those sites that sells all the cheap toys, collars and costumes you see on wish/aliexpress for a fraction of the price. so I bought this purely for the aesthetic being fully aware it was probably not silicone.

there is zero regulation in the sex toy industry and it is very unlikely that an average buyer is going to test the chemical composition of a toy, so even big toy companies can get away with lying about what their toys are made of. and a lot of them probably won’t even know!

sounds scary, but it’s pretty easy to avoid non-safe materials once you know what they are and learn the tips and tricks of the trade. you can get some really cute, fun toys for amazingly cheap - but just be aware that if it seems too good to be true it probably is

and a lot of these things are not safe to put into your body. from being made of porous material which can not be fully cleaned and can trap bacteria over time (particularly dangerous if you want to use it on someone else or both anally & vaginally)

to containing phthalates which are HIGHLY dangerous and toxic. I know it’s tempting to buy cheap pretty toys off of wish, or even companies like bondara/lovehoney, but please be aware that there is a good chance they are not body safe at all

always try to avoid: latex, rubber, pvc and jelly. those are most likely to contain harmful materials and will hold on to any bacteria & break down over time

TPE is a bit controversial, because it’s SUPPOSEDLY phthalate free, but again, how can that possibly be regulated in an unregulated industry? either way it is porous and will cause the same problems with bacteria because it is impossible to fully sterilise

according to the customs declaration on this bad boy, it’s made of TPE - not silicone as promised. if that were true, it would probably not contain unsafe material butttt would trap bacteria and other nasty stuff. and who knows if it is true?

either way, after feeling and inspecting the toy I can tell without a doubt it is not made of silicone, as I expected. so it’ll remain decorative. I suppose to be 100% sure I could flame test it but it’s quite pretty and I’m quite confident it would burn

basically, when it comes to sex toys, unfortunately price does mean everything. there are some cheaper toys you can get that are safe - glass toys, for instance, are totally fine to put wherever you choose. but so-called silicone toys is where you need to watch out

it’s better to try and save up for an expensive toy, if you can, then spend money on cheap and potentially harmful toys!

for more information on sex toy safety, check out https://pleasuregardenshop.co.uk/body-safe-sex-toy-materials-post/ for some succinct info on what is and what isn’t safe to put in your body, and http://dangerouslilly.com/2018/03/body-safe-sex-toy/ for the hard-hitting facts