A tale of two lubes

There are a few different points of view with regard to lubrication and the practice of wearing male chastity devices. When we first got into it, most of the advice I saw online said baby oil was the way to go. Some said lotion. Others maintain you don’t really need lube at all and if you think you do, you have an ill-fitting device. With this last group, I totally disagree. I’ve worn three different devices made of both plastic and steel and have always, to one degree or another, need to lube it up. I think individual body chemistry is a big part of determining if one needs to keep things slippery down there. If you’re one of the lucky few who are just naturally oily, then this post isn’t for you.

I tried baby oil early on. It’s main benefit is that it’s easy to find (though not always in a non-baby scented state) and it’s cheap. On the minus side, it’s oil and tends to run all over. Plus, I didn’t find its lubrication properties to be all that terrific or long-lasting. By lunchtime, it was as if it had never been. Lotion, I found, ended up getting sticky and left residue so that it eventually did the opposite of lubricate. Regular water-based lubes like KY or others meant specifically for intercourse didn’t last and also can also leave a sticky residue. Plus, many of those types include sugars that one really should not be using in close contact with warm and moist environments. That led me to silicone lubes.

The first one I tried was System JO’s Premium lubricant. Compared to the other alternatives, it’s quite expensive (around $20 for a small bottle), but a very little bit goes long way, so in practice a 4.5 oz. bottle can last months and months (4-6, on average). It’s entirely odorless and leaves no residue whatsoever. Also, it’s terrifically slippery stuff. After applying it around the ring of the Steelheart, movement is practically frictionless. By the end of the day, while most of it is gone, I can still detect a bit of it still doing its job, especially down under the scrotum where it’s most important. In short, I was thrilled and recommended it without reservation.

Then, I found another silicone lube for sale at Target. It’s called Astroglide X and was a bit cheaper than System JO (around $10, though in a smaller bottle) plus, since I’m in Target about a half dozen times a week, it’d be way more convenient should I run out and need more.

Even though they’re both “premium” and both “silicone”, in actual fact, they’re not the same at all. Their ingredients tell the story best. System JO Premium wins purely on complexity. Its label says it has four ingredients, two of which contain 28 letters each(!), and it says it’s “hydroxy-terminated”, whatever that means. The Astroglide X, on the other hand, has only two ingredients, neither of which are found in the System JO product and there’s no hydroxy termination claimed. They’re entirely different.

This become evident as soon as you pour a little out. The System JO is like clear, fantastically slippery maple syrup while the Astroglide is much thinner and nearly as slick. You can put a dime-sized dab of System JO on your fingers and have time to close the bottle and put it down before it’ll start to run away. The Astroglide is harder to tame and will start to slip through and around your fingers as soon as it’s set free.

OK, so which is better at lubricating a steel chastity device? System JO, hands down. The Astroglide X is a fine product and good in a pinch, but the System JO Premium lasts longer. It just does. Also, when the Astroglide has run its course and is no longer lubricating, it feels to me like it leaves a slightly grippy texture behind. The device feels less free to move around than it would had I used nothing and there’s a residue left on the steel tube. The JO totally dissipates. As I said above, it will still be noticeable 12 hours after application, but even when it’s all gone, there’s nothing at all left behind. It’s clearly a superior product for my purposes.

As I was beginning to run out, I decided to invest in a large pump bottle of the JO Premium. It was about $45 for 16 ounces, but it filled both my smaller bottles (one for the bathroom and one for the nightstand) with a lot to spare. This one bottle will last me way more than a year, I’m sure. I figure it comes out to about 20¢ a day (applied twice over 18 months assuming I’m locked up 75% of the time).

So, with all that said, you might still be in the baby oil camp or the hand lotion camp or one of those people who says no lube at all is the best, but, if you’re not so set in your ways that you’re willing to try something new, System JO Premium receives the official Denying Thumper seal of approval. Highly recommended (still).