LUBE Research - a Double-Blind Daily Diary Study

By Alyssa Quimby, MD

Ok, so we all know that lubricants make sex more wet and if you need more lubrication during sex, this can help.  But did you know, lubricants also make sex more comfortable and pleasurable even if you don’t have vaginal dryness?!  In medicine we like to study everything – and for good reason – and sexual medicine is no different.  Believe it or not, there have been many studies on lubricant use.  Today, we’ll review one of my favorites!

This is a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2011 that followed the experiences of 2453 women with a 5 week double-blinded daily diary study. 

Double-blinded means both the participants and the researchers didn’t know which type of lubricant each person was given.  This is designed to help remove any biases one may have about a particular type of lubricant. 

Instead, each of the lubricants for purposes of the study came in bottles labeled A through F with no other packaging that could indicate their type or brand. 

Each of these women was randomized to use one of the 6 chosen lubricants over the course of the study.

Of the 6 lubricants – 4 were water based and 4 were silicone based.  Unfortunately, there were no hybrid, oil based, or enhanced lubricants – which some of you may know about from our previous post on LUBE!

Participants were all women whose ages ranged from 18 to 68 (average age was 32).  They were mostly white (86%) but did also include American Indian, Asian, African American, and Hawaiian races.  Participants were both single and partnered, of varying sexual orientations, and used varying contraceptive methods.

Participants were asked to complete a survey on their baseline sexual behaviors at the start of the study including questions about types and quantity of sex they had engaged in in the previous month.  This included solo masturbation, partnered masturbation, oral sex, anal sex and vaginal sex.  Vaginal sex was the most frequent sexual behavior with more than one third of participants reporting more than 10 occurrences during the previous month.  I don’t know about you but I was quite surprised by this – that’s a lot of sex!  Good for them!

Each study participant was asked to complete a daily diary on sexual events, symptoms, and any side effects they contributed to use of the study lubricant. 

Results showed that water-based lubricants were associated with fewer genital symptoms compared to silicone-based lubricants.  This includes vaginal irritation after sex, increased discharge, etc. 

Both types of lubricant use were associated with higher ratings of sexual pleasure and satisfaction for solo sex and vaginal sex.

So what can we take from all of this???

TRY LUBE!  If you haven’t tried it before – do it!  If you’ve used it in the past but haven’t for a while – do it!

And if you’re someone who is more prone to vaginal irritation or just has a more sensitive vagina, consider a water-based lube over a silicone based.  For more recommendations on types of lubes – click here!

Want more of this???  Don’t worry – we’ll keep the info coming!