Materials and Safety

Defining Body Safe

Before reading any further, accept that no one knows everything. A material that is considered safe today could be found to be toxic tomorrow. Asbestos was used for thousands of years, considered a wonder material for its insulating effects and being fire proof until exposure to asbestos was linked to Mesothelioma, a cancer of the membrane that covers our organs. Government approval, material certifications or any other promises that a material is safe should be taken as a lack of evidence that a material will hurt you, not proof that it won't.

First and foremost, the term Body Safe is a marketing term. It is not regulated or defined by any government agency and no one can enforce any one definition of the term as a result. It also comes in other varieties such as Skin Safe. The only terms directly regulated by government bodies are Food Safe and Medical Grade. Anything else is an advertising buzz word designed to comfort and attract potential buyers and assure them that their products are safe to use. This isn't entirely false, and some manufacturers have gone out of their way to prove that they're living up to consumer expectations of products that bear these labels. Regardless, the term has been adopted by consumers and toy makers alike. Colloquially the term has come to mean that a given material itself won't harm the user if inserted into the body.

Following the colloquial understanding of what Body Safe means, there are a couple of metrics that can be used to determine how likely a material is to be body safe. The first check is whether or not a material is approved, certified or otherwise used in either the food or medical fields. Stainless Steel is used in in artificial joints for hip and knee replacements as well as steel body piercings. Platinum cure silicone is used in those same artificial joints as well as for implants beneath the skin. These items are controlled and regulated by government bodies who define the standards for food safe and medical grade materials. The United States of America Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are laid out in Title 21. They lay out what materials, additives, and precautions during production are required for something to be legally labelled as 'Food Grade', 'Food Safe' or 'Medical Grade'. If a material is commonly used in one of these fields, then it would most likely be safe to say that it is body safe. There is no government regulation on what materials are or aren't safe for recreational insertion into bodily orifices, but if a material is safe enough to permanently implant it under a person's skin, then it's probably safe for these less demanding purposes, too.

While not government regulated, third party certifications are generally accepted within materials manufacturing as a 'proof' that the materials are safe. If a company puts a lot of time and money into advertising that their product is safe for a particular use, they'll usually display their safety certifications as evidence and a selling point. As an example, Smooth-On produces a number of Skin Safe materials ranging from silicone to pigments and glues. Smooth-On outsourced their testing to a third party lab and received OECD TG 439 certification. This certification, provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), means that the lab tests found the provided materials did not cause unacceptable levels of irritation to living skin cells when exposed for long periods of time. Note that this does not necessarily mean that the product meets the standards set forth by the US FDA.

That being said, the promise of what a product is made of is only as valuable as the trust you place in that maker. Anyone can make a website and make it say what ever they want. It's up to you, the buyer, to determine if a particular seller can be trusted, that their products are made from what they say they are, and that they're being honest when they say no harmful additives were used in production. Do you trust the seller? Is the seller in a country with the same or better regulations than your own? Do they have a history of doing business with customers who report problems with their purchases? Do you care about any of that? Ultimately, only you can decide if a purchase is worth the risk.

Finally, some common sense and observation is required. Even a known safe material can become dangerous if exposed to another material that causes a reaction. Stainless steel is corrosion resistant, not corrosion proof. If your toy is rusty, has sharp edges or burs, or appears partially melted then it's probably not safe to insert it into your body. Tempered glass can become chipped, stainless steel can rust or develop burs when scratched, and platinum cure silicone can degrade to the point of being unusable if not cared for properly. Keep this in mind if you decide to buy a toy second hand.

Materials Considered Body Safe

The below list of materials are generally considered Body Safe. They're either medical grade materials or considered inert, meaning that they have little to no bio-reactivity.

Platinum Cure Silicone

Smooth-On Skin Safe Materials are OECD TG 439 certified.

SiliconeAB is FDA Approved for Food Grade applications. However, SiliconeAB states that their silicone is not fur human use.

Tempered Glass

Tempered Glass, as opposed to Annealed Glass, has been treated in such a way as to control the internal stresses of the material. This process produces a glass that is up to four times stronger, and produces a safer break pattern reliably. Both materials are considered inert in terms of bio-reactivity, are non-porous and difficult for bacteria to grow on, or leaches any harmful chemicals. However, the higher tensile strength and safer break pattern of Tempered Glass makes it a much more ideal and body safe material than Annealed Glass. See the section on Annealed Glass below for further explanation on why it is a poor choice of material for toys.

You can confirm whether or not a glass toy is Tempered Glass or Annealed Glass by viewing it through a polarized filter. Tempered Glass will appear to have a prominent rainbow effect, while Annealed Glass will have little or no rainbow in it.

Stainless Steel and Surgical Steel

Stainless Steel is an alloy of Iron, Chromium and Nickel with other elements added for strength or improved material properties. There are many different grades of Stainless Steel, but all of them revolve around improving the primary property of the material: corrosion resistance. Stainless Steel is largely considered to be https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel#Health_effects inert in terms of bio-reactivity], meaning that it's safe to use in surgical implants such as artificial joints or in body jewelry where the material will be in constant contact with the human body. This makes almost any grade of Stainless Steel body safe.

Although the material itself may be safe, make sure to observe any Stainless Steel toy for damage, rust or imperfections around or on the toy itself before use. Stainless Steel is corrosion resistant, not corrosion proof. If a toy has any deep gouges, scratches or burs, you may wish to either discard or polish the toy before using again. Even a shallow gouge can have an edge that will cut through the soft tissue that lines the vaginal and rectal walls.

Materials Considered Unsafe or Potentially Harmful

The below list of materials are generally not considered to be Body Safe for one reason or another. They might be structurally unsafe or leak chemical additives. See each material for the stated reason that specific material is considered potentially unsafe.

Annealed Glass

Glass is considered to be inert in terms of bio-reactivity. It does not appear to react to body chemistry, it is non-porous and a poor substrate for bacteria to grow on, and it doesn't leach any harmful chemicals. However, annealed glass has not been tempered and can be unpredictably fragile. Tempered Glass is considered to be as much as four times stronger than annealed glass and has a predictable break pattern that produces smaller, safer chunks when broken. Annealed glass has unpredictable internal stress patterns that can produce shaft edges or even spear like shafts when broken. While chemically inactive, the unpredictable breakage pattern and lower tensile strength has resulted in the material being considered not body safe.

You can confirm whether or not a glass toy is Tempered Glass or Annealed Glass by viewing it through a polarized filter. Tempered Glass will appear to have a prominent rainbow effect, while annealed glass will have little or no rainbow in it.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Rubber

PVC plastic is turned into PVC rubber by adding phthalates. Phthalates are a group of chemicals used to soften plastics and make them stretchy. According to the US Center for Disease Control some Phthalates have been shown to cause reproductive issues in animals, but there is insufficient research to determine if there is any effect in humans. Web MD agrees that there is not enough research to know for sure, but leans toward Phthalates being hazardous to the very young and the very old. Other groups attribute endocrin disruption to Phthalates, meaning that the chemicals interrupt the natural process the human body uses to control and signal tissues within the human body to do certain tasks. However, Phthalates are also used in cosmetics and have not yet been banned or otherwise flagged as harmful by the US FDA.

In addition to the above concerns, some people are more sensitive to Pthalates and report that they experience a 'warming' or 'burning' sensation when using toys or lubricants that contain them. This appears to be specific to the individual, though, as many users do not report experiencing this sensation. There does not appear to be any research into this topic at this time.

For the above reasons and concerns, PVC rubber toys are generally not considered to be body safe. The lack of Pthalates in other materials is often touted as a feature and selling point. Phthalate free PVC rubber exists but there's no test to tell it apart from PVC rubber that contains Phthalates. It is advised to place a condom over a PVC rubber toy to prevent direct contact with the material.

PVC rubber toys can be identified by their sheen and chemical scent. They are usually black with a high gloss surface, but can also be given a surface coat of pigment to be more appealing to the eye. Most PVC rubber toys are labelled as such. If in doubt, ask the seller.