materials · safety · buying-advice · 2 min read · Updated 2026-07-08
Body-safe materials 101: how to tell what your intimate products are really made of
The short answer
Body-safe means non-porous and phthalate-free: medical-grade silicone, borosilicate glass, ABS plastic, or stainless steel. Avoid jelly, rubber and PVC products, and be cautious with TPE/TPR — porous materials cannot be fully cleaned. If a product smells strongly of chemicals, feels greasy, or has no material listed at all, do not put it near your body.
Unlike children's toys or food containers, intimate products are barely regulated for material safety in most countries, Australia included. Nobody checks what a factory means when it prints "silicone" on a box. That leaves the checking to you — and it is easier than it sounds once you know what to look for.
The safe list, in order of preference
| Material | Porous? | Cleanable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical-grade silicone | No | Soap and water | The default choice for soft products |
| Borosilicate glass | No | Dishwasher-safe | Compatible with all lubricants |
| Stainless steel (316) | No | Dishwasher-safe | Heavy; holds temperature |
| ABS plastic | No | Soap and water | Common for hard shells and housings |
All four are non-porous, which is the property that actually matters: a non-porous surface can be genuinely cleaned, while a porous one absorbs moisture and harbours bacteria no matter how carefully you wash it.
The avoid list
Jelly, rubber, PVC and "cyberskin" materials are porous, frequently contain phthalate plasticisers, and often aren't stable over time — that greasy film on an old jelly product is the material itself leaching out. No price is low enough to justify them.
TPE and TPR sit in the middle: non-toxic and phthalate-free from reputable makers, but still porous. Treat TPE products as short-lived and external-only, and never share them.
Three checks you can do before buying
- Read the material line, not the headline. "Silky soft touch" is marketing; "medical-grade silicone" or "platinum-cured silicone" is a material. If a listing does not name a material at all, that is your answer.
- Check the price against reality. A full-size silicone massager cannot retail for eight dollars — platinum-cure silicone is an expensive raw material. Implausibly cheap almost always means PVC blend or untested TPE.
- Trust your nose when it arrives. Real silicone, glass and steel have essentially no smell. A strong chemical or vinyl odour that persists after washing means plasticisers are off-gassing — return it.
Why this matters more for intimate products than anything else you buy
Mucous membranes absorb chemicals far more readily than external skin does, and intimate products are used against them for extended periods, often with heat and friction. The same phthalate exposure rules that are legally enforced for a teething ring do not exist here — so the material bar you set yourself should be at least as high.
Every product we stock at Velaine lists its full material composition in the specifications table, and we do not stock porous materials at all. That is not a boast; it is the minimum standard we think the whole category should meet.
