We'll start with a quick look at some of the different materials used to make sex toys, and a quick tutorial on taking care of your sex toys.

Adult Sex Toy Materials

Sex Toys are made from a several different materials, which can affect how you use your sex toys, the price and even how you maintain them. Before buying an adult sex toy, you should research the 6 basic materials - Plastic, Latex, Jelly, Cyberskin, Silicone, and Glass - so you can find the sex toy best suited to your needs.

Plastic Sex Toys
Plastic is a popular choice for sex toys, largely because of its extremely low price. Sex toys made from plastic tend to be very basic, no-frills models. Plastic sex toys are very smooth and sleek. Plastic sex toys tend to be excellent for penetration, providing a firm and fulfilling experience. But their lack of flexibility makes them less effective when it comes to clitoral stimulation.

Latex Sex Toys
This material is one step up from plastic. While still relatively cheap, latex gives the sex toy user many more options. Latex sex toys are firm enough for deep penetration, but these sex toys have more give and a little more flexibility than their plastic counterparts. Because latex sex toys have much more friction than plastic ones, you should always use a lube with them.

Jelly Sex Toys
Jelly sex toys provide an excellent balance between usability and cost - making this the material of choice for many mid-range and luxury sex toys. Jelly is very easy to mold, color and shape, properties which manufacturers take advantage of whenever possible. This results in jelly sex toys numbering among the most colorful and exotic-looking models of sex toys as well as giving designers a chance to include many special features. Jelly is a very pliable material that has on overall smooth, soft and even supple feel to it. Despite their name, jelly sex toys have a consistency similar to a hard-boiled egg and are very effective at penetration.

Cyberskin Sex Toys
Cyberskin sex toys are prized for their highly realistic feel and appearance. This special material comes very close to replicating the feel and appearance of human skin, especially after you hold these sex toys close to your body to warm them up. Because of its realistic look and feel, cyberskin is commonly used in high-end adult toys and realistic sex toys. It combines the soft give of jelly sex toys with the firmness of latex sex toys. Cyberskin sex toys do require some specialized cleaning.

Silicone Sex Toys
Silicone is a high quality material that is rapidly revolutionizing the sex toy industry. Silicone is prized for its durability as well as its superior hygienic properties. Silicone can put up with a great deal of stress and hard-use while retaining its original shape and qualities. Silicone sex toys tend to be more expensive because these models are meant to last for years of intense usage. For the most part, silicone sex toys are soft and firm and feel very comfortable whether used for penetration or clitoral stimulation. Silicone sex toys are also easy to clean.

Glass Sex Toys
The numerous benefits of glass sex toys make them highly appealing to the sex toy connoisseur. Glass sex toys often have a special, unique shape and are liberally covered with bumps and nodules to provide additional stimulation. Some special glass toys even include vibrators. But the most unique option of glass sex toys is the ability to cool the sex toys or warm the sex toys for added stimulation. Provided that the glass sex toy doesn’t have a vibrator, you can safely use hot water to warm up your glass sex toy to a comfortable temperature or you could place your glass sex toy in the freezer or refrigerator to cool your glass sex toy.

On top of all that, glass sex toys are highly durable; your glass sex toy could last for your lifetime with the proper care. Glass sex toys are also non-porous. As for cleaning, you can simply throw non-vibrator glass sex toys in the dishwasher or a pot of boiling water.

But all of these sex toy benefits do have a price. Glass sex toys are much harder to manufacture than other sex toys, which drives up the price of glass sex toys compared to other sex toys. The special features of glass sex toys even mean that some sex toys have to be handmade.

Taking Care of your Sex Toys

With just a little bit of Cleaning and Proper Care, you and your favorite sex toys can have a long and enjoyable partnership.

Cleaning and Maintaining your Sex Toy

Most sex toys are incredibly easy to clean. Just wet a clean towel in warm soapy water and wipe the sex toys off, taking care not to get the control area or battery compartment wet. If you use your sex toy anally, you must clean it very thoroughly using antibacterial soap or rubbing alcohol if possible after each use. There are also special cleaners formulated to safely work with adult sex toys that you could use instead. Be sure to clean your sex toy soon after use. Never put off cleaning your sex toy until the next day.

After cleaning, dry the sex toy with a soft, clean cloth.  After thoroughly drying your adult sex toy, you should wrap it in a dry cloth and store it in a cool, dry place.

These are the recommended cleaning methods for the most popular sex toy materials:

Plastic – soap and water, rubbing alcohol, sex toy cleaner
Latex – mild soap and water, sex toy cleaner
Jelly – mild soap and water, sex toy cleaner
Cyberskin – mild soap and water, Cyberskin cleaner, sex toy cleaner, talcum powder
Silicon – soap and water, sex toy cleaner
Glass – soap and water, sex toy cleaner, rubbing alcohol, boiling water

Long-term Sex Toy Storage
Batteries contain highly corrosive chemicals, and it’s not recommended that you leave them inside your sex toy for extended periods of time. If you don’t plan to use your sex toy for longer than a week, you should remove the batteries, wrap your sex toy in a dry towel and store it in a cool, dry place.