September 4, 2024 |
Let’s talk about sex baby! Today (September 4) is World Sexual Health Day and what better way to celebrate than by swotting up on your Sex Ed before jumping into the sheets tonight.
Thanks to a boom during the pandemic, sexual wellness is in and growing to sizes bigger than we’ve ever seen – bringing with it a newfound sex positivity that is removing the stigma from challenges like tightness, dryness and low libido. In short, we all want to get off better and don’t we deserve to?
Luckily for you, we’ve rounded up a bevy of beauty brands offering a range of services and products on everything from period care and UTIs to anal play and masturbation. Read at your leisure and thank us later.
PLAYGROUND
Taking a break from belting, in 2022 Christina Aguilera co-founded Playground, a brand all about promoting sex positivity. “You can be your best self only when you own every sense of yourself: your body, your sexual wellness and ultimately, your happiness,” said the singer on her involvement. Preparing you for when things get a little Dirrty, Playground’s offering includes everything you’d need for a good night in with your bae, from pleasure-enhancing intimacy oil to water-based lube infused with ashwagandha and horny goat weed to increase blood flow and sexual desire. With delicate scents such as wild rose and cream, champagne and vanilla, and electric daisy to further heighten the mood, you’ll be on the road to a big-O (or several) quicker than you can yell: ‘Wagon Wheel Watusi!’.
HOWL WORLDWIDE
Founded by filmmaker Samuel Douek in 2019, HOWL is for and by the queer community. Initially launching with silicone- and water-based CBD-infused lube – the bedside companion is specifically formulated to ready your rear for anal play. Promising to “elevate ass play to another dimension,” the CBD (not to be confused with mind-bending THC) increases tactical sensations which can lead to heightened orgasms. Not to mention, proceeds from each bottle sold are donated to The Outside Project – an LGBTQ+ centre and refuge for domestic abuse sufferers. In the five years following the launch, HOWL has expanded into IRL events as a way of bringing the LGBTQ+ community (and its allies) together to celebrate in safe spaces. Don’t worry, if you get tired from all the raving, the events are complete with a darkroom for clandestine encounters to put that CBD lube to good use.
KAMA
If you struggle to differentiate your clitoris from your cunnilingus, stop what you’re doing and download the Kama app right now. Launched by Chloe Macintosh in 2020 after 12 years of research into sexual wellness, Kama is your one-stop shop for all your burning sexual health questions you’re too scared to ask your GP. From tips and tricks for fingering and oral sex to guided meditations to get you back your mojo, the holistic approach is designed to inform and educate while helping you reach a higher sexual self. You’ll be a black belt in 69ing before you know it.
MAUDE
Founded in 2018 by Éva Goicochea, maude has been on an upward trajectory in the years since with Dakota Johnson joining the brand as co-creative director in 2020. Made to be enjoyed solo or with others, maude’s offering includes a variety of sleek toys that are too pretty to stash in your bedside table – including vibrating plugs, rings, and external personal massagers. Elsewhere, libido gummies for him and her are specially blended to help increase arousal and elevate your sex drive. Focusing on the self-care element of sexual wellness, maude has thought of everything you might need for pre- or post-coital routines, from its hydrating milk bath to the vegan candle – scented with heavenly amber, cedar leaf and lemongrass or pink pepper, lemon and cedarwood – that doubles as sensual massage oil to pour where you please.
CHEEKY BONSAI
Catherine Nguyen and Elise Johnson are the duo behind Cheeky Bonsai – the sexual wellness brand banishing stigma around UTIs and vaginal health. Debuting in 2021 with the Bye Bye UTI drink mix – a gynaecologist-recommended product that both treats and relieves symptoms – the duo wanted to offer an alternative to the antibiotic treatments currently used. Utilising D-Mannose to flush out bad bacteria, it’s delightfully flavoured like hibiscus lemonade to help it go down smoothly. The line now includes Cramp Killer patches to combat period pain and backache and probiotics to promote gut and vaginal health to keep everything squeaky clean and shining. If you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready!
DAME
DAME launched in 2019 to transform the period product industry, making them better for users and the planet. “Tampons were invented in 1933. Lots has changed since then, but the period industry? Not so much. It’s still full of plastic, chemicals and stigma,” say founders Celia Pool and Alec Mills. “DAME is here to change that.” In an effort to reduce plastic and wasteful single-use products, tampon applicators and period pads are instead reusable. Meanwhile, its 100 percent organic tampons are bleach- and toxin-free and fully biodegradable. One less thing to worry about during that time of the month.
KANDID
If you need to up your accessories game in the bedroom, look no further than Kandid – a brand at the meeting point of sexuality and sexual wellness. Created by business and life partners Josh Morris and Greg Davis in 2020, the brand aimed to fill a gap in the market to create gender-neutral sex toys to spice up your time in the bedroom, whether you’re with a partner, friend or alone. Offering a variety of shapes and sizes for various orifices – all products are crafted from body-safe silicone that is made to last for years of pleasure. Not sure where to start? Ask Kandid’s in-house sexpert Dr Elesha Vooght all your curious questions about toys and more.
CAKE
Launched in 2020, Cake wants you to have yours and eat it too. Designed to enhance the sex lives of couples – don’t worry, single people are welcome too – greater sex is guaranteed, or your money back. The offering includes supplements to combat ED and Stim for Him serum to increase penile pleasure as well as topical creams to increase blood flow and vaginal sensitivity. Not to mention a variety of lubes, condoms and sex wipes to keep things clean when you’re getting dirty.
HANX
The brainchild of Farah Kabir and Dr Sarah Welsh, Hanx offers your run-of-the-mill sex goods (condoms, lube, etc), but focuses on gynae-backed products to help in the moments when you’re not feeling your best. From thrush and BV treatment, to cystitis relief, the morning after pill and oestrogen-free hormonal contraception are available from their pharmacy should you want them. Meanwhile, supplements are specifically designed to support you through the various stages in your life. Whether you need more vitamin B6 to regulate hormone activity during menopause, or folic acid and iron to encourage healthy development of your baby while you’re pregnant. Tried and tested by the founders themselves, you know you’re in safe hands.
HIMS & HERS
For any men reading, this is the one for you. Aiming to eliminate stigma around sexual wellness – only one in ten men feel comfortable discussing their sexual health with a doctor – hims launched in 2017 to make things more straightforward. Initially offering treatments for erectile dysfunction and minoxidil to combat hair loss, the range of products has since expanded to include pills for premature ejaculation and skincare too. In 2018, the brand was joined by hers – a female counterpart focusing on weight loss, birth control and hair loss. Solutions for everyone!
Lead image: Courtesy of maude.
