Lube is not optional

You know why from Level 1. Your booty makes a little mucus, but it doesn't respond to being turned on and there's nowhere near enough of it.

What Level 1 didn't cover is that which lube you buy genuinely matters, and there's a measured reason.

The number nobody tells you

Osmolality is a measure of how concentrated a liquid is. Your body's tissue sits around 280. If a lube is far above that, it pulls water out of the cells it's touching.

Read that range again. The gap between the gentlest product and the harshest is a factor of thirty, and they sit on the same shelf at the same price.

That study was of products sold in South Africa, so the specific brand names don't transfer to you. The principle does: this is a real measurable difference and it's worth thirty seconds of checking.

What to actually buy

Water-based, low osmolality. Some brands publish the number, and those are usually the ones worth buying. If a product advertises being "iso-osmolar" it's telling you it sits near your body's own concentration.

Or silicone-based. Slicker, lasts far longer, doesn't dry out. Great for long sessions. One catch, below.

Not warming, not tingling, not flavoured. Those effects come from added ingredients your rectum did not ask for.

The one combination that ruins things

This isn't a safety issue, it's a destruction issue. Silicone lube on a silicone toy makes the surface go tacky and break down over time, which then makes the toy porous and impossible to clean properly.

Since we just told you to buy a silicone toy: use water-based lube with it. If you want to use silicone lube, use it with glass or steel.

How to use it

More than you think. Then more again.

• Coat the toy generously.
• Coat yourself, outside and just inside.
• Top it up partway through.

That last one matters. Water-based lube dries out or goes tacky after a while, and that transition is exactly when guys get hurt. If things start feeling draggy, stop and add more. It isn't an interruption, it's part of the session.