Picture this: it’s getting steamy back at your place after a first date with that woman you haven't been able to stop thinking about from Hinge. Your sexual chemistry is fiery and things begin to escalate quickly. You get anxious because you want to go down on her but have not had the STI talk yet. As if she read your mind, she says, “Hey before anything else happens, I wanted to let you know that I’m wearing this latex underwear that has similar properties to a dental dam for STI protection. I want to keep going, but you can leave my underwear on as you go down there.” As you make your way down, you wonder why you’ve never heard of these underwear before…sexy, safe, and soft…that’s a triple threat!
Many people have probably not heard of latex underwear, but I suspect it’s on its way to being the talk of the town. On April 22, 2022, the FDA cleared Lorals, the thin, stretchy, flavored, disposable underwear, as a barrier when engaging in oral vaginal or oral anal sex. According to Brueck at Insider, “The underwear are only the second form of protection the FDA has OK'd to protect against orally-acquired STIs. (The much older oral sex protection option, dental dams, are pretty unpopular.)” For instance, Carol Queen, a sexologist for the sex shop chain Good Vibrations says “the company sells less than 600 dams per month in the United States, across 13 stores and its website.” Let’s face it, dental dams were not first invented as an STI barrier, they were invented in 1864 for dental surgery. ThankfullyHowever, Melanie Cristol, the creator of Lorals, had a new, less archaic idea.; Melanie Cristol says that she Cristol wanted to make a product that “was made with my body and actual sex in mind.” So, in 2018, Lorals was born. A company that sells single-use underwear for people with vulvas.
Suppose you’re looking for a fun time trap, head over to the Lorals website. I spent way too long browsing late last night so let me tell you some more details you didn’t know you needed to hear! First off, each piece of underwear is individually wrapped, so it’s easy to slip into your back pocket or purse before a night out. Additionally, these underwear are not just “thin” they are basically not even there…0.07 millimeters to be exact. Lorals don’t just “stretch,” they are expandable up to 8X for tongue and finger penetration. They come in sheer and black, as shorties or bikinis, and are vegan, gluten-free, paraben-free, chlorine-free, and vanilla-flavored. One couple even told the New York Times that the texture of Lorals feels like skin and it tastes like “you’re eating a cookie.” Another couple explained how Lorals gave them the ability to engage in oral sex again after two2 years because of one person’s vulnerability to cancers that STIs can trigger. The company explains that their underwear can be used for a wide range of reasons. Maybe your partner’s beard is too scratchy down there, maybe you feel more comfortable not being fully exposed because of past trauma, maybe you’re on your period and don’t want to deal with a mess, or maybe it just feels right!
Lorals submitted extensive documents to the Food and Drug Administration about their underwear’s elasticity, strength, thickness, and other specificities. In April of 2022, the FDA cleared Lorals for STI protection and did not require human clinical trials. As I think about other FDA-cleared barriers from STIs, dental dams and condoms, latex undies are the first form of protection that is not something extra to put on. No need to get out of bed and dig around for a crumpled-up package with a dental dam in it, all you have to do is leave your underwear on! It’s 2023, the world is ready for STI protection to be sexy, soft, and safe. Lorals is opening the discourse around sexual health so that you can too.
Written by Sage Reynolds.