Why so many negative comments on "jellies"?

Contributor: Bignuf Bignuf
I have enjoyed my Jelly vibrators and toys for many, MANY years. Despite owning metal, glass, acrylic, silicone and even "wood" toys, they are still 99% of my favorites. I like the give and feel.

Till coming to EF I never gave them another thought. I always have cleaned them well with soap and water, and later with toy cleaner.

I have never had any infections, irritations or problems of any kind, and have used my toys vaginally and anally (never going from anus to vagina without CAREFUL cleaning).

So, please, someone explain why so many EF posts and comments are SO, SO negative about Jelly toys? I don't understand. What am I missing?

Thank you.
08/23/2011
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Contributor: Linga Linga
Quote:
Originally posted by Bignuf
I have enjoyed my Jelly vibrators and toys for many, MANY years. Despite owning metal, glass, acrylic, silicone and even "wood" toys, they are still 99% of my favorites. I like the give and feel.

Till coming to EF I never gave them ... more
Personally I've had a reaction to a jellie toy before. a burning sensation so that is the main reason I dislike it but also, it has very poor safety ratings, it's porous, contains phthalates, not sterilisable. I've also had jellie toys melt without it being hot or it being near any heat source.
08/23/2011
Contributor: ~LaUr3n~ ~LaUr3n~
Quote:
Originally posted by Bignuf
I have enjoyed my Jelly vibrators and toys for many, MANY years. Despite owning metal, glass, acrylic, silicone and even "wood" toys, they are still 99% of my favorites. I like the give and feel.

Till coming to EF I never gave them ... more
The real danger is the stuff you can't see, the bacteria harboring in your porous toy. They give off harmful chemicals and many of mine have melted.
08/23/2011
Contributor: Midway through Midway through
I would never swap a porous toy from anal to vaginal use, even after cleaning. It harbors the bacteria regardless of cleaning because of the porous nature of the material. Just not a good idea.
08/23/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by ~LaUr3n~
The real danger is the stuff you can't see, the bacteria harboring in your porous toy. They give off harmful chemicals and many of mine have melted.
This!

Many jelly toys have chemicals in them that may result in long term harm to the body. I know I get irritated physically when I have used soft jelly in the past. Although harder jelly didn't "bother" me. However, after reading about the chemical out-gassing, long term effects and bacteria harboring effects of jelly, I got rid of the jelly toys I had. Even the ones that hadn't actually caused an immediate reaction.

I did love my Heart Anal Beads called Luv Beads. They were the first anal toy I loved. But, due to the problems with jelly, I replaced them with a set of TPR/silicone X10 Beads and didn't look back. There are much fewer problems with TPR, I am not personally irritated by it, and it isn't nearly as porous as jelly. I prefer 100% silicone toys, but will settle for TPR or TPR/Silicone mixture, if the toy is something I want (or I have an assignment for a toy made of this material.)
08/23/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
I've only held a jelly toy in my hand once, but it smelled so terrible that, looking back, I'm surprised I had the guts to use it. I did try to use it, though, and immediately felt a terrible burning sensation---kind of like stinging nettles.

I immediately dissected and then trashed the thing, and only bought glass toys after that. I just thought that I, personally, had a bad reaction to it and didn't know that it was harmful to other people, too---but after I came here, and did some research (like Lauren and P'Gell refer to) I realized that I was *lucky* that my body had such a decisive reaction to the toy.

That said, I don't leave negative comments... maybe only an "I wish there was a silicone alternative to this!" because that's the truth.
08/23/2011
Contributor: Southern Lady Southern Lady
I have a couple of jelly toys, which I like, but aren't my favorites. I am beginning to think I may be having a mild reaction as well. Just wondering, if they are only used occasionally, if it is harmful or if it is just from continued frequent use? I won't be getting any more jelly, but I do like the flexibility of them.

Is there a link to read up on the hazards of jelly?

Thanks for the info and starting this discussion. I have been curious and this is helpful!
08/23/2011
Contributor: Gunsmoke Gunsmoke
Even if your not experiencing any problems I would recommend phasing out your jelly toys, there are just better alternatives out there. Like you we started with many jelly toys - some never caused a reaction - others caused severe reactions - mostly burning. We have thrown away all but one of our jelly toys and always use a condom for it.

That's my 2 cents.
08/23/2011
Contributor: Istanbull Istanbull
I used jelly toys analy for decades. Never had a problem before nor any result from bacteria either.
08/23/2011
Contributor: Yaoi Pervette (deleted) Yaoi Pervette (deleted)
I just hate the way the material breaks down and is sticky. It grosses me out.
08/23/2011
Contributor: toxie m toxie m
Quote:
Originally posted by Linga
Personally I've had a reaction to a jellie toy before. a burning sensation so that is the main reason I dislike it but also, it has very poor safety ratings, it's porous, contains phthalates, not sterilisable. I've also had jellie toys ... more
I've also had the burning reaction with a soft jelly toy, very uncomfortable. At the time I didn't really understand why it was happening and I kept trying to use my toy - eventually I took the hint and tossed it. I have had hard jelly that I didn't react to, but like Lingaloo says, now that I know about porousness issues and safety ratings I feel much sexier using toys that I know are safe and low-maintenance. The smell also really turns me off, and the way certain jelly toys visibly leak chemicals. Taking a brand new toy out of the package and finding it "wet" is absolutely a turn-off.
08/23/2011
Contributor: Dawn (Lilac Distraction) Dawn (Lilac Distraction)
I try to steer my customers away from the wall of jelly toys that we have. Yes, jelly is cheap, but you'll end up throwing it away after a couple of months. If you like flexible toys, TPE and TPR are much better. You can even look at the toys that are brand new in the package and see that they're "sweating".
08/23/2011
Contributor: ScottA ScottA
Quote:
Originally posted by Istanbull
I used jelly toys analy for decades. Never had a problem before nor any result from bacteria either.
An immediate bad reaction is not guaranteed (it depends on body chemistry), but jelly has so many unknowns that we're not sure what the long term effects of some of those chemicals are.

While the cleanliness issue is biggest for moving anal -> vaginal or for use by multiple people, just think about it: you can't get a jelly toy completely clean like you can get a silicone toy. Especially now that silicone is so affordable compared to jelly (the premium can be as low as $5-$10) I don't see any reason for buying jelly. The added durability of silicone is another plus - I haven't had a silicone toy destroyed or damaged yet, and I'm not super careful with my toys. I do keep them away from sharp and rough objects, and I'm careful with silicone lube, but that's about it. My oldest one is 10 years old now and still as good as it was when I first bought it.
08/23/2011
Contributor: Owl Identified Owl Identified
Hey there! I love that you started this post, because I think a lot of people here have felt the way you do at one point or another.

The deal with jelly. Hmm...well, it's like this. Sex toys - unlike food or drugs in the United States - do not have to go through rigorous safety testing in order to reach our markets. For this reason, many toys on the market that have been pulled for random testing have showed traces of cancer causing compounds such as cadmium and lead! So as far as jelly and other squishy materials, you run the chance of putting something potentially cancerous in your body if you use it without a condom. When your sex toys are made by a reputable company with transparent manufacturing policies (like Tantus, who are very open about the process of creating their toys) and they are made from 100% safe materials like silicone, you do not run that same risk.

In truth, there is nothing inherently wrong with jelly. I definitely understand your defensiveness, because when I first was told jelly could be harmful I felt like people were suggesting I was ignorant or uneducated, and furthermore I loved my jelly toys! I still own and use jelly toys, but I don't insert them because I am prone to yeast and bacterial infections. I also have to say that going from vaginal to anal is really unsafe with jelly, because you can clean and clean and clean but because jelly has "pores" like skin, it absorbs bacteria. In other words, you can scrub the surface all you want, but the bacteria is down below the surface.

Non-porous toys like metal or silicone cannot absorb bacteria, so after a good cleaning you can go from anal to vaginal play without an issue. However, you absolutely can use jelly toys with relative safety if you use a condom or other barrier method, and preferably if you don't go from anal to vaginal. But I hope we here at Edenfantasys haven't made you feel like your choice in toys and materials is wrong or misguided, because it's not. Ultimately, every individual should make choices about their body and health for themselves. At Eden, a lot of us just want everyone to have all the information first so they can make their decision with all the information on hand.

I hope this was helpful, because we definitely don't want to you feel unwelcome or not in some kind of silicone "clique" or something!
08/23/2011
Contributor: toxie m toxie m
Quote:
Originally posted by Owl Identified
Hey there! I love that you started this post, because I think a lot of people here have felt the way you do at one point or another.

The deal with jelly. Hmm...well, it's like this. Sex toys - unlike food or drugs in the United States - do ... more
Wonderful post, very well said.
08/23/2011
Contributor: Bignuf Bignuf
Quote:
Originally posted by Owl Identified
Hey there! I love that you started this post, because I think a lot of people here have felt the way you do at one point or another.

The deal with jelly. Hmm...well, it's like this. Sex toys - unlike food or drugs in the United States - do ... more
Thank you for that well thought out response. I am actually in a situation where I can "cut open" a few of my old, "ready to retire" Jelly toys and subject them to some real, hospital level bacteriological and virological cultures. It may be interesting to see what plates out. I will post results once obtained. THANKS AGAIN for your response and ALL the responses.
08/28/2011
Contributor: Sir Sir
Quote:
Originally posted by Owl Identified
Hey there! I love that you started this post, because I think a lot of people here have felt the way you do at one point or another.

The deal with jelly. Hmm...well, it's like this. Sex toys - unlike food or drugs in the United States - do ... more
I agree with you wholeheartedly.
08/28/2011