Astroglide by BioFilm

The next time you hear a child asking what kind of real-world impact their high school science classes will have for them as an adult, tell them the story of Dan Wray.

While working on the cooling system of a space shuttle at Edwards Air Force Base in 1977, Wray accidentally stumbled upon a clear, slippery substance.

"I was trying to remove the oil from anhydrous ammonia and I ended up with this substance," he told a reporter from the North County Times, a Southern California local paper. "I gave a pint of it to a co-worker as a gag gift, and when he came back for a refill, I knew I had a product."

Five years later, Wray licensed Astroglide - named after its origins in the aerospace industry - to a company in North Hollywood. When the company declared bankruptcy in 1991, he and his wife decided to manufacture Astroglide themselves. The two started BioFilm that same year with a small business loan and a $8,500 budget.

More than fifteen years later, annual sales of Astroglide exceed $16 million. Not bad for a chemist who knew a good thing when he saw it.

Astroglide’s history is much more interesting than its qualities as a personal lubricant. When it comes to my own personal experience, Astroglide is fine. It works. It’s easy to find and affordable. It’s safe to use with condoms and compatible with all the toys in my cabinet. It rinses off very easily.

I’m not a huge fan of the texture, although I have learned to add water or saliva when it starts getting sticky. There are a million things I’d rather have in my mouth, but the taste is something I can live with. When it comes to anal sex, I prefer a silicone-based lubricant. When masturbating, I reach for a water-based jelly lubricant. For everything in between, Astroglide does the job. It performs a very specific function in the bedroom and it does that reasonably well.

One cautionary note for all lubricants containing glycerin... The Astroglide web site recommends that women who have yeast infections should avoid glycerin-based personal lubricants - which includes some Astroglide formulations (the company also makes non-glycerin personal lubricants). Glycerin does not cause yeast infections, but it can exacerbate the problem by serving as a food source for the yeast already present.