Carrageenan all natural - water-based lubricant by Oceanus Naturals - review by Eucaly

Carrageenan All Natural performs best when used as a vaginal lubricant during sex or with inserted toys. I believe this lube is probably not thick enough for anal play.

I have used Carrageenan All Natural in my vagina and around my clitoris to add slippery friction, during sex and also during play with multiple clitoral and vaginal toys. I have not used it for anal play, though I have inserted some to soothe troubled hemorrhoids with no problem and with good results. I've also used it as a vaginal moisturizer, just a dab to make it feel less dry in there as I go about my daily business, and it succeeds marvelously at that task.

I don't think it would be good for body massage. Though it feels soothing on mucous membranes, it has a somewhat cold and tacky feeling on the skin and leaves a slight residue behind that makes me want to wash it off.

Since it is water-based, it's compatible with pretty much every toy and condom in existence, so no worries there.

Although aloe vera is the sixth ingredient listed, this lube overall reminds me of aloe vera more than anything else; not the aloe vera gel for sunburn healing but the pure, edible, dietary aloe vera. If you've ever had experience with that type of aloe vera, you basically know the texture of this lube.

To describe it, I would say it is a mixture of gloppy and runny, leaning more to the runny side. I know there are runnier lubes than this one, so don't let the "runny" part of that description scare you off. If placed on a completely flat horizontal surface, it at first makes a bead, a kind of dome shape. In my arm test, it stays like this for about 5 seconds before beginning to spread out into a wider puddle.

However, if the surface is not exactly flat and horizontal, such as if you are squirting the lube onto almost any sex toy, it starts to run in a particular direction and it is then a race to get the toy or your fingers into place before the lube drips. If I work quickly and pay attention, I nearly always win that race, because the lube doesn't run that fast. But if I'm slow or not paying attention, some of it drips off.

I have to work hard and put my nose right to it in order to detect any scent at all, and then it is the rather bland scent of aloe vera, so I would probably consider this lube to be unscented for all practical purposes. There's certainly no added scent.

The taste is exactly like pure dietary aloe vera. It is mostly bland with just a hint of sharpness in it, more a feeling on the tongue than a taste. If you've eaten pure aloe vera of the kind that is sold to be eaten, you know the taste of this lube.

Nothing that I can find on the package instructions says anything against oral, so I assume it is perfectly safe to taste and I have no problem doing so. With this lube's spit-recharging characteristic, it would probably work for oral (I'm guessing since I haven't personally used it that way) and if you or your partner(s) don't like the bland taste of aloe vera, I'm sure that you could probably find some body-safe flavoring to add to the lube and create a tasty experience.

When it is first dispensed, Carrageenan All Natural is very slippery. When I put some on my arm and immediately rub, it feels quite slick and there is no finger drag at all. After a while it becomes slightly draggy, and then eventually tacky with a residue as it dries. Application of water or spit or vaginal fluids can recharge this tired-out lube, not to its original slipperiness, but to a fair slickness.

If you want to use Carrageenan All Natural for more than two or three minutes at a time, you'll need to either reapply or to rely on this characteristic of the lube recharging from your own moisture. I've found that it thrives in the vagina, recharging itself from vaginal moisture so that I probably only need to apply twice: once at the beginning of a session and once in the middle. The further away from the vagina it gets, the more likely it is that my moist mucous membranes won't recharge it adequately and it will become tacky.

So, it is a completely different style of lube depending on where you are using it. I personally find that it creates an intense soothing sensation for inside my vagina, in my ass, and around my clitoris, and I sometimes use it outside of play sessions just for this soothing quality, or I may apply during play sessions more frequently than I need to in order to get this soothing effect. I've tried putting pure aloe vera in my vagina without getting this effect, so there's something else in Carrageenan All Natural that produces this effect for me, perhaps the carrageenan, a natural seaweed ingredient that is touted as being particularly good for vaginas.

The dried lube does leave a clear, tacky residue on toys, on the skin, and on any sheets/clothing that it drips onto, but it washes off easily and does not stain. I find it soothing to leave the lube on my mucous membranes without washing it off, but I find it tacky and annoying to leave it anywhere else and so I wash skin, toys, and anything else. If I use a large amount in my vagina, it will drip out after a session, but if I just use a dab, it rarely will.

The bottle looks very discreet, with no pictures of naked people and with only a few small words that betray its purpose. In shape and design, it rather resembles a bottle of shaving cream or perhaps a deodorant stick. If it were nestled among other bottles and products in a bathroom, guests should not realize what it is at first glance. They would need to either actually read the packaging or perhaps they would know what it is because they also use it. In any other situations, you should be safe.

Plenty of useful instructions and information are included on the bottle itself and on the box it comes in, and you can go to the manufacturer's (Oceanus Naturals) website for even more information.

The bottle is a bit on the large side to carry in a purse, though it could be done, and the cap might come off through jostling. The bottle holds four ounces, almost as much lube as the Sliquid Sea bottle does, but the Carrageenan All Natural is twice the size of the Sliquid Sea bottle.

The dispensing pump is spectacular. When you depress the pump, it extrudes exactly the same amount of lube each time, no matter what orientation the bottle is at, even upside down, so that you don't have to think about it when your mind is on other things, and you can't easily waste it. I bought two bottles a long time ago (maybe 8 months?) and I'm still on my first bottle. The non-wasting quality might have something to do with that.

It's a very sturdy and convenient bottle to have rolling around in the bed with you during a session -- that is, the bottle, not the cap. The cap is fragile and is best put out of reach of rolling bodies and flailing arms and legs before you start your session. I've rolled over onto the bottle numerous times without harming the bottle.

For a company that seems quite concerned with the environment and with natural products, I was surprised that the bottle does not seem to be recyclable. I have hunted all over it, and I cannot find any recycling symbols. If the company would change this, I'm sure they would increase customers.

Finding this lube was a life-changing experience for me. I had developed a long-term sensitivity to lubes, I now believe probably due to parabens and glycerin, two potentially problematic ingredients that seem to be in most lubes. After I developed this sensitivity, I kept trying new lubes, and until I found Carrageenan All Natural, every single lube I tried had at least one of two effects: a burning sensation immediately upon use, and a yeast infection a day later. Usually they had both effects.

I did the research and finally figured out that parabens and glycerin are the big culprits in most cases like mine, but that there are other artificial chemicals that can also be problematic. To fix this problem, I went straight to the most natural lube I could find at the time: Carrageenan All Natural. I was so happy when it didn't hurt and when it didn't give me yeast infections.

I went months without even a single yeast infection, and when I finally did start to have one coming on, with just a slight white discharge and a bit of itching, I applied Carrageenan All Natural for its soothing qualities and the beginnings of the yeast infection just disappeared. It never became a full-blown yeast infection. After looking at the ingredients, I suspect that "organic agave inulin" may have had something to do with it, since inulin (not to be confused with insulin, a completely different substance) is supposed to cause increases in the population of healthy microorganisms, which in turn suppresses unhealthy microorganisms.

So, despite the lube being a bit runny and needing recharging, I love this lube deeply and I'm very grateful to the company. Because of finding this lube, I could start using lube again.

Eventually, I grew brave enough to try another natural lube with a similar ingredient list, including carrageenan, which is Sliquid Sea. I found that lube to be thicker and overall higher-quality, while also being perfectly compatible with my sensitivity. Carrageenan All Natural is runnier than Sliquid Sea. I prefer the thicker texture of Sliquid Sea and so I use Sliquid Sea much more frequently (you can read my review of Sliquid Sea here).

Will Sliquid Sea completely replace Carrageenan All Natural for me? No, not completely. I still use both, though with a mind to each one's strengths and weaknesses. In particular, I love Carrageenan All Natural for the intense soothing feeling it produces, and after reading the manufacturer's (Oceanus Naturals) website about how perfectly it has been formulated to be the best thing for improving vaginal health, I would be reluctant to ever completely stop using it. In particular, Sliquid Sea doesn't have inulin.