Astroglide

Astroglide is a brand of personal lubricant manufactured by BioFilm Inc of Vista, California.

The consistency of Astroglide is similar to that of pre-ejaculate. Astroglide has achieved a good reputation among its competitors by tending not to have undesirable results such as becoming absorbed too quickly into the body (thus reducing the lubrication) or becoming thick and gummy (a behaviour common in some other lubricants, such as those designed for anal sex). The lubrication of Astroglide can be replenished with water if it begins to absorb. Astroglide is more expensive than many other brands of lubricant; however, sales of Astroglide are increasing and were projected to exceed $16 million in 2006. [http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=716392 Google answers] ]

The inventor of Astroglide, David Wray, discovered it while working on the cooling system of a space shuttle at Edwards Air Force Base in 1977. This association with aerospace was responsible for the name of the brand. The name "Astroglide" was originally licensed to a small company in North Hollywood (in 1982). When the company failed in 1991, Wray was able to regain the rights to the name. [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/07/03/news/inland/vista/22_04_057_2_05.txt "A force behind the scenes for years, Dan Wray has a hand in many things Vista"] by Anne Riley-Katz, "North County Times", July 2nd, 2005, retrieved July 9th, 2006 (under "The family business")]

The bottles are typically distinguished by the vivid purple color of their labels. A new variant of traditional Astroglide was introduced in 2005, using a orange cap and color scheme; this new variety is referred to as a "warming liquid. It has a stickier and less natural smoothness than the original Astroglide" [http://www.astroglide.com/products_warming.asp]

Although Astroglide's pH balance (slightly acidic) matches normal body fluids, which generally inhibits yeast growth, it is not recommended for use by those with yeast infections due to its glycerin content. [http://www.astroglide.com/health.asp Company health info] ] [http://www.a-womans-touch.com/article/41/61/Frequent_Yeast_Infections.html Myrtle Wilhite M.D. M.S.] ] Astroglide has a new product in a green colored box which is glycerin and paraben free for those sensitive to such ingredients. Instead of glycerin, xylitol is used in the product which has been shown to decrease yeast proliferation. [Abu-Elteen, Khaled H. The influence of dietary carbohydrates on in vitro adherence of four Candida species to human buccal epithelial cells. "Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease" (2005), 17(3), 156-162]

Ingredients

Original liquid product

Purified water, glycerin, propylene glycol, polyquaternium 15, methylparaben, and propylparaben.

Glycerin & Paraben Free liquid product

Purified water, butylene glycol, xylitol, propylene glycol, polyquaternium 15

Data security failure

In April 2007 it emerged that the names and contact details of Astroglide's online customers dating back to 2003 had been published on the Internet. The problem only came to light when someone who had ordered a free sample from the Astroglide website discovered a record of this request in a Google search. [http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2007/04/21/astroglide-data-breach-exposes-customer-information/ "Astroglide data breach exposes customer information"] by Michael Hampton, "Homeland Stupidity", April 21, 2007, retrieved April 24, 2007]

Google has since worked with the makers of Astroglide to correct this issue and all records were removed from Google's index soon after.

Trivia

Rosie O'Donnell claims that when she was a member of the show The View and close to Barbara Walters, Walters recommended Astroglide to her. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21152509/?gt1=10450 'I was fired by Barbara Walters!' Rosie reveals] "MSNBC.com", retrieved on October 5, 2007.] In her stand-up special "Straight To Hell", Kathy Griffin concludes her monologue by offering a similar account of Walters' endorsement of the product.

References

External links

* [http://www.astroglide.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.expotv.com/videos/reviews/11/129/Astroglide-Personal-Lubricant-5-oz/191414 Video Review of the Personal Lubricant]