Tips for giving you and your partner an organic sex-lift.
Sex is natural, sex is good, but not everybody is doing nearly enough of what they should. We're busy, we're stressed out and we're tired, but that's precisely why we should be having more sex. Being intimate cuts heart attack risk, burns calories, releases endorphins and boosts immunity. But in a technology-addled world where we're often more intimate with our iPhones than our active or would-be lovers, sometimes you need a few tips. It's time to slow down and put some eco into your sex. Here's a guide to getting it on au naturel.
Fall in Love With Your Own Body
Eco-Sex starts with your own body. Practice being Cleopatra from the moment you wake in the morning until your lover arrives to pick you up (or just comes home from work). If you haven't already begun excising toxic chemicals from your beauty routine, let better sex be your clarion call. Cleansing and moisturizing with EWG-approved products or DIY organic essential oil blends will make you look and feel beautiful. Falling in love with your own body is step number one for a healthy sex life, so give your temple the respect it deserves.
Entertain Aphrodisiacs
Nibble on vegan and organic aphrodisiacs. Skip the heavy, artery-clogging and potentially erection-killing steak and champagne dinner. Try a vegan and/or raw meal laced with aphrodisiacs like asparagus, ginger, avocado and artichoke (to turn on women) and cinnamon, mango, squash, pumpkin and cayenne (to turn on the guys). Ginger and basil do double-duty, seducing both sexes.
Light it Up
Let there be candlelight. Particularly if you're in a long-term relationship where it seems as if you and your partner are having a threesome with the television. It's nice to ditch the grid, at least for an evening. Turn off all the electric lights and create a sensual, subtle, skin-flattering glow. Conventional candles are often made from toxic paraffin, so go for ethically sourced, eco-friendly, fair-trade varieties when possible. Cheekily-named candles from A Scent of Scandal (examples include "Morning Wood" and "One Night Stand") are vegan with cotton wicks. Essoya Candles use non-GMO soy and stimulating essential oil blends. Or try doing a craft night with your lover: Make candles together before you make love.
Slip Into Something Natural
Wear sustainable skivvies. When sex gets too routine, the old cliché about lingerie really does work – especially when your panties are made from the good stuff. Forget the mass-produced Victoria's Secret or even the Agent Provocateur -- slip on underwear made from natural textiles like organic cotton and bamboo, and let the fireworks begin. Enamore, Araks and Urban Fox make gorgeous, simple and sexy bras, panties and teddies that both you and your lover will fancy.
Stay Ethical Right Down to…
Make your safe sex sustainable sex. The amazing folks behind Sir Richard's Condom Company have created the first ethical condom. Vegan (certified by PETA) and sourced from sustainable latex, Sir Richard's donates a condom to a developing country for every one you buy. Consider them the Tom's Shoes of the sex industry. Luckily your pleasure is just as important to them as ethics are: The ultra-thin variety are seriously thin condoms that feel barely there. They're also stylishly packaged and available at Whole Foods.
Oil Up Your Libido
Rub on some DIY massage oil. Coconut oil, the magical elixir that can be used in your hair, as a makeup remover, as a vegetable sauté or in your smoothie is also a wonderful massage oil. Try putting a few drops of lavender and ylang-ylang essential oil (for stress-reduction) or neroli oil to stimulate libido.
Make Things Slippery
Make your lube organic. The conventional lube you find in the corner drugstore likely includes endocrine-disrupting parabens. Even some of the "natural" brands still have glycerin, which isn't necessarily a toxic ingredient in other products, but not something you want near your nether regions. Glycerin strips the vagina of moisture, making it raw and more susceptible to yeast infections and even STI's. Experiment with organic brands like Sliquid Organics or the UK-based Yes. Note: Only use water-based lube with latex condoms -- oil will degrade latex, rendering it useless. Keep your coconut oil away from your condoms.
Create An Adult Toy Box
Try sustainable sex toys. Yes, they require power. But that doesn't mean they're less than natural. The pleasure-pioneers at JimmyJane have created a line of sustainable, medical-grade, rechargeable silicone sex toys that last practically forever, unlike the throwaway, pthlalate-laced, plastic dildos of yore. These toys are gorgeous pieces of high-end design that belong on top of your night table instead of hidden in the drawer.
Take It Out of the Bedroom
Do it in the woods. You can, and you should change sexual venues. Find a safe, secluded spot in the wilderness and surrender to the wind and the leaves and the trees.
This article originally appeared on EcoSalon.