TPE Material
Sex doll maintenance
Investing in a TPE sex doll comes with many benefits and a lot of joy, there are so many purposes that your doll can serve.
From creative photography, film, and painting where your doll becomes your model and a selfless muse, to platonic relationship or sexual health-oriented engagement.
But with great joy comes some responsibility and a quality companion doll requires some basic care and maintenance to ensure she (or he) not only looks and feels great daily but also to maximize the lifespan of your investment and so-called ROI: Recurrence Of Indulgence.
A lot has been said about the TPE material and we also covered it before, but in this post, we wanted to focus on specific cleaning techniques and strategies that should help you make the maintenance routine simple and easy, therefore systematic. What we like doing we don’t avoid after all. Think of it as taking a daily shower, brushing your teeth and washing your sheets. Clean and fresh environment makes any given sensual experience much more pleasurable and memorable at the same time.
TPE has been gaining some great recognition over the years but also some undeserved criticism. It is imperative to understand the material and its qualities and specific advantages. At the same time, it is important to understand its practical characteristics and limitations.
Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), sometimes referred to as thermoplastic rubbers, are a class of copolymers or a physical mix of polymers (usually a plastic and a rubber) which consist of materials with both thermoplastic and elastomeric properties. It actually helps to know that this is the same material used today to make yoga mats, and we are quite positive you came across a yoga mat once or twice. The first thing you need to understand is that TPE is a type of a rubber-like plastic compound made of carbon, hydrogen, and other materials. TPE is recyclable, biodegradable, PVC-free, phthalate-free, and latex-free. Recently, TPE has even replaced PVC plastic in children’s toys and pacifiers. Our TPE dolls are waterproof, hypoallergenic and phthalate free. The skin has pure natural luster and smooth feelings to the touch. Each product is carefully inspected and compliant to all E.U & U.S hygiene and quality standards.
Now, as we always go back to this subject eventually: why are some dolls advertised as TPE dolls or even original WM Dolls so cheap sometimes? It’s because the sex toy industry is not regulated, and so it is hard for consumers to actually know if a toy or a doll is made of TPE, TPR or even jelly. So a toy could be totally made of jelly, but the company could still market it as TPR or TPE. Hence, how is it even possible for us to know which toy is made of what?’ Probably the biggest difference is that TPE material doesn’t have the awful smell jelly has since is is phthalate-free.
TPE used to make sex toys and dolls is based on SEBS, and usually, some environmentally-friendly operating oil is also used as a modifier to adjust the viscosity and hardness of SEBS. TPE is an environmentally-friendly soft material and its constituent components-SEBS and operating oil do not contain plasticizers which can pass the detection of o-phenylenediamine 16p, nonylphenol (NP), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs. The hardness of TPE can be adjusted to be softer than silica gel so TPE is the ideal raw material for sex toys. Some TPE sex toys may feel a little sticky, there might be a certain smell because of the oil component, but adding some smoothing agents and flavoring can improve its properties.
Pros of the TPE material:
Hypoallergenic
Latex-free
Often Phthalate-free
Life-like feel
Squishy
No odor
Smooth/Soft (not tacky)
Easy to clean
Cons:
At times it can feel a little sticky, leaving a slight layer of film on your hand. Applying cornstarch or baby powder over your doll usualy eliminates this problem
Temperature sensitive
Porous material (has holes like pores that may trap fluid inside)
Cannot be sterilized
Quality depends on the blend and technique - ergo some brands are better than others
If you are going to use them internally, we recommend using a polyurethane condom. The mineral oils these toys are softened with can break down regular latex condoms, but you’re definitely going to want some sort of barrier between these toys and your permeable membranes.
Dolls orifices (vagina, anus, and mouth) can be removable or permanent. They are designed to be tight and usually come with different textures, some are ribbed to give you the pleasure you deserve. At first look, they all look the same, but the pattern inside differs. It is designed with teeth made from silicone to make oral sex possible. Some dolls are capable of giving you your favorite deep throat. The advantage of a removable orifice is that it is easier to clean. You don’t have to take the whole doll to clean her mouth, anus or vagina. Just remove the orifice and wash it separately.
TPE doll maintenance: beginners tips
Beginner’s luck is a real thing, but just as when going for a date - don’t leave anything up to chance. Be ready and come prepared. Here are top five things to keep in mind when you order a sex doll and when your new TPE companion arrives:
Handling and lifting: our dolls are as real as they can be, meaning also their weight is quite substantial. After all, nobody cares about blow-up dolls anymore. In any case make sure you order a doll according to your physical capability, make sure the size and the weight respectively are suitable for you. It is not so much the weight but the fact that after all, at least for now, are still dolls, not robots - at least at this point (but we are working on it!) With all that being said - there is a huge upside: playing with a love doll provides a perfect, regular amount of physical activity and strengthening exercise. What else could you wish for? :)
Bathing and washing: to clean your doll all you need is the spray bottle, baby wipes, powder, and makeup brush. Place your doll horizontally on a flat surface such as a bed or soft foam pad. Using the spray bottle add 70% water and 30% laundry detergent (unscented) and mix. Spray her front half and wipe using a baby wipe, do this until her torso, arms legs have been cleaned. Dry her with the soft fleece towel and then powder her to remove the tacky feeling to get the smooth skin feeling. It is not necessary nor really recommended to shower or bathe your TPE doll (although no major harm should happen to the material itself provided the water temperature is under 100°F
Positioning: move her limbs with your other hand holding a joint, for example, hold elbow when moving the forearm. Your doll comes with an impressive range of motion but do be careful and gentle when posing and moving your doll around.
Skin protection: no need for sunscreen here, but a few tips to keep the skin in the best possible condition include: protect her legs with stockings or pantyhose, to avoid cuts, marks and makes getting clothes on it easier
Interaction and intercourse: You may find this surprising but it is now unnecessary to use water-based lubrication for sexual intercourse with your doll. It is safe to use Vaseline or baby oil for lube alternative. We always recommend using a condom.
Cleaning the intimate body part of your TPE doll
The vagina, anus and mouth if used will require some added care. As the crotch is a high stress area, it is ideal if once a week you apply Nivea creme to the vagina and crotch as this contains mineral oil and quickly will be absorbed by the TPE. Mineral oil is what makes the TPE soft and elastic if it were to dry out then a rip or tear can appear so it is important to provide extra care to the vagina and crotch. Leave the Nivea creme for approximately 6 hours for it to be absorbed onto the skin. For better protection you can apply Nivea every time you use the orifices.
Most dolls come with a vaginal irrigator (or vaginal flusher). After using it, flush the holes with the water pump we provided. Next insert a soft absorptive cloth in the holes to absorb the humidity left. If you need to clean the outside part, just wash the sex doll with water and soap. Wipe it until it is dry, never use a hairdryer because if you heat the doll more than 40ºC it can start melting. Then apply some baby powder on her skin, it will absorb any humidity left and improve the touch feeling. To dry the holes, we suggest using tampons, one for the mouth and 2 for the vagina (behind each other) and 2 for the anus opening (behind each other). Tampons are much easier to insert, soaking off the moisture, do not produce fluffs and can be easily removed with the strip. The tampons are soaking off most of the sperm-lube mixture. That allows you to move the doll without the fear that something drops out. You can remove the tampons after a few minutes.
TPE Doll advanced care
It is recommended to hydrate the entire doll with mineral oil to keep the doll factory new. Similar to washing your doll you apply baby oil on the front half of the body and wait approx 2 hours for absorption and flip the doll over and repeat. Be sure to remove baby powder first before oiling her body. Vaseline can be used under high-stress areas such as the armpits, crotch, and vagina but requires approx. 12 hours for absorption. Vaseline and Nivea creme have a higher mineral oil content than baby oil. For hydrating the entire body, baby oil is the proper choice.
Storage
To avoid wearing out the underarm or other parts of the skin, please keep arms and legs straight and parallel to the body when not in use. If you store it in a bent position for a long time, for example sitting or with her arms up, you will take the risk to make her skin folds look like scars even in normal position. As TPE is a porous material, it is possible the appearance of clothes stains on her skin. If you use dark color clothes it is more likely than if you use clothes with lighter colors, especially when new. To prevent clothes from fading on the skin, be sure to undress the doll when not in use.
Substances than can damage your TPE doll
Alcohol
Pure alcohol like rubbing alcohol, alcohol thinned with water and products containing a lot of alcohol like baby wipes, disinfection wipes, sprays and soaps, toy cleaners, etc. Alcohol is producing micro-cuts (irreparable) and a dry out effect (porous, cracked and brittle ) inside the TPE structure. Spray perfume only on clothing and/or wig before you put on your doll. Do not spray perfume directly on the doll's TPE surface.
Solvents
All kind of single solvents and solvent compounds like mineral spirits, odorless mineral spirits, paint thinner, nitro-thinner, and products containing solvents like alcohol-free baby wipes (includes ether and/or chlorine instead of alcohol) etc. Solvents are causing a dissolving process inside the TPE structure, are destroying the block-copolymers and therewith they are extremely harmful to TPE. Only official repair solvents for TPE dolls and their different TPE blends, provided from the vendors, are allowed according their repair manuals/videos and recommendations from the vendors and manufacturers.
Vegetable oil
Products containing vegetable oil, like crèmes, soaps, shower gels with coconut oil, fruity oils, etc. Vegetable oils are sealing the TPE surface and therewith the necessary breathing function of TPE is stopped.
Silicone oil:
Products like wet condoms (includes dimeticone) and silicone-based lube. Silicone oil influences the TPE structure and makes it harder, cracked and brittle. Also a shrinking process of the TPE can happen.
Note on the sex doll brothel concept
Understanding the TPE material and the fact that the dolls made of TPE and technically also from Silicone are porous, means that we strongly advise against sharing such toy with anybody else. Of course, just as having sex with a trusted partner is understandable, we can imagine sharing a doll in a similar manner. These toys also shouldn’t be shared between partners who aren’t fluid-bonded, and you should keep an eye out for signs of mildew or the material breaking down. TPE is a porous material. It’s a general classification, meaning TPE can harbor bacteria and dirt. Moisture left inside vaginal and anal cavities over time will result in growing mold.
Visit out TPE Dolls section and make sure you also check some of the new TPE models like Nora or Zulu