Glossary
Silicone: what it is and how to care for it
Silicone is a non-porous synthetic material used in body-safe sex toys, including plugs, dildos and prostate massagers. It can be sterilised with boiling water or a 10% bleach solution, which makes it the safest choice for anal play — where thorough cleaning matters most. It is hypoallergenic, holds its shape well, and lasts for years if you look after it properly.
Why it matters
Anal tissue is more delicate than vaginal tissue and more prone to small tears, so the material you use matters. Silicone is non-porous, which means bacteria cannot get inside it — soap and hot water genuinely cleans it, and boiling it sterilises it completely. That is why most of the highly-rated anal toys we score are silicone.
It also means you can share a silicone toy safely between partners if you sterilise it between uses, or keep it to yourself and know it will stay hygienic for years. Porous materials like TPE, TPR and jelly rubber cannot be sterilised, so they are single-user only and need replacing more often.
The other reason silicone matters for anal play specifically: it holds detail well, so textures stay crisp and bases stay wide enough to be safe. A flared base is not optional for anything going near your backside, and silicone keeps its shape under pressure.
The Snug Report is published by the team behind Coy, a New Zealand retailer that stocks many of the products reviewed here. We say so on every page. Our scores come from aggregated public reviews, not from us — the method is on the methodology page and the evidence count is on every review.
Who publishes this. The Snug Report is published by the team behind Coy, a New Zealand retailer that stocks many of the products reviewed here. We say so on every page. Our scores come from aggregated public reviews, not from us — the method is on the methodology page and the evidence count is on every review.
We do not carry advertising and we do not accept payment to review or to score a product. What we do and do not do.