Body-safe materials 101: the two-minute version
This is the article the original Tickle Trunk could have written in its sleep, and it is still the most important one on the site. Here is the whole lecture in three sentences.
One: non-porous materials — medical-grade silicone, glass, smooth ABS plastic — can be fully cleaned and are what you want on or in a body. Two: porous materials — TPE, jelly, mystery 'cyberskin' — trap bacteria forever and should be treated as replaceable, condom-friendly, and honestly labeled. Three: the fastest real-world test is the smell; a toy with a strong chemical odor is telling you something.
Why we allow TPE at all: the two biggest categories in male toys (soft strokers and realistic dildos) barely exist in silicone at accessible prices. Our compromise is honest labeling — every product page states its material, and every TPE item carries care instructions that treat it as a semi-consumable: rinse, dry fully, replace when the surface starts to feel tacky.
What we do not stock, full stop: toys with phthalate stink, paint that transfers, or 'for novelty use' disclaimers hiding inside listings instead of where they belong (our legal pages).
Practical rules that survive contact with real life: water-based lube with silicone toys (silicone lube can degrade silicone surfaces), store silicone separately so pieces do not react, and boil or bleach-dilute non-porous toys between partners.
That is the whole sermon. It has not changed since 2013, and it will not change under new management.