THE SEX FILES: Sliding Into The World Of Glissant
There are lubricants, and then there is Glissant (which means âslipperyâ in French). Glissant was created by Dr. Karyn Eilber, a board-certified urologist with sub-specialty board certification in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and 20 years of experience taking care of womenâs most intimate needs and RenĂ©e Garacochea, a leader in beauty product manufacturing, with 25 + years in product development and marketing. Glissant lubricants are something the good doctor created because of what she saw every day.
âAfter years of my patients avoiding sex, saying it hurts, that they donât lubricate well, and many women coming to me saying that âI feel worse after using a lubricant I bought at the drug store,â I wanted to explore what was happening. All I had to do was read the label on those common lube products to see that most lubes have lots of chemicals in them, including chemicals that can irritate the skin of the vagina.â
âTo that end, our âGlissant Huile dâAmourâ is made of 100% pure essential plant oils, infused with CBD, CBG and key botanicals.â
The lube is made without the many potentially harmful (drying) compounds women and men need avoid when using something that is inserted into the body. Things like Phthalates, Silicones, Parabens, to name but a few.
And the products are edible as well. And with the addition of CBD, they can help with inflammation and pain in general.
What I didnât know, as Dr. Eilber told me, is that lubricants are considered class II medical devices. Therefore, there was a rigorous process she and Garacochea had to go through to get their non-CBD lubricant madeâŠand approved. Currently the FDA does not clear products with CBD.
âWell, we officially launched in April 2020, when COVID started but had been formulating the lubricant since 2016. It took two years to get FDA clearance, hire 3rd parties, engage in lab testing. Getting prior application approved, checking off the list of things that needed to be done.â
âAnd considering your professional standing, I would think this approval was most important?â I asked.
âYes, it was very important to get FDA approval for us both to put our names on the product. A person buying Glissant knows that a doctor is behind it who made sure there was all the proper testing for FDA clearance.â
The thing about the Glissant lube and all of the lineâs products (which include condoms, bath salts, body wash, shampoos, and conditioners) is that there is a certain level of âsophisticationâ as much given to what it is in the product as in packing.
On this subject, Dr. Eilber assured me:
âQuite frankly, we wanted to pay attention to the aesthetic of what the lube looked like. I wanted to make the product attractive, not look like a tube of toothpaste, and making the packaging discreet. Also, we made the lubricant itself available in a refillable and eco-friendly container.â
In the end, what Dr. Karyn Eilber and Renée Garacochea, want to do with Glissant is to help women, men, and everyone have better sex, enjoy their lives, not be afraid to seek out and find products to help improve their lives safely, in any way they need improving.
My last question to Dr. Eilber was the question of what she thought we were missing in our sex lives overall, even in the face of all that we can have access to.
As she had throughout our talk, she offered this ending very matter-of-fact assessment.
âWe miss basic information. We are not ever really educated all that well about hormone changes, our bodies in general and so much more of what happens when we start to become intimate.â
Go to www.glissantlove.com to see how Dr. Karyn Eilber and Renée Garacochea are indeed making our lives better.