By Haley · Updated November 2026
Almost everyone meets glass as a dildo and stops there. That is a shame, because glass is a material before it is a shape, and the things that make it good – it is nonporous, it holds temperature, it does not bend – apply just as well to a plug, a string of beads, a pair of ben wa balls or a prostate toy.
So this is a guide to the material and every shape we stock it in. If what you want specifically is the dildo story, including where glass toys came from in the first place, that is over in The History of Glass Dildos. – Haley
What Glass Does That Other Materials Don’t
Four things, and only glass and metal do all four.
- It is nonporous. Nothing soaks in, so nothing lives in it. Silicone is close; PVC, TPE and jelly are not – those are porous and need a condom if they are shared.
- It takes any lube. Water-based, silicone, oil, hybrid. Silicone toys cannot use silicone lube. Glass has no restriction at all, which is rarer than it sounds.
- It holds temperature. Run it under warm or cool tap water and it stays that way for several minutes. No other common toy material does this well.
- It does not bend. Rigid means pressure goes exactly where you aim it instead of being absorbed by the toy – which is why so many G-spot and prostate shapes are made of glass.
The trade-off is honest and it is the same one every time: rigid is precise, and rigid is unforgiving. If you want give, buy silicone.
Are Glass Dildos Safe? And Glass Plugs, and the Rest
Yes, with two conditions that are worth taking seriously.
Buy borosilicate from a real manufacturer. Borosilicate is the same glass family as laboratory and ovenware glass – annealed, fracture-resistant, and engineered to take thermal shock. Every piece below is borosilicate or tempered glass from a named manufacturer. Handmade or craft-fair glass is a different proposition entirely, because you cannot verify how it was annealed.
Inspect before every use. That is the whole safety routine: run your eye and a fingertip over the surface, and if you find a chip, a crack or a rough spot, retire it. Glass does not degrade slowly the way porous materials do – it is fine until it is not, and a visual check catches it.
At a Glance
| Shape | Pick | What it is for | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dildo with a handle | Hera’s Tempest 5.5″ | Controlled, targeted pressure | Budget |
| Double-ended | Spiral Staircase | Two heads, one spiral shaft | Budget |
| Plug | Rosebud 5″ | A beginner plug with a flared base | Mid-range |
| Graduated beads | XL Graduated Beads | Climbing size, advanced | Premium |
| Training set | 3-Piece Training Set | Three sizes, work up at your pace | Mid-range |
| Ben wa / kegel | Jaded Glass Ben Wa Balls | Pelvic floor, vaginal only | Budget |
| Prostate | Pure Indulgence Curved | Slim shaft, bulbous P-spot head | Budget |
Seven Shapes, One Material
All seven are borosilicate or tempered glass from named manufacturers, all in stock, and none of them appear in the history piece – so between the two articles you are seeing the whole shelf rather than the same toys twice.
Temperature, Briefly
Warm or cool tap water, a few minutes, dry it off. That is the whole technique, and glass holds the result long enough to matter. A cool plug and a warm one are genuinely different experiences from the same object, which is a trick no other material in the drawer can do.
There is more to it than that, and we wrote it up separately in How To: Safe Temperature Play – worth reading before you get inventive, because the failure modes here are the ones that actually hurt.
Care: Glass Is the Easy One
Nonporous means it genuinely sanitizes, which almost nothing else in a toy drawer does. Warm water and a toy cleaner between uses, or boil for about ten minutes when you want it properly done. Any lube is fine. Store it where it is not knocking against other hard objects – a satin bag or a drawer divider, not loose in a box with a metal plug.
Two exceptions worth knowing. A toy with a gem, charm or decorative setting is hand-wash only, because the setting is the weak point rather than the glass. And the inspection habit from earlier is the one piece of care that is not optional: look it over before every use, and retire anything chipped.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are glass sex toys safe?
Yes, if it is borosilicate or tempered glass from a named manufacturer and you inspect it before each use. Borosilicate is the same annealed, fracture-resistant glass family used for laboratory and ovenware glass. Retire anything with a chip, a crack or a rough spot, and never microwave a glass toy – warm or cool tap water only.
What lube can I use with a glass toy?
Any of them. Water-based, silicone, oil or hybrid all work, because there is no surface for the lube to react with. Glass is one of the very few materials with no lube restriction at all – silicone toys, by contrast, cannot take silicone lube.
Can you boil a glass toy?
Yes, about ten minutes, and because glass is nonporous it really does sanitize rather than just clean. The exception is anything with a gem, charm or decorative setting – hand-wash those, since the setting is the weak point rather than the glass itself.
What is the difference between glass and silicone?
Rigidity and lube. Glass does not bend, so pressure lands exactly where you aim it and the toy transmits temperature; silicone flexes and absorbs some of that pressure. Glass takes any lube, silicone cannot take silicone lube. Choose glass for precision and temperature, silicone for give.
Can ben wa balls be used anally?
No. Loose ben wa balls have no retrieval cord and no flared base, so there is nothing to get them back by – they are for vaginal use only. Anything used anally needs a flared base, which is why glass plugs, beads and training sets all have one.
Where to Go Next
Glass is the easiest material to own and the least forgiving to misjudge: buy the shape that matches what you actually want, check it before every use, and it will outlast everything else in the drawer. The full shelves are in Glass Dildos and Glass Butt Plugs. For where any of this came from, The History of Glass Dildos picks up the story. – Haley