CBD Lube: What It Is, How It Works, and Why We Made Ours
We get a lot of questions. "Why should I use lube?" "What is CBD helpful for?" and of course, "Why CBD lube?" So let's dive in — not with a sales pitch, but with an honest conversation about what CBD actually does in your body, why we chose to build our pleasure potions around it, and what makes a botanical CBD sex oil different from the bottle of lube gathering dust in your nightstand.
I'll start with the basics and get deeper as we go. If you already know what CBD is and how lube works, skip ahead to the part about why these two things together are kind of perfect.
First — What Is Lube, Really?
It sounds like an obvious question, but there's space for confusion. Lube is any product used to increase slipperiness and wetness, primarily on the genitalia during sex, often in a gel or oil base. The FDA has very specific rules about what can be labeled as such — TOCA has lube properties, but we label our products as sex oils because of how we formulate them.
Whether or not your body produces a lot of natural lubrication, using lube during sex can open up so much: prolonged foreplay and play, anal penetration, experimentation with toys, BDSM and kink, or simply more pleasure, less friction, and intensified orgasm. It eliminates the stress of worrying about your body's (or a partner's) ability to produce wetness in the moment — and when you eliminate that stress, you're left with unlimited pleasure potential.
What Is CBD?
Cannabidiol — CBD — is one of the main active constituents derived from the cannabis plant. THC is the other well-known cannabinoid. When we talk about CBD, we're referring to two things:
It's derived from the hemp plant. And it's the chemical cannabidiol rather than THC (the compound that produces a high). You can have different ratios of THC to CBD in different products and cannabis flower, but in order to be federally legal for sale — which TOCA is — a product must contain under 0.3% THC. So no, CBD lube will not get you high.
One of the reasons cannabis is so important to human health is that we have cannabinoid receptors all throughout our bodies. They're called the endocannabinoid system, and they are essential to our sense of wellbeing, safety, and balance — what's known as homeostasis. Cannabis has a wide array of medicinal benefits and impacts people in different ways. It has an ancient role in native and indigenous practices, and the medical industry is only now beginning to study what these traditions have long understood.
What we've learned over the years is that cannabis can be a deeply useful tool in sexual health and can have a lasting positive impact on your sex life. Here's how.
How CBD Works on Your Body During Sex
When you apply CBD topically to intimate tissue, it interacts with the cannabinoid receptors in vaginal and anal mucosa — some of the most receptive and sensitive tissue on your body. Here's what's happening beneath the surface:
It talks to your pain receptors. Cannabis impacts our pain receptors in two ways — it brings down the pain itself, and it reduces the signaling to our brain that something hurts. For anyone who experiences discomfort during penetration, this is a game-changer.
It interrupts inflammation. By calming the body's inflammatory response, CBD encourages healthy blood flow and engorgement of erectile tissues. More blood flow means more sensitivity, more natural lubrication, and more intense sensation.
It helps tissues relax and open. This isn't just physical — when your tissues feel safe, your nervous system follows. CBD supports that shift from tension to receptivity, from guarding to softening. Breathe into that for a moment.
The result? Reduced pain. Increased sensation. Deeper relaxation. More presence. And for many people, more powerful orgasms.
Why We Use CBD in Our Pleasure Potions
We could have made a simple lubricant. We chose to make something more — a botanically formulated sex oil with CBD at its heart. Here are the five reasons why:
#1. We believe pleasure should be the driving force behind everything we do.
Pleasure is tantamount to wellbeing. Do you enjoy your life? Do you value your work? Do you notice when your food tastes good or when you hear a beautiful sound? Do you find ways to do things you like every single day, even in the smallest ways? For us, creating a CBD sex oil has been a devotional act — a commitment to bringing pleasure to life and a dedication to spreading that as far and wide as possible. We don't all have the luxury to do work we love or to spend hours on self-care, but we can all find pleasure in our lives and make that the foundation for the choices we make. CBD lube is one product that can almost certainly increase your pleasure in life.
#2. Lube makes sex better, and CBD lube makes sex even better.
The world is catching on to the realization that lubricant makes sex better. Adding CBD to the mix with all its benefits is doubling down. Our pleasure potions can be a tool for prolonging foreplay and play, allowing for experimentation, easing period discomfort, reducing pain during sex, eliminating vaginal dryness, increasing sensation, and enhancing emotional connection and relaxation. There is pleasure to be had and we want you to have all of it.
#3. Cannabis communicates with the body's own receptors.
I touched on this above, but it's worth sitting with: your body already has an entire system designed to receive what cannabis offers. The endocannabinoid system isn't something foreign being introduced — it's a conversation between plant and body that has been happening for thousands of years. Our CBD sex oil speaks your body's language.
#4. Sexual health and sexual vitality are underserved.
We want to be on the forefront of sex-positive, gender-fluid sexuality education and resource sharing. TOCA sex oils are a testament to that. Our work is focused not only on bringing you products that can change your sex life, but also on creating relationships, community, and collective wellbeing as part of our offerings.
#5. CBD and oil are a match made in heaven.
Cannabis is a fat-soluble plant that is best used in an oil base, making our sex oils highly bioavailable. The mucosa of vaginal and anal tissue are some of the most receptive on the body — if you're going to use a pleasure potion, this is a potent way to do it. And here's something we love: in the same way you can taste garlic in your mouth when you hold it in the closed palm of your hand, we believe our pleasure potions impact your entire system — energetically and sensually. Not just local. Whole body.
It's Not Just CBD — It's the Whole Botanical Formula
Here's what sets TOCA apart from other CBD lubes on the market: we're not just adding CBD to a carrier oil and calling it a day. Our pleasure potions are formulated with an array of medicinal plants, each chosen for how they interact with your body and with each other:
Ginger — a warming root that increases blood flow and circulation to intimate tissues, heightening sensation and engorgement.
Helichrysum — an anti-inflammatory and tissue-regenerating plant that supports healing and soothes delicate skin.
Peppermint — creates a gentle tingling, cooling sensation that awakens nerve endings and adds a layer of playful stimulation.
Clary Sage — supports hormonal balance and has a deeply relaxing, almost euphoric quality that helps quiet the mind and drop into the body.
Cardamom — a warming, aromatic spice traditionally used as an aphrodisiac, supporting circulation and adding depth to the sensory experience.
Because our products focus not only on CBD but also on the relationships between all the chemicals in hemp and the medicinal plants we've chosen, each ingredient potentiates the others — creating a formula that's more powerful than any single plant alone. This is the heart of botanical medicine: the synergy between plants working together on your behalf.
How to Use CBD Lube
A few practical things worth knowing:
Apply it during foreplay, not right before penetration. CBD needs about 15-30 minutes to absorb through the mucous membranes and start interacting with your endocannabinoid receptors. Use it as part of warming up — massage it into the vulva, the vaginal opening, or around the anus. Let it soak in while you breathe, touch, and build arousal. By the time you're ready for more, the CBD is doing its work.
Oil-based means no latex. TOCA's sex oils are oil-based, which means they're not compatible with latex condoms (oil degrades latex). They're perfectly safe with non-latex condoms (polyurethane or lambskin), internal condoms, and all silicone, glass, or metal toys.
A little goes a long way. Start with a small amount and add more as desired. Our formulas are concentrated — you don't need a lot to feel the effects.
It's safe to ingest. TOCA's lube is delicious and safe to ingest, so don't let that stop your flow if things move from hands to mouth and back again.
A Practice: Arriving in Your Body
Before you reach for any product, try this. Take a moment right now — wherever you are — and place one hand on your lower belly. Close your eyes if it feels right. Breathe in for four seconds... hold for two... and breathe out for six.
Feel your hand rise and fall. Feel the warmth of your own palm against your skin. Notice whatever is there — tension, softness, nothing at all. That's perfect. This is where pleasure begins: in the noticing. In the returning to your body.
Now imagine bringing that same presence, that same breath, into your next intimate moment — solo or with a partner. Add a few drops of a pleasure potion that's working with your body on every level. That's what we made this for.
Enough said. We're blending you the perfect combination of plant magick for your sex magick.
Anne Louise Burdett is the CEO of TOCA and lead formulator. She is also a sex educator, sexuality and sexual education curriculum writer and trainer, and a botanical medicine clinician focusing on sexual health and trauma.
