What the science says about lubricants in anal sex

What the studies say overall

The evidence is scarcer than for vaginal use and comes mainly from studies of men who have sex with men, carried out in the context of infection prevention.

A systematic review carried out for the WHO concludes that, although the evidence is limited, lubricants appear to be an acceptable option for improving sexual health and wellbeing (Kennedy et al., 2021).

In a diary study of adult women, water-based lubricant was associated with more pleasure and satisfaction in anal sex than using none (Herbenick et al., 2011).

In a survey of men who have sex with men in Tanzania, two thirds said they always used lubricant for anal sex, and many used it to make penetration easier (Romijnders et al., 2016).

As for condoms, one study of male couples linked breakage to not using additional lubricant or to using an unsuitable one (Golombok et al., 2001).

Other studies add nuances: a small trial saw changes in the rectal microbiome after applying a hyperosmolar lubricant for seven days; in Nigerian men, using petroleum jelly was associated with lower microbiome diversity; a carrageenan gel showed no protective effect against anal HPV and had more adverse effects than placebo; and in a case-control study, sharing lubricant during fisting was associated with recent hepatitis C (Haaland et al., 2018; Laurie et al., 2022; Schmidt et al., 2024).

Saliva appears in several studies as a common lubricant: in a cohort of men in San Francisco, almost nine in ten had used it at some point in anal practices (Butler et al., 2009).

In another cohort, of Black men who have sex with men in six US cities, using saliva as a lubricant was associated with more new rectal infections, and a narrative review notes that anorectal gonorrhoea can be acquired this way (Allan-Blitz et al., 2021; Chow et al., 2019).

In a large online survey of people who practised anal sex, more than half used lubricant consistently (Javanbakht et al., 2010).

A representative US survey helps explain why this matters: about seven in ten women and one in seven men reported pain during anal intercourse, and many did not tell their partner (Herbenick et al., 2015).

Where they disagree

There is no single message because the studies measure different things: pleasure, pain, condom breakage, the microbiome or infections. A lubricant may be associated with greater comfort and, at the same time, with changes that we do not yet know how to interpret.

Saliva is similar: it is very common, but in studies of men who have sex with men it is linked to rectal infections (Butler et al., 2009; Allan-Blitz et al., 2021; Chow et al., 2019).

Limits of the evidence

Many are observational studies of a specific group, and changes in the microbiome are not a disease (Nowak et al., 2026; Butler et al., 2009; Allan-Blitz et al., 2021). None directly compares the types of lubricant on sale, and several are old or have small samples (Golombok et al., 2001; Butler et al., 2009; Haaland et al., 2018).

The studies, one by one

We have gathered 13 verified studies. Each summary is our own; the quotation in inverted commas is taken word for word from the original abstract, in English.

Other topics in the library

• Vaginal lubricants13 studies
• The safety of anal toys6 studies