Soft dildos - what are they for, how to recognize them in the sex shop

Why soft dildos

1) Why a soft dildo is more realistic than a dildo as hard as a penis at maximum arousal

The spongy tissue inside the penis hardens at maximum arousal up to the level of the maximally stretched muscle, i.e. about 20-25H0. The penis at this maximum arousal you squeeze with your fingers no more than 1cm on each side. The penis is not always maximally hard during sex.

If you hold a dildo with a softness of 15H0 (after taking into account the soft skin, the skin of the penis corresponds to the hardness of the human penis) and an ideally soft dildo of 7.5H0 (like a slightly tense muscle - squeezing more than 1cm on each side) it will feel more realistic to you. ideally soft dildo 7,5H0. Why?

1. The penis is made of extra soft skin on the surface and a soft glans close to 0HC. People have not yet been able to produce artificial materials for dildos with the softness of human skin. The softness of human skin does not even reach the super soft artificial vagina. In order for the resulting dildo to be realistically soft, the inner part of the double-layered dildo must also be made softer than the spongy tissue of the penis at maximum arousal. For completeness, due to these manufacturing imperfections, there is no fundamental difference in the comfort of a sufficiently soft single-layered dildo and a double-layered dildo. More on double-layered dildos later.

2. The male penis is fully erect only during great arousal. Often not until some time after intercourse. Like we see in porn movies during oral intercourse. For a considerable part of sexual activity, the internal spongy tissue of the penis is therefore a bit softer, e.g. at the level of 10-15H0.

2) Soft dildos have a lower risk of injury

If the soft dildo is uncomfortable for the body, the vaginal and anal muscles will contract in order to expel the dildo. The soft dildo will reduce its volume and thus relieve the muscles. With a dildo that is not soft enough, tissue damage can occur when the muscles contract. As the softness increases, the dildo is also closer to the softness of the glans. And it is the glans that has the potential to cause the most injury. The glans goes the deepest and also breaks tissue and partially organs in the partner's body.

A soft dildo also mechanically abrades and deforms the tissue less. Thus less risk hygiene and other health complications of anal sex.

3) Automatic massage function of very soft dildos

Another benefit is associated with the softness of the dildo and the easier penetration of the soft dildo into the vagina and anus. After a while, the vaginal or anal mucosa around the dildo relaxes the vaginal muscles or anal sphincter and the smooth muscles around the anus. The soft dildo expands to its original size. The soft dildo thus massages the vagina, the anus or the soft muscle around the intestines from the inside.

4) Soft dildos easily train deep throat

A soft dildo will make practicing deep oral sex much easier – technique deep throat.

5) Bigger dildos need to be more soft because they arouse physiologically differently

The penis stimulates the erogenous zones with appropriate pressure. With larger dildos, it is high pressure and great stretching, possibly enhanced by psychological feelings from great or extreme stretching of the vagina or anus. Submissive erotic feelings for the user of the dildo and dominant ones for the observing partner. In other words, the penis should penetrate and deliver semen. A large dildo should be as big as possible so that the body can handle it.

With an extreme dildo or anal plug with an ideal hardness of around 7.5 H0 or 5-10H0, the best performances can be achieved. A soft plug with ideal hardness and elasticity will gradually loosen the tissue. The muscle around the mucosa contracts and relaxes around the soft plug itself and therefore actually massages itself. This means less damage to the mucosa due to the spontaneous reaction of the muscle in an attempt to expel the object, faster relaxation, faster long-term stretching. A soft dildo hurts just as much as a hard dildo that is 1-2 cm narrower. A soft dildo also motivates you more with a better view.

The extra soft dildo shrinks in the vaginal entrance or anal sphincter and penetrates the vagina or anus more easily. This enhances the automatic massage effect of the soft dildo described above.

When the dildo is already too soft

Too soft a dildo or butt plug (with a hardness of 0-4%, i.e. 0-4H0) is difficult to insert. Due to its excessive elasticity, it has a limited ability to stretch the tissue. However, very soft penis sleeves and artificial vaginas are made with a hardness of 0.5-8 and are best at a hardness of 0.5.

Sex shops usually do not have soft dildos and misleadingly label them hard dildos

For example, you often see transparent dildos made of PVC or silagel labelled as very soft dildos. That's nonsense. Dildos in this material are produced in 15H0+ hardness. It is not even possible to make it more soft to order. In Redpipi this dildos hardness 10-20H0 is referred to as Soft as a spongy muscle, but it's a long way from the ideal softness of a 7.5 H0 dildo.

The standard market hardness of dildos is 25H0 and we practically do not offer them. Sometimes manufacturers also supply 15H0. For a lower hardness you have to ask for a custom order and we are not aware of any other shop in the country doing so. So if another sex shop lists a dildo as very soft, they are usually basically lying.

Ideal soft dildos in Redpipi sex shop

Ideally soft dildos are basically not available in any sex shop. Even the hardness of Mr. Haynkey Toys dildos, who were perhaps the first to start producing only high-quality silicone dildos, is 16H0. At Redpipi we keep all ideally soft dildos in softness 5-10H0 manufactured in custom softness. Redpipi was also the first sex shop in the Czech Republic and maybe even in the EU to introduce categorization of anal plugs and dildos according to softness (2018).

So if you want a dildo really ideally soft, go to the Redpipi.com. 

We measure the hardness of the dildos with a durometer

Hardness is measured according to hardness measurement methodologies. The Shore C Durometer with Shore HC units we purchased is actually a Shore 0 Durometer. The Shore A Durometer (with AC units) does not have sufficient resolution according to our measurements for the very soft rubber of our custom soft dildos. The durometer scale is from 0 to 100. For simplicity, percentages can be used instead of durometer units.

Double layer soft dildos

The inner layer of dildos, similar to the human penis, is hard around 20-25HC and the glans and the outer layer is around 8 H0. These dildos have a skin-like, very soft glans and the upper part of the testicles. The inner hard layer ensures an erection similar to the inner spongy tissue of the penis when it is maximally excited and filled with blood.

The closest to reality is a soft two-layer dildo (inner layer 10H0/outer layer 0H0), followed by a soft one-layer dildo (7.5H0) and then a two-layer dildo with standard market hardness (20-25HC/0H0).

The skin of the male penis and especially the glans is much softer (close to 0H0) than the firm inner tissue of the penis (20-25H0). This two-layer dildo with a standard hardness of 25/8H0 only partially reflects. The glans cannot be made in softness 0, like an artificial vagina. The material would not have sufficient durability. And even in softness 0, soft silicone or TPE does not yet reach the softness and elasticity of human skin and extra soft human tissue (e.g. skin or the glans penis). Therefore, a softer single-layer dildo with a hardness of 7.5HC is still better in feel and function than a two-layer dildo with a standard hardness (25/0 H0).

Single layer dildos of ideal softness already offer a very solid realistic and pleasurable experience and yet by 2025 almost no one has them on the market apart from sex shop Redpipi. In the Redpipi Sexshop from 2024 you will also find double-layer custom-made soft Love Spice dildos.