Wet Lubricants is a brand of personal lubricants produced by Wet International, part of Trigg Laboratories in Valencia, California. The line includes a variety of water-based and silicone-based lubricants, as well as massage oils and shaving creams.
Contents
The Chief executive officer of Trigg Laboratories is Michael Trigg, who co-founded the company in 1989 with Executive Vice President Christian Franco. Sean Smith is President since 2012. They started off with one product: Wet brand personal lubricant. In the late 1980s, everyone was very concerned about the transfer of HIV, and the use of condoms skyrocketed. Because condoms are more likely to break without the use of lubricants, Michael Trigg and Christian Franco were inspired to start Wet Lubricants.
HIV Study
A 2010 Study by Microbicides, building bridges in HIV Prevention, compared 5 lubricants against each other (Astroglide, Elbow Grease, ID Glide, KY Jelly AND Wet Platinum). A sixth product named PRÉ was used as a control. The study was looking for the safest lubricant that did the least amount of damage to cellular walls, during sex. Damage to cell walls during sex can cause tearing and increase the likelihood of transmission of STI's. The study concluded that "Wet Platinum and PRÉ were the safest. The hyperosmolar nature of the other lubricant gels was associated with cellular toxicity and may lead to increased risk of HIV infection." Wet was the only silicone-based lubricant in the study. The others were water-based. This and one other study examining the effects of sexual lubricants used in anal sex were presented in April at the International Microbicides Conference."
Nonoxynol-9
When Wet was launched, AIDS awareness was at a peak and the original Wet product was formulated with Nonoxynol-9, a spermicidal agent that was an ingredient in many mainstream sexual wellness and contraceptive products at the time. In 1996, studies began to question the efficacy of Nonoxynol-9 in reducing HIV transmission, while isolated cases of skin irritation and inflammation were also reported and Trigg Laboratories chose to remove it from their product. While these studies began eleven years ago, it was only in December 2007 that the Food and Drug Administration finally mandated a warning about Nonoxynol-9.
Manufacturing
In 1989, Wet Lubricants started out in a 1,000 square foot facility in Van Nuys, CA. Today, they develop, formulate, mix and package Wet products at a 52,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art, FDA regulated medical device manufacturing company in Valencia, California. Wet is a FDA regulated and audited 510k medical device manufacturing facility.