What do you get when you combine lasers with female pleasure? I'm not talking about making out with your boyfriend at a laser show (although that's fun, too). I'm talking about the newest innovation in sex toys: The Afterglow Vibrator, an intimate massager that uses pulsed infrared lights to bring you to ecstasy. Or that's the claim, anyway. What started out as a treatment for pelvic pain and overactive bladder disease led to the happy discovery that carefully directed lasers can be really, really arousing for women.
How it works: The pulsing lights from the Afterglow cause the muscles around your blood vessels to relax, which allows more blood to flow toward your genitals. That's supposed to make you feel more aroused. It has 35 different settings.
How much it costs: It's $250 -- yes, really. That's nearly twice what a high-end vibrator costs.
What women who've tried it think: One writer at Refinery29 tried out the Afterglow and said it worked, "But it was nothing out of the ordinary." Sex blogger Property of Potter gives the Afterglow 3 out of 5 stars, noting it may not fit everyone's anatomy and it's not waterproof. The Afterglow's website has testimonials, which you can take with a grain of salt.
Who it's for: At that price, I don't think this is for most of us. Maybe if you have trouble having an orgasm through other means it would be worth trying. I suspect forcing your muscles to relax would help you override the psychological barriers that make you tense your muscles too much in that area.
Would you try the Afterglow vibrator, or do you suspect it's just going to feel like a regular vibrator?
Images via Christin Rose/Corbis, Afterglow