Sex toys fall into about eight types: vibrators, wands, air-pulse stimulators, dildos, anal plugs, strokers, rings and app-controlled wearables. Shape gets the attention in product photos. Material and motor quality are what you actually pay for, and each type tends to come in a predictable material.
The short version: anything that goes inside the body should be non-porous. Anything meant for the anus needs a flared base. Anything with a motor cannot be boiled. The rest of this page is detail on those three rules.
Vibrators
Vibrators are the largest category and the most varied. A bullet is a small single-motor toy, usually ABS plastic or silicone over a plastic core. A rabbit or dual stimulator has two motors and two arms. A G-spot vibrator has a curved tip. All of them run on a motor sealed inside a body, which is why none of them can go in boiling water, whatever the waterproof rating says.
Motor quality is the thing reviews describe as rumbly or buzzy. A rumbly motor produces deeper vibration that spreads through the toy. A buzzy one produces high-frequency vibration that stays at the surface and can feel numbing. Cheap vibrators are almost always buzzy, and no listing will say so.
What to check
Look for a stated material of 100% silicone or ABS, a waterproof rating of IPX7 if you want to wash it under a tap or use it in the bath, and a charging method you can live with. Magnetic USB chargers are proprietary, so losing the cable often means buying from the brand again.
Wands
Wands are large, mains-powered or high-capacity rechargeable vibrators with a round head. The original Hitachi Magic Wand is the reference model, and it is also among the products documented as counterfeited, which is covered on the sex toys online page. Wand heads are usually silicone, the handle ABS. They are used externally, so porosity matters less here than on any other type, though silicone heads still clean better.
Air-pulse stimulators
Air-pulse toys, sold under names like pressure-wave or suction stimulators, use a small chamber that pushes air in short pulses rather than vibrating against the skin. Womanizer popularized the design and Satisfyer brought the price down. The nozzle is a separate silicone piece on most models and should come off for cleaning, because fluid collects inside it. If the nozzle does not detach, assume you will never clean that chamber properly.
Dildos
Dildos have no motor, which makes them the easiest type to keep clean if the material is right. Silicone, borosilicate glass and stainless steel can all be boiled. Dual-density silicone has a firm core and a softer outer layer and behaves like single-density silicone for cleaning purposes.
Realistic dildos are where material problems concentrate. Many are made from PVC or TPE because those materials hold detail and feel soft, and both are porous. If a listing says realistic skin, cyberskin or jelly, read that as porous. Check the sex toy materials page for what each label means.
Anal plugs and anal toys
Anything designed for anal use needs a flared base or a ring handle that is clearly wider than the widest part of the insertable section. The rectum can draw objects inward, and a toy without a stop is a common reason for an emergency room visit. This is the one design rule in the category with no exceptions.
Silicone, glass and steel are the usual materials. Silicone lube degrades silicone plugs over time, so pair silicone with water-based lube and save silicone lube for glass and steel.
Strokers and masturbators
Strokers are sleeves, usually inside a hard plastic case. Fleshlight is the best-known brand. The sleeve is almost always TPE or a proprietary soft blend, because silicone is too firm for the job. That makes this the one type where the porous material is close to unavoidable.
Live with it by rinsing immediately after use, washing with warm water and mild soap, and drying fully before storage. A damp TPE sleeve in a closed case is how mould starts. Strokers wear out, and a sleeve that has gone tacky, torn or started to smell is done.
Rings
Rings sit at the base of the penis, sometimes with a small vibrating bullet attached. Stretchy silicone is the safe choice because it can be pulled off quickly. Rigid metal rings carry real risk because they cannot be removed if swelling sets in. Most makers state a time limit, commonly around 20 to 30 minutes, and it is worth following.
App-controlled and wearable toys
Wearables and long-distance toys connect over Bluetooth to a phone app. The hardware questions are the same as for any vibrator. The extra question is data. The app may ask for an account, location or contacts, and the brand's privacy policy decides what happens to usage data. Read it before pairing, and check whether the toy works without an account at all.
Type and usual material at a glance
The table lists what each type is usually made of, not what it must be made of. The exceptions exist, and they are worth paying for.
| Type | Usual material | Motor | Can be boiled | Main check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet vibrator | ABS, silicone | Yes | No | Waterproof rating |
| Rabbit vibrator | Silicone over ABS | Yes, two | No | Motor strength, charging |
| Wand | Silicone head, ABS body | Yes | No | Seller identity |
| Air-pulse stimulator | Silicone, ABS | Yes | No | Removable nozzle |
| Dildo | Silicone, glass, steel, PVC | No | Silicone, glass, steel only | Material label |
| Anal plug | Silicone, glass, steel | Sometimes | If no motor | Flared base |
| Stroker | TPE, soft blends | Sometimes | No | Drying and storage |
| Ring | Stretch silicone, metal | Sometimes | If no motor | Easy removal |
For cleaning instructions by material, the sex toy cleaning page goes type by type.