One of the super awesome perks of being a sex and relationship blogger is that I get to try things that I never would have had a chance to otherwise. On this list is The Afterglow – the world’s very first laser vibrator. Yes, you read that right.
The Afterglow is the world’s first sex toy with light technology a.k.a pulsed infrared rays. The toy was developed by Dr. Ralph Zipper – a urologist based in Florida. Zipper has been using the same light technology as a therapeutic way to treat women with pelvic pain and overactive bladder disease. However, during the clinical trials an interesting side effect occurred: subjects saw improvements in their sexual responses. Women reported everything from sensations of arousal, to improved orgasms to having orgasms for the first time.
It makes sense – the low level laser targets blood flow to the genitals, which in turn boosts arousal and leads to mind-blowing orgasms. If you’re interested in reading more about the science behind the Afterglow you can here.
Armed with this knowledge and 30,000 worth of technology, Dr. Ralph Zipper got to work. Three years later, the Afterglow was born.
The concept of the Afterglow vibrator is actually kind of similar to what Viagra does for men — but with a sexy twist. Our bodies produce a chemical called cyclic guanosine monophosphate, or cGMP, which causes muscles around the blood vessels to relax. When this occurs, more blood flows into our genitals, and we feel more aroused. Viagra works by preventing the breakdown of cGMP – think of it like a bath tub plug that blocks the water from seeping out . However, the pulsed, infrared light used in the Afterglow actually increases the production of cGMP – a process that is similar to turning a tap on full throttle (yippee!)
Light therapy is also known to restore tissue, decrease inflammation, and ward off bacterial infections — in other words it’s kind of like giving your vagina a spa weekend at Canyon Ranch. Add to that the fact that the Afterglow promises killer orgasms and I couldn’t wait to try it.
The Afterglow is a rabbit style vibrator designed for both external and internal stimulation. It’s made of silky soft, medical grade silicone. It’s about 9 inches in length total, however only about 4 inches of that is insertable. As you can tell from the photo below with Joe the Intern, the Afterglow is similar to my beloved Lelo Ina 1.0 in shape, but with slightly different proportions. The Afterglow is fully rechargeable through USB cord, however it is not waterproof.
Along with a charger, dust-bag and instruction manual, it comes encased in a gorgeous white leatherette box that’s lined with velvet and can be locked with a key. It’s perfect for someone who maybe has kids and wants to keep their toy on lock-down. However, for someone like me who has a bunch of toys the padlocked box seems a bit excessive. It’s beautiful but it’s also quite large and bulky – not ideal for someone like me who stores all of their toys discretely in a cabinet.
(FYI, my Mom accidentally mistook the packaging as a “new jewellery box,” only to open it and burst out screaming. True story.)
The Afterglow truly feels like a luxury product. However, what makes the Afterglow different from other sex toys on the market is that it features a Pulse Wave Technology – an 8 minute “sensual journey” activated at the touch of a button. So, what exactly does this entail? Well, Pulsewave is a unique combination of light therapy and vibration. So basically, you just lie back and enjoy the process as the vibrator stimulates blood flow & allows you to get aroused. In theory, this is supposed to get your body prepped for an amazing orgasm at the 5-8 minute mark. As Dr. Zipper explained to me on the phone, this isn’t a “Wham, bam, thank you M’am kind of device” it’s meant to be savoured. If you follow the instructions, the Afterglow will supposedly lead you to experience “Kundalini,” a yogi term for full body energy. Cue sitar music.
(FYI, the Afterglow can also be used as a normal vibrator as well – either after “the journey” or on it’s own.)
My Afterglow Experience –
To fully experience the Afterglow I decided to start my play session with the 8-minute “Pulse Wave” journey as Dr. Zipper suggested. When I turned on the Afterglow, blue and red lights on the shaft of the toy immediately started to flash, making me think that I was about to experience a disco party in my vagina. I added water based lube to the toy, inserted it and lay back to relax.
Over the course of the Pulse Wave experience, the toy took me through various gentle vibration and pulsation patterns. The vibrations definitely felt good, but weren’t enough to put me over edge (which is good, because the experience is supposed to last 8 minutes!) Within the first minute or so, I started to feel a really pleasant warming sensation coming from the toy and could definitely feel myself getting really turned on. Around the 5 minute mark I adjusted the toy so it was more in line with my g-spot and had a very lovely orgasm. It was great, but then again I usually have pretty great orgasms when I use rabbit style toys.
For orgasm #2, I decided to switch the toy from the Pulse Wave journey to the more intense “regular vibrator” setting, hoping for some powerful vibrations that would really push me over the edge. The weird thing? I couldn’t have another orgasm to save my life. This is pretty much unheard of for me! I have a few theories why this happened (or didn’t happen):
–Although the 8-minue (well, 5 minute for me) Pulse Wave journey felt really nice, the vibrations this toy provided when used as a normal vibrator, just didn’t do it for me. When it comes to high-priced, luxury rabbit vibrators (The Afterglow retails for $199), I’m used to my favourite toys like the Lelo Soraya, the Lelo Ina and the Jopen Vr 12 which provide deep, rumbly, toe curling sensations. In comparison, the Afterglow’s vibrations felt too high pitched and buzzy to really get me to where I needed to go. This might not be a big deal if you had never tried other sex toys before, however if you’re a sex toy connoisseur like I am, this toy is likely to disappoint in this respect.
–Although the Afterglow looks similar to the Lelo Ina (pictured above), the clitoral arm is at least half an inch longer, meaning when it comes to actually lining up with my clitoris, it totally misses the target. I can’t help but wonder if other women would have the same issue.
–It also has one of the longest and most complex instruction manuals that I’ve ever seen for a sex toy. It makes sense given all of the complex technology and science that went into the Afterglow, however I had to read through the instructions three times before I tried the toy.
With that said, I think what Dr. Zipper has come up with is really cool and could potentially help a lot of women. From what I understand, women who used the Afterglow “Pulse Wave” experience on a regular basis saw more intense and frequent orgasms with their partners (it makes sense if you’re regularly stimulating the blood flow in that area.) Although I definitely have very intense clitoral orgasms, my internal orgasms aren’t always as intense when I’m with a partner. I’d like to work on that. I consider the Afterglow a bit like my kegel balls, you might not see the results right away, but they’re still worth using. If you’ve never been able to have an orgasm, the Afterglow might be a great way to open yourself up to that possibility.
Although I’m not impressed with the vibrator aspect of this toy, I will continue to use the Pulse Wave function to see what happens. Maybe next time I’ll pick up a sexy book or movie to enjoy during those 8 minutes.
So, in conclusion, the Afterglow wasn’t the laser filled Daft Punk video that I was expecting for my vagina, but more like an Aerosmith song (“Life’s a journey, not a destination“) – if you stick with it past the 3 minute mark and ignore Steven Tyler’s facial expressions, you might just see Liv Tyler and Alicia Silverstone seductively dancing together at a road-side strip club – something that’s totally worth it in my books.
If you’d like to pick up an Afterglow of your own, it’s available at the Afterglow Science website.
Thank you so much to the fabulous team at Afterglow with providing me with this device. I received the Afterglow free of charge in exchange for my honest assessment of the product. All opinions are my own because that’s how I roll.
