Body Safe Guide
What makes a chastity cage "Body Safe"
There is a few terms we should get acquainted with first and what they mean in this context.
Body Safe - Something that has no ill affect with short or long term contact with external tissue (skin).
Bio-Compatible - Something that has no ill affect with short or long term contact with external or internal tissue (skin/organs/everything inside and outside you)
Inert - Something that is Chemically inactive, meaning it is both chemically resistant (weak acids and bases present in everyday life will not harm the composition of the material) and does not off-gas any of its component chemicals through air or physical contact.
Porous / Non-Porous - Porosity: is a measure of the void spaces in a material. A sponge for example is porous, it can absorb things into its body, metal is (generally) non-porous.
Now in specific relation to chastity cage what we want ideally is bio-compatible as this over shoots our goal of body safe and enters into the realm of medical devices. However the sad fact is bio-compatible is expensive and not always needed. Because our cages are worn externally (even inverted cages are technically externally worn) we don't necessarily need bio-compatibility so as long as the part is body safe and there is no other factors like personal allergies we're good to move on.
Note: Stubby Buddy Resin cages are printed in a bio-compatible resin, All other buddies are printed in Body safe pa12. But these "ratings" change depending on how the part is finished. All Stubby Buddies materials and coatings are considered inert.
The next most important thing to keep in mind is the porosity of the material and surface finish. Surface finish and porosity will regardless of body safe or bio-compatibility make a huge influence on how safe the cage can be long term. Without getting to detailed, our bodys, especially the location in question, are a hot and humid zone ripe for bacterial growth which is the biggest factor which influences the long term viability of a chastity cage. A porous material will not be able to be sufficiently cleaned over a long period as bacterial growth with take up residency inside the porous material and hide away from the surface away from any cleaning agents you might use. A non porous material will still gather the same bacteria but because there is no where for that bacteria to hide the next time you rinse it with soapy water it will easily wash away. Surface finish has much the same effect, the more textured the surface the harder bacteria will be to evict.
Note: Stubby Buddy Customs have a epoxy coating, which is a very smooth, inert and non porous coating that discourages bacterial build up and facilitates ease of cleaning.
Stubby Buddy PA12 3d prints are inert but are made of a porous material and without the aid of a non porous coating as a barrier will over time have a build up of bacteria that must be combated or it will put a sort of time limit on the usability of the part.
If PA12 3d prints are porous what can you do? The best way to combat bacteria build up on PA12 3d prints is to sand the finish smooth and apply a coat of inert body safe sealant, this will reduce surface area and make it much harder for bacteria to grip onto the surface and the sealant with act as a barrier to stop bacteria from taking up residence in the porous internals of the print. If you don't sand or do sand but don't apply a sealent layer the porus nature of the print will lead to internal bacteria growth over time, and depending on how you store the part and how you wash and clean it this can eventually cause the cage to need to be replaced as the bacterial build up can cause a off smell and minor irritation. In addition to regular external soapy water baths for your pa12 you should also boil the print in distilled water for 2-4 minutes every month or two. This will allow the water to penetrate deeply into the print and kill some of the bacteria that has taken refuge inside the print. Additionally when not in use for extended periods of time, storage inside a freezer will not harm the plastic but will effectively slow down and even kill off some bacterial growth.
Note: Do not boil or freeze Stubby Buddy Resin & Epoxy customs. There is no benefit for doing so and excessive temperature change like that may effect the structural rigidity of the part.
What is a sealant layer? The sealant layer would for example be the epoxy coating on our custom resin and epoxy prints. This is an inert layer that acts as a barrier between your skin and the 3d print that smooths the external finish of the print and seals the porous print from incursion of bacteria. Other examples of potential(but untested by Stubby Buddy) sealants are clear coat paints (not all clear coat is body safe and non porous, research diligently before hand before going this route), silicone conformal coatings (expensive and may or may not bind to the 3d printed surface) and acrylic varnish's such as ModPodge spray on acrylic(acrylic is generally considered body safe after sufficiently cured but is more commonly an allergen than epoxy).
Allergies are one part of the equation that is something everyone must contend with based on their own personal experience. The vast majority of users will use any of the body safe products without issue, however a small portion of users may be genetically predisposed to an allergic reaction with the sealant or material used. As such it is recommended that you pay close attention to color and the condition of your skin over the first few days to weeks you are wearing your device, any discoloration or skin damage you can not attribute to friction could be a sign you may be allergic to one or more materials used.
The goal of this post is to illustrate that there is many classifications of "Body safe" you need to think about, and just because something is safe for our bodies does not mean our bodies are safe for it. Just the same way you must thoroughly clean your underwear on a regular basis you must thoroughly clean your cage.
General cage maintenance carried out every day should include a rinse down with soapy water. Best soap to use is unscented hand soap but if your wearing and showering most body soaps without additives should be fine. For epoxy coated cages once or twice a week do a sponge or soft brush scrub of the ring and cage. For PA12 the same and every 1-2 months put your cage and ring into a pot of rolling boil distilled water(rolling is important so the parts are tossed around and do not stick to the pot) for 2-4 minutes.
We hope this page has cleared up any questions you may have had and helped you make an informed decision but should you have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach out via our contact page or our live chat.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The only known legal classification of "body safe" in such a simple manner would be bio-compatibility. For bio-compatibility certification you must pass certain requirements to prove you meet the classification as it is primarily a medical classification. Body safe itself is not a defined term in the same way and when used in reference to Stubby Buddy products refers to the inert and harmless nature of the materials used. No Stubby Buddy product is certified Bio-compatible. Stubby Buddy uses bio-compatible resin when 3d printing but our resin mixes used in printing have been altered with additions such as strengthening agents, dyes and pigments which are not certified bio-compatible.
There is a few terms we should get acquainted with first and what they mean in this context.
Body Safe - Something that has no ill affect with short or long term contact with external tissue (skin).
Bio-Compatible - Something that has no ill affect with short or long term contact with external or internal tissue (skin/organs/everything inside and outside you)
Inert - Something that is Chemically inactive, meaning it is both chemically resistant (weak acids and bases present in everyday life will not harm the composition of the material) and does not off-gas any of its component chemicals through air or physical contact.
Porous / Non-Porous - Porosity: is a measure of the void spaces in a material. A sponge for example is porous, it can absorb things into its body, metal is (generally) non-porous.
Now in specific relation to chastity cage what we want ideally is bio-compatible as this over shoots our goal of body safe and enters into the realm of medical devices. However the sad fact is bio-compatible is expensive and not always needed. Because our cages are worn externally (even inverted cages are technically externally worn) we don't necessarily need bio-compatibility so as long as the part is body safe and there is no other factors like personal allergies we're good to move on.
Note: Stubby Buddy Resin cages are printed in a bio-compatible resin, All other buddies are printed in Body safe pa12. But these "ratings" change depending on how the part is finished. All Stubby Buddies materials and coatings are considered inert.
The next most important thing to keep in mind is the porosity of the material and surface finish. Surface finish and porosity will regardless of body safe or bio-compatibility make a huge influence on how safe the cage can be long term. Without getting to detailed, our bodys, especially the location in question, are a hot and humid zone ripe for bacterial growth which is the biggest factor which influences the long term viability of a chastity cage. A porous material will not be able to be sufficiently cleaned over a long period as bacterial growth with take up residency inside the porous material and hide away from the surface away from any cleaning agents you might use. A non porous material will still gather the same bacteria but because there is no where for that bacteria to hide the next time you rinse it with soapy water it will easily wash away. Surface finish has much the same effect, the more textured the surface the harder bacteria will be to evict.
Note: Stubby Buddy Customs have a epoxy coating, which is a very smooth, inert and non porous coating that discourages bacterial build up and facilitates ease of cleaning.
Stubby Buddy PA12 3d prints are inert but are made of a porous material and without the aid of a non porous coating as a barrier will over time have a build up of bacteria that must be combated or it will put a sort of time limit on the usability of the part.
If PA12 3d prints are porous what can you do? The best way to combat bacteria build up on PA12 3d prints is to sand the finish smooth and apply a coat of inert body safe sealant, this will reduce surface area and make it much harder for bacteria to grip onto the surface and the sealant with act as a barrier to stop bacteria from taking up residence in the porous internals of the print. If you don't sand or do sand but don't apply a sealent layer the porus nature of the print will lead to internal bacteria growth over time, and depending on how you store the part and how you wash and clean it this can eventually cause the cage to need to be replaced as the bacterial build up can cause a off smell and minor irritation. In addition to regular external soapy water baths for your pa12 you should also boil the print in distilled water for 2-4 minutes every month or two. This will allow the water to penetrate deeply into the print and kill some of the bacteria that has taken refuge inside the print. Additionally when not in use for extended periods of time, storage inside a freezer will not harm the plastic but will effectively slow down and even kill off some bacterial growth.
Note: Do not boil or freeze Stubby Buddy Resin & Epoxy customs. There is no benefit for doing so and excessive temperature change like that may effect the structural rigidity of the part.
What is a sealant layer? The sealant layer would for example be the epoxy coating on our custom resin and epoxy prints. This is an inert layer that acts as a barrier between your skin and the 3d print that smooths the external finish of the print and seals the porous print from incursion of bacteria. Other examples of potential(but untested by Stubby Buddy) sealants are clear coat paints (not all clear coat is body safe and non porous, research diligently before hand before going this route), silicone conformal coatings (expensive and may or may not bind to the 3d printed surface) and acrylic varnish's such as ModPodge spray on acrylic(acrylic is generally considered body safe after sufficiently cured but is more commonly an allergen than epoxy).
Allergies are one part of the equation that is something everyone must contend with based on their own personal experience. The vast majority of users will use any of the body safe products without issue, however a small portion of users may be genetically predisposed to an allergic reaction with the sealant or material used. As such it is recommended that you pay close attention to color and the condition of your skin over the first few days to weeks you are wearing your device, any discoloration or skin damage you can not attribute to friction could be a sign you may be allergic to one or more materials used.
The goal of this post is to illustrate that there is many classifications of "Body safe" you need to think about, and just because something is safe for our bodies does not mean our bodies are safe for it. Just the same way you must thoroughly clean your underwear on a regular basis you must thoroughly clean your cage.
General cage maintenance carried out every day should include a rinse down with soapy water. Best soap to use is unscented hand soap but if your wearing and showering most body soaps without additives should be fine. For epoxy coated cages once or twice a week do a sponge or soft brush scrub of the ring and cage. For PA12 the same and every 1-2 months put your cage and ring into a pot of rolling boil distilled water(rolling is important so the parts are tossed around and do not stick to the pot) for 2-4 minutes.
We hope this page has cleared up any questions you may have had and helped you make an informed decision but should you have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach out via our contact page or our live chat.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The only known legal classification of "body safe" in such a simple manner would be bio-compatibility. For bio-compatibility certification you must pass certain requirements to prove you meet the classification as it is primarily a medical classification. Body safe itself is not a defined term in the same way and when used in reference to Stubby Buddy products refers to the inert and harmless nature of the materials used. No Stubby Buddy product is certified Bio-compatible. Stubby Buddy uses bio-compatible resin when 3d printing but our resin mixes used in printing have been altered with additions such as strengthening agents, dyes and pigments which are not certified bio-compatible.