by Tynan Rhea, Anarres Apothecary Apprentice and Doula with the Sisterhood Wellness Collective www.SisterhoodWellness.com

Anarres is definitely your one-stop shop for non-toxic living. You probably know all about Anarre’s body-care products, plastic-alternatives for the home, raw ingredients, educational workshops, natural contraception… but did you know Anarres carries all-natural, non-toxic dildos too?

That’s right! Why is this necessary? Well, unfortunately, many of the sex toy products on the market are not that body-friendly. They’re often made of hard plastics or soft jellies which are very affordable, but to what cost to your health? All plastics have endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which in short means: all plastics have chemicals that mess with your hormones. Anyone who’s had painful periods, cyclical bouts of depression, or painful itchy skin (to name a few) knows why keeping hormones in check is important. Hormones are the messengers of our bodies telling it when to do what, and when they’re out of whack, we’re out of whack!

Plasticizers are a group of chemicals that are potentially a great threat to our mental, emotional & physical health AND are often found in sex toys, along with other hazardous and banned chemicals! Phthalates, other plasticizers and chemicals get into our bodies through skin absorption. Where is our skin the thinnest (and therefore, most direct path to our blood-stream)? In our mouths, anus, and vagina.

(Tracey's note: Pthalates are substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. Most people in the US tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have metabolites of multiple phthalates in their urine. You can read about the health effects on Wikipedia here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate#Endocrine_disruption and https://bitchmedia.org/post/the-trouble-with-toxic-sex-toys)

So, Tracey and I brained-stormed a variety of materials that sex toys could be made out of that would be body-safe. We talked about glass, stainless steel, stone (our Laid 1 Moonstone http://www.anarreshealth.ca/content/wand-black-norwegian-moonstone-laid-... is one of our favourites)

and then we found a toy so beautiful we couldn’t stop thinking about it made out of... wood?!?

Of course! Wood! Why not? It’s renewable, beautiful, lightweight, and can be sculpted into all sorts of shapes!

Our first wood toy supplier is located in Texas. Their wood finish is waterproof and non-toxic, but the formula and process are a trade secret, even for us. We love their designs and their use of various types of wood, but we don’t love the distance the toys travel to get to us. (or the vagarities of the US exchange rate. ~ Tracey)

Here's a photo of "Seduction" http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/wand-wood-seduction

I went searching high and low for a local supplier in Toronto, by Googling, on Facebook, even on Bunz Trading Zone! Tracey tried to convince three Ontario spoon carvers to try it, but to no avail... Finally, I searched the interwebs until I found what I was looking for.

The artist’s name is Rickard Andersson. He owns a shop called Silvarus located in Ottawa. He had many beautiful designs, including some detailed wood-burning effects for added aesthetic. Before placing our first custom order, we corresponded several times as I asked him to describe his process from start to finish: "How do you finish your products?" I consulted with Tracey and convinced him to use natural, non petroleum oils. He experimented and succeeded! He’s ask that I keep his process private, as it is his signature concoction! But I can assure you with great confidence that Anarres by Silvarus are body-safe, using only all-natural ingredients, with no petroleum-based finishes or products used at any point.

We love the custom dildos he made for us! They are made from Ontario Maple with wood-burned swirl designs. Lightweight and wonderfully smooth and sensual!

You can read more about the Anarres Arch and order it here http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/wand-wood-anarres-arch-medium-large

Or stop by the shop at 749 Dovercourt Road, just north of Bloor on Dovercourt.
We’d love to show you all our sexy, all-natural, non-toxic products!

This blog post was written by Tynan Rhea, Anarres Apothecary Apprentice and Doula with the Sisterhood Wellness Collective (sisterhoodwellness.com). Tynan earned an honours degree at the University of Waterloo in Psychology and Sexuality, Marriage, & Family. She specializes in sexual health and hormone-balancing. You can learn more about her work here http://www.anarreshealth.ca/content/meet-tynan-rhea