Introducing Pulse, a line of two personal lubricants and a warming dispenser that’s sure to get your heartrate up. Amy Buckalter, CEO and Founder of the line, was inspired to create the products when she first reached the onset of menopause. She started experiencing pain and discomfort during sex, due to vaginal dryness. This newfound dryness, her gynecologist explained, was a sign of perimenopause, and would soon be her “new normal.” Determined to not let this become her fate, Buckalter tried many commercial lubricants, but found them sorely lacking: they either didn’t moisturize adequately, were uncomfortably cold, or irritated the sensitive tissues.


Since she couldn’t find a lubricant on the market that met her standards, the trailblazer decided to create her own line of products. Pulse provides moisturizing personal lubricants made with all natural ingredients, delivered through a sleek heating process. The ingredients in the pods are all FDA-cleared, hypoallergenic, non-toxic, and condom-friendly. They come in two “formulas:” Aloe-ahh and H2Oh! Aloe-ahh uses a silicone-based formula that includes soothing aloe and vitamin E, while H2Oh! is a water-based formula containing chia extract, which is known for its hydrating properties.

Aloe-ahh and H2Oh! Lubricants

“No longer do men and women have to settle for trashy and cheap-looking bottles,” says Buckalter.

All the user has to do is open the pod chamber, insert the lubricant pods, close the chamber, and wait four to six minutes for the chamber to heat the lubricant. Then, with just a pass of a hand under the invisible activation beam, a precise amount of perfectly warmed lubricant is instantly dispensed.

The style of the dispenser is also very pleasing: it’s chic, modern, and portable. It also offers a mood-setting property: the dispenser has a mood light with six different color settings to choose from, and a slider to control the brightness of the light. Though the dispenser is a quality addition to the pods, the lubricants can be used separately, and independent from the dispenser. Each pod contains nine servings per bottle, and when the user gets to the eighth serving, the dispenser light turns yellow, alerting the user. After the ninth serving, the light turns red.

Lube Heating Device

Pulse products aren’t just on the market to satisfy sexual needs; it’s also a foot forward for female empowerment. “We want women to look out for their own sexual health and pleasure,” Buckalter asserts. “We are looking out for vaginal health. We don’t want women to be in pain without saying it.” A major purpose of the products is to empower both women and men to say more about what they’re feeling with respect to sex, which is often an under-talked and taboo subject.

Cindi Buxton is a naturopathic doctor that’s part of the Pulse team, working alongside chemists to create the healthiest formulas for the Pulse customers. “There is often psychological and physical distress involved in sex, and we want to help facilitate conversations about sex and relationships,” Dr Buxton says. “Sex enhances your dopamine, and burns calories. These are wellness products.”

Though lubricants often promote healthy sexual activity, there still remains a stigma in society to using them.

Males often interpret the use of lubricants as an indication that their partner is not physiologically attracted to them. Women, in turn, become hesitant to use lubricants, for fear of hurting or insulting their partners. “In many heterosexual relationships, women want to protect the male ego,” says relationship expert Dr. Pepper Schwartz. “Women often say, ‘I shouldn’t have to use lube, it should be natural.’”

But what many people don’t know, is that sometimes one’s sexual desires and their physical responses don’t align perfectly. One can be turned on by their partner psychologically, but their bodies don’t react in proportion to that attraction. There can be a myriad of reasons for this: some antidepressants have the side effect of sexual disinterest, some women are going through menopause, or some are simply experiencing immense stress due to life events – all of which can result in a lack of physical lubrication.

“With Pulse, we hope to take away the taboo that using a lubricant means that there’s less of an attraction to the partner,” Dr. Buxton states. “Women have often been taught that their bodies are just a way to please men.” That sort of belief clearly needs to change. With the Pulse products, the founders aren’t solely focused on bringing added comfort to sex, but also on encouraging the users to have more fun and enjoy themselves. Because women shouldn’t just view sex as an activity to please men – they should do it because they enjoy it just as much (if not more so!).

With the launching product so closely tied to the risque activity of sex, one might expect there to be some challenges in acquiring funding. Buckalter, however, claims that they faced little to no obstacles in obtaining advertisements and investors for her products. “There was no backlash, and we went right to the price rounds,” she says. “65 to 70 percent of the investors were women. The men, meanwhile, are also getting validated because of the comfort this product will provide for their partners.”

And ultimately, the Pulse team hopes to facilitate more constructive conversations around sex. “We want to bring sex out of the hidden drawer, and bring forth communication about sex in relationships.”

And with its line of aesthetically-pleasing and portable products, along with its promise of natural ingredients with no harsh preservatives, parabens, glycerin*, or petroleum (*less than .01 percent in the H2Oh! used for extraction with Chia), we’re sure that their mission would not only be accomplished, but will be met with the warm acclaim they deserve.


WRITTEN BY

Kate Chia