Seattle – 2020 was the first year that CES, the premier conference for innovative consumer technology, allowed sextech on their floor. Seattle startup Pulse, a female-founded sexual wellness company, was part of the inaugural group of sextech companies invited to the floor.
You can read GeekWire’s full recap of Pulse at CES here.
As the Pulse team sees it, the representation of sextech at CES represents more than a push from younger generations who may be more comfortable talking about intimacy than their older counterparts It also, arguably more importantly, signifies cutting edge technology stepping into what might just be one of the last frontiers to be explored: sex. Sex is a field that knows no party lines, no income caps, or parameters that most fields operate within. Sextech is a frontier only the boldest and bravest of founders dare to go in 2020. Pulse’s Amy Buckalter is proud to be one of those founders.
Perhaps you’re wondering how a company that focuses on comfortable intimacy fits into one of the world’s largest and most competitive tech conferences. Aside from a line of silky and healthy medical-grade personal lubricants, Pulse is driven by thoughtful technology. Technology so thoughtful that you may not even realize it’s there.
Pulse’s signature device, the Pulse warmer, heats Pulse compatible Pods of formulations up to 109º F, just a tad warmer than body temperature so that it’s the perfect temperature when it reaches its intended destination. That formula is then dispensed, hands-free, into the perfect “dose”, determined after extensive user testing and feedback. Warm personal lubricant helps to create easeful intimate moments by increasing blood flow, and also can be the key for users with certain medical conditions that suffer from pain or discomfort during sex so to be able to relax and enjoy penetration or touch. Also, as Pulse likes to joke, nobody has ever asked for a cold-lube dispenser. Yet. The warmth is created using inductive heating within the device so that the formulations are warm in temperature, not just in feel.
While there are many warming personal lubricants available at drugstores, these often include chemicals like propylene glycol. More natural lubricants may include cayenne pepper extract or cinnamon to try to achieve the effect. However, rather than “comfortably warm” they cause a “burning sensation.” If you’ve ever chopped peppers with a cut on your finger or gotten hot sauce in your eye, you can likely imagine why you wouldn’t those ingredients anywhere near your most sensitive areas.
The device itself has a patented closed system, so that no bacteria, germs, mold, or other nasty contaminants are ever able to get in the lube or the device itself. What does this mean for sex? No irritation, and no questionable molecules that don’t belong in your body or can lead to possible infections. While there are a handful of personal lubricant warmers on the market, those warmers are open systems that are used by unscrewing an opening, pouring lubricant or oil from an open bottle (also room for contamination) in, and then closing.
These warmers, while perhaps less expensive, are literal hot-beds for mold and bacteria growth, and nearly impossible to clean. The Pulse warmer is the only device available that’s a fully closed, integrated system. Pulse Pods, which pair or couple with the warmer or can be used on their own, include airless pump technology, that also eliminates contamination. In addition to Pulse formulas being made with healthy and hypoallergenic ingredients, Buckalter and her team worked extensively to ensure that there were no opportunities for mold, bacteria, or other harmful chemicals to enter the formulas. All lubricants and massage oils are lab tested for safety before Pod filling is performed.
In addition to being a fully closed system, the Pulse warmer also includes a variety of 6 lighting color options to set the mood, a dimmer control to select level of brightness, a seamless child-lock so that curious hands don’t dispense puddles of lube, an intelligent indicator light system that lets the user know when a Pulse Pods is fully warmed, has one dose remaining in the Pod, is empty and needs replacement with a new Pod, and has an interior light within the Pod chamber for swapping out Pods should you enjoy your intimate moments in the dark. Different Pods of formulations can be interchanged within Pulse and Pulse is smart enough to know how much is left when you reload with a partially used Pod. And one of our customers’ favorite technology features, after one hour of taking your final dose Pulse automatically shuts off so you don’t have to think about it.
Shop for Valentine’s Day with special deals on the Pulse site or Amazon. Promotion ends at midnight PST on February 14th.
