Imagine never having to roll on a condom again. If the thought makes you think that such a scenario would be accompanied by a wrath of sexually transmitted diseases, fear not. One day, you or your partner may never need to roll on a condom for protection again because your condom will come in the form of a spray.

The Spray

As featured in this article on a potential spray-on condom solution published in Shape magazine, researchers have been looking to change the way condoms – which have been largely unchanged since their inception – work.

But the newest arrival to the contraception party sets out to change this. Girlplay, the brainchild of Pratt Institute design student Michelle Chu, is a condom that’s released via a propellant and is intended to be a potentially superior alternative to traditional condoms. The protective barrier created is purported to be as effective as its roll-on counterpart, but specific data on pregnancy rates is unavailable given the product’s stage of development.

The appeal of a spray-on condom is clear to users of traditional condoms. It has the potential to increase sensitivity during intercourse, which could be a significant advantage in the war for the mind’s (and penises) of safe-sex-practicing customers.

Previous attempts at a condom that’s designed to fit every penis and not just the ones that it’s tailored for have concluded with apparent shortcomings. A German scientist that previously set out to create a spray-on solution failed to anticipate a critical hurdle: drying time. The inventor’s creation took three to four minutes to dry, which can seem like eons at the speed of a sexual encounter. What’s more, the penis must remain erect throughout this time, seemingly without any physical stimulation that may interfere with the integrity of the condom itself.

Removal will likely be a concern for many, too, and it’s unclear what the prospects hold when it comes to ridding your most sensitive parts of the substance. Will a spray solution potentially change the course of condom history? Only time will tell.

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