Skip to content

Follow us on:

Home » Ask The Batemaster » Ask The Batemaster: Masturbating With Lube Vs. Going Dry

Ask The Batemaster

Ask The Batemaster: Masturbating With Lube Vs. Going Dry

Generally, as a rule of thumb (+ other thumb, all fingers, and both rosy palms!), the more lube the better.

QUESTION: I used to love Albolene for jerking off, but you converted me to coconut oil, Bruce. What are your thoughts on rubbing dry? Sometimes I want to stroke dry so I don’t make a mess. Is it really going to hurt me?

RESPONSE: I always suggest that most of the time it is best to use plenty of lubrication, of whatever kind you like best. There are two important reasons: 1.) lubrication protects the surface of your penis from the callus that can develop and desensitize it with too much dry rubbing; 2.) lubrication enhances and increases your sensations of pure penis pleasure, while you masturbate.

Generally, as a rule of thumb (+ other thumb, all fingers, and both rosy palms!), the more lube the better, but you may need a towel or sheet to protect nice furniture.

Yes, my own favorite is 100% pure organic coconut oil! Even in colder weather, when room temperature may drop causing such blissful oil to grow quite solid, just a few small chunks rubbed between your hands will quickly liquify. Very little is required to feel incredibly slick, and it’s actively good for your skin. The Albolene beloved of many is almost like a religion among today’s male masturbators. I’ve tried it, and it works nicely, though it’s admittedly not my favorite.

Albolene has the virtue of lasting a long time. Silicone-based lubes may feel really great, only they require addition of more fairly often. Water-based commercial lubes can feel great but tend to dry out rather quickly. If H2O is your favorite, keep a pump-spray bottle of water handy to refresh the slickness. 

Masturbating dry is not necessarily harmful to the sensitivity of your penis, so long as you don’t do a great deal of rapid and aggressive rubbing. How okay it is depends on the kinds of squeezing, tickling, and stroking you do.

“Masturbating dry is not necessarily harmful to the sensitivity of your penis”

Despite my current enthusiasm for lube, I did quite a bit of dry masturbation when I was younger. I still do a little sometimes. If I wake up in bed during the middle of the night a bit aroused and want to pleasure my penis, or early in the morning before I want to really get out of bed and start my day, I sometimes masturbate dry. (This way I need not worry about getting oil on my bed sheets!)

I’ve explored the techniques least likely to callus the sensitive surface skin of my penis: firm and gentle squeezes of the shaft, and moving the shaft skin slowly in my fist, rather than rubbing across the skin a lot. Also, a finger “triggering” the frenulum at the underside of my glans penis when I’m highly aroused. Or lightly tickling the head with fingertips or a loose ring of forefinger and thumb.

These forms of stimulation, I suggest you perform delicately. Pay full attention to the subtler sensations, allow them to grow and build gradually in your awareness. Keep aware that to actively rub your dry erection with a lot of prolonged friction may not be so good for the nerve endings. But keep your tickling feather-soft, your triggering steady in place, your squeezes firm and slow, you can enjoy dry self-stimulation safely, as an alternative to the lube.

A note from The Batemaster: I’m honored that the guys at Bateworld have asked me to respond to some questions from male masturbators around the world every week.

Always check with your doctor about any issues you might be experiencing with your sexual organs. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are important. This article’s purpose is to inform and entertain readers and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment.

author avatar
The Batemaster (Bruce P. Grether)

How Bruce P. Grether became the Batemaster

Among his earliest memories, Bruce recalls seeing an adult man’s penis swing about anchored in a nest of curly brown hairs when the man was changing clothes. That penis fascinated him and he somehow knew it was of major importance. He also remembers how good it felt to slide down a stairway banister or to climb a tree with pressure between his legs sending delicious sensations all through his body.

At an early age, he played doctor with another boy his age, and the frottage he enjoyed as they rubbed their penises together made him feel One with All Things.

He was older, maybe 9 or 10 years when he figured out how to actually masturbate while taking a shower. Immediately Bruce became a fan of self-pleasure, though, with puberty, he became extremely shy about his body being seen. Still, when his pubic hair sprouted and his penis grew bigger, it astonished him how incredible the sensations could feel with adult genitalia.

All through his 20s and 30s Bruce loved masturbating and did it often. Something kept tell him though, that there could be more to it. None of the books he read about Tantra and Taoist erotic cultivation provided simple how-to instructions. Finally, in his early 40s, he came upon Joseph Kramer’s video about male genital massage: FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN.

Having no playmates to try this with, he tried it on himself. In the process, he discovered what he soon named “Mindful Masturbation.” For 6 weeks he masturbated for hours every day, and did not ejaculate once! This was the Penis Paradise he had been looking for since his adventures playing doctor as a young boy. He was changed forever and lost most of his shyness and insecurities.

Bruce began to listen deeply to whatever his penis told him. This way he learned more and more about male masturbation, the penis, and he studied human sexuality. Soon he was hired to write professionally for the sex education site JackinWorld (dot) com, which he did for some years under the name “Bruce McFarland.”

Since then, his erotic activism is more radical and he uses his actual given name: Bruce P. Grether, AKA the Batemaster. He has hosted workshops and now does online masturbation coaching. In 2012 his best-selling book THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN PHALLUS was published and with his handsome young friend Blue Tyger he created the Erotic Engineering site to explore advanced male self-pleasure practices.

Bruce considers himself a Missionary of the Male Mysteries and his work continues.


View all posts by The Batemaster (Bruce P. Grether)

How Bruce P. Grether became the Batemaster

Among his earliest memories, Bruce recalls seeing an adult man’s penis swing about anchored in a nest of curly brown hairs when the man was changing clothes. That penis fascinated him and he somehow knew it was of major importance. He also remembers how good it felt to slide down a stairway banister or to climb a tree with pressure between his legs sending delicious sensations all through his body.

At an early age, he played doctor with another boy his age, and the frottage he enjoyed as they rubbed their penises together made him feel One with All Things.

He was older, maybe 9 or 10 years when he figured out how to actually masturbate while taking a shower. Immediately Bruce became a fan of self-pleasure, though, with puberty, he became extremely shy about his body being seen. Still, when his pubic hair sprouted and his penis grew bigger, it astonished him how incredible the sensations could feel with adult genitalia.

All through his 20s and 30s Bruce loved masturbating and did it often. Something kept tell him though, that there could be more to it. None of the books he read about Tantra and Taoist erotic cultivation provided simple how-to instructions. Finally, in his early 40s, he came upon Joseph Kramer’s video about male genital massage: FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN.

Having no playmates to try this with, he tried it on himself. In the process, he discovered what he soon named “Mindful Masturbation.” For 6 weeks he masturbated for hours every day, and did not ejaculate once! This was the Penis Paradise he had been looking for since his adventures playing doctor as a young boy. He was changed forever and lost most of his shyness and insecurities.

Bruce began to listen deeply to whatever his penis told him. This way he learned more and more about male masturbation, the penis, and he studied human sexuality. Soon he was hired to write professionally for the sex education site JackinWorld (dot) com, which he did for some years under the name “Bruce McFarland.”

Since then, his erotic activism is more radical and he uses his actual given name: Bruce P. Grether, AKA the Batemaster. He has hosted workshops and now does online masturbation coaching. In 2012 his best-selling book THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN PHALLUS was published and with his handsome young friend Blue Tyger he created the Erotic Engineering site to explore advanced male self-pleasure practices.

Bruce considers himself a Missionary of the Male Mysteries and his work continues.

Related Posts

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

12 Comments

  1. I too haven’t masturbated without lube since I was a young man. Today I would, (never say never) never masturbate without lube. I found that being dry merely moved my shaft skin back and forth and up and down my head with lots of, sometime, harsh friction. With lube my hand slides easily over my entire cock and creates a light and pleasant friction. My lubed cock also glides easily through my stationary hand when I choose to masturbate that way.

    I know that many men here on BW say they always masturbate dry or with some spit. If it works for these brothers and that is their choice I say go for it. Remember the old cliche, “different strokes for different folks.”

    My lube of choice is Albolene. I find that it stays on my cock and my hand and doesn’t drip to the floor. Also it is cleaner to wipe up than vaseline. Coconut oil is a fine lube also but it does drip off my cock and hand so cover the furniture as Bruce states, and cover the floor or rug too.

    No matter your choice dry or lube, bate on, brothers.

    1. Thank you for your interesting comments. I have been jacking off for about 80 years, having learned at a very young age from my neighborhood buddy. I used soap in the bathtub when I was a youngster and then graduated to spit as I got older and when I started making pre-cum I found that the “slickness” was much better with a little bit of spit added. Then, one night one of my jackoff buddies brought a bottle of Jergens Hand Lotion to our nightly jackoff party and we all agreed that the Jergens was much better that dry jacking.
      We also started using it when we fucked each other. I still jackoff and I still use a lube of some kind, ie, Liquid Silk, Cornhuskers Lotion (this stuff even looks like cum), Astro-Glide, Cera-Vee Skin Creme, Johnsons Baby Oil, and spit of course. The absolute “skickest” lube I have ever use was a tube of lube that was included with Tenga Eggs.
      EarlofTexas12

      1. Been a long time since I jacked off with buddies, but we had good times. We never got to fucking each other, sounds like you had hipper friends than I did.

        Now, I just do it alone. Guess I need to get on AFF and organize a circle-jerk.

  2. Gosh for eons I’ve always used a lube, I think by natures design the penis is defintely meant to be lubricated. Gosh as a kid I remember the bottle of hand lotion that was always on the bathroom sink counter & giving it a try. Many times. Eventually giving the tub of vaseline in the bathroom cabinet a try – many times.

    Many years later I was curious about very the best lube for me. I went to a sex shop and asked what they recommended for masturbating. And sales clerk handed my a tub of Mens Cream. Omg it’s a wonderful lube, oil based and like a light weight vaseline, super smooth & so slick. Then many years (and tubs of Mens Cream) I switched to dry for some reason. Maybe it was the cleanup. I’m really not sure but I switched to dry stroking. And I’m still a dry bator to this day.

    1. Yes, Brother! Whatever works is good! Especially for the circumcised, dry masturbation is wisest to do with a very light, delicate, feathery touch, and firm squeezing, not a lot of vigorous rubbing. We all want to preserve the sensitivity of our penis nerves, right? Peace, — BPG

  3. Having a foreskin I’ve never routinely used a lube. My foreskin glides over my glans and down my shaft wonderfully. When I have used lube it’s made my session fantastically intense.

    1. Thanks for your comment. I left a comment today and it is being perused by BW now. Hopefully it will be approved as it had to do with using lube to jackoff.
      I too have a 4-skin and I never used any lube until one of my jackoff buddies brought a bottle of Jergens Hand Lotion to our “nightly jackoff meeting” and I had to admit, it was fantastic jacking each other’ dicks with this lotion. After that night, we always had a small bottle of Jergens in one of our hiding places so we could get to it quick and easy. We even used Jergens for lube when we were fucking each other and we all agreed that it made our dicks slide in much easier…..I still have my 4-skin (thank God, AND my Mom) and almost all of my jackoff buddies had been. They (the cut ones) all loved playing with MY 4-skin.
      Earl

  4. Way, way back when I was jacking off with buddies, one of them brought a small bottle of Jergens Hand Lotion and said that he was in the bathroom and was jacking off and for some reason he got some of his Mom’s hand lotion and used it as a lubricant. There were three of us in the group that nite and after we had jacked off, we all agreed that we liked the lube idea very much. If I remember, we all shot our cum sooner than we had in the past because of the increased slick sensation. After that, we all carried a small bottle of Jergens and we also used it when we fucked, and that made our dicks slide “in” much easier.
    Thanks for your website, I have been on and off BW for about 15 years. It is great and please keep it up.
    EarlofTexas12

  5. I think another factor to consider is precum. Some guys produce a lot of it, and some produce none. If you don’t precum, or make very little, lube is a good idea. However, if you’re someone like me who is a leaky faucet, lube would not benefit me at all and would actually make it difficult to handle my cock.

    1. Yes, particularly with oil-based lube, if you precum a lot the mixture can sometimes end up feeling strange–basically water and oil not mixing so well… — BPG

  6. I always like having a jar of Albolene on my nightstand. Whenever, I get a new cleaning lady, or have a new neighbor come into my home to water my plants while I am gone, I am always hopeful they see it and recognize their neighbor is a chronic masturbator!

  7. I hardly ever use lube for jerking off, unless I’m also using a toy (fleshlight or one of those new spinning things). I’m circumcised but fortunately the doctor left lots of loose skin.