What Is the Difference Between Silicone Sex Doll and TPE Sex Doll

Nowadays, almost all sex dolls in the market are made of TPE/silicone. Sex dolls made of TPE material account for 80% of the solid doll market, while silicone dolls account for less.

These two materials have their own advantages and disadvantages. At present, the most popular trend is the TPE body with a silicone head, which combines the advantages of the two materials, and was the biggest product at the 2019-2020 Adult Products Exhibition. The slight color difference between the head and body, however, still needs to be improved.

Below I would like to introduce the pros and cons of TPE and silicone sex dolls in detail.

A quick summary of the advantages and disadvantages of TPE and silicone:

TPE sex doll

What is the TPE material

TPE (also known as a thermoplastic elastomer) is a physical mixture of polymer (rubber and plastic) or a copolymer made of materials with elastic and thermoplastic properties. Because of its flexibility and elasticity, TPE material is perfect for injection molding manufacturing. TPE has the advantages of both rubber and plastic materials. The advantage of using TPE is that it can be stretched to a certain length and restored to its original shape, giving it a longer lifespan and better performance than other materials. TPE material has the typical elastic properties of rubber.  Depending on the environment, TPE has excellent thermal performance and stability when exposed to a certain temperature range. TPE is used in day-to-day products because it can be easily injected and molded. You can certainly find TPE in some household products, such as baby teethers and baby spoons. Compared with silicone, TPE is cheap and has a soft texture, molding ability, and flexibility. TPE’s excellent performance makes it the best choice for producing lifelike sex dolls.

Advantages of a TPE sex doll

Lifelike

The TPE sex doll is realistic and soft. Thanks to TPE’s unique characteristics (soft and elastic) and its high quality, the TPE doll is very close to a real person. When touching a sex doll made of TPE, it feels like you are touching a real person, especially when the doll is equipped with a heating system. You will experience the most realism when you are making movements into the doll’s body. The TPE doll has soft breasts and hips, and a lifelike feeling. It can perfectly simulate the ass and boobs of a real woman. When you shake her body, her ass and boobs also shake, completely simulating the real sex experience! The vagina is designed like a real woman’s, so it can completely meet your sexual needs.

You may not trust just boring words. So please search for “realistic TPE sex doll videos or pictures” on our website, Google, or Youtube.

Elastic

The TPE sex doll has soft and elastic skin, which can be stretched with almost no restrictions. You can put her in any position you like. For example, her legs can be bent toward the boobs and folded almost 180 degrees without tearing. If you have exciting fantasies, you can unlock even more positions with her. A metal frame is built inside of each sex doll, so TPE can move with the frame. You can have sex with her in various positions without worrying about damaging her. (Please don’t forget to return the sex doll to a neutral, pressure-free position after playing with her, so as to keep the skin soft and tight.)

Safety

The TPE doll is very safe, containing no allergic chemicals. You can kiss, hug, have sex, and do anything you want with the TPE doll without worrying about medical conditions or allergic reactions. (Note: baby powder and lubricants that are silicon-based and water-based may cause body allergies.)

Price

The price of the TPE sex doll is cheaper than the silicone sex doll. In some sex doll stores, the price of TPE dolls is more than $2,000. At Mailovedoll, we have a strong supply chain and factory manufacturing advantages, which allows for mass production and improves doll production efficiency. Because of this improvement of efficiency and the reduction of costs, the average price of TPE dolls at Mailovedoll is around $1,000 (between $800 and $2,000, depending on the doll size). Therefore, you can purchase your favorite love doll at Mailovedoll at the most reasonable price.

Expert’s tip: Please don’t consider the $500 TPE sex dolls on the market, because it is impossible to buy a TPE sex doll for $500. Some dishonest sellers just want to cheat you and steal your money.

Odor free

If you don’t like the plastic smell of most sex dolls, please give the TPE sex doll a try. A sex doll made of TPE has no odor at all. You can spray any water-based perfume you want on her.

Durability

We all want to get something that can last for a long time without diminishing its quality or performance. In terms of durability, TPE has been recognized by many manufacturers of realistic sex dolls, and is superior to latex or rubber.

TPE has high scratch resistance, which is a mixture of high-density and scratch-resistant materials. Because TPE is not based on silicone, sex dolls made of TPE are compatible with silicone lubricants and water-based lubricants.

Therefore, if you take good care of the doll (for how to maintain and repair a sex doll, please click here), her service life can be 3-to-5 years.

Tip: The silicone doll has the same durability.

Thermal stability

The TPE sex doll can maintain a uniform and stable body temperature. You can keep her warm for a long time as you enjoy fun with your sex doll. In addition, you can choose to add an internal heating system. When the temperature rises to between 35℃ to 38℃, you can feel her body temperature like a real woman’s.

Disadvantages of a TPE sex doll

Easy to stain

TPE is a porous material. The nature of the material makes it easy to get dirty. Stains can spread rapidly to other areas and may be difficult to clean. Don’t let her directly make contact with dark things, and always put light-colored clothes on her.

If the skin is stained, please contact us (or Amazon.com) to buy a stain remover. Please check here for a detailed method for stain removal.

Difficult to clean

TPE is a porous material that is easy to get dirty. If there are stains on the doll, it will be hard to remove. To ensure your health and the doll’s durability, regular maintenance and cleaning are required. You need to clean the vagina, mouth, and anus carefully and frequently, especially after each use. Another disadvantage of porous material is that it has the ability to retain moisture. If you can’t perform maintenance on your doll regularly, it will easily become moldy, deformed, dirty, and no longer durable. To avoid the above situations, the TPE doll must be thoroughly dried after cleaning.

Sticking

The TPE doll may occasionally stick to your hands. Using some baby powder can easily solve this problem.

Very low heat resistance

Although TPE can effectively maintain heat and make the sex doll feel lifelike, please be aware that the TPE material is sensitive to extreme temperatures. Always keep your sex doll away from any heat source.

Due to the low heat resistance of TPE, please do not use hot water when bathing with your TPE sex doll. If you like bathing with your doll, please make sure to keep the temperature low. The safe range is 50 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is out of this range, the doll may become deformed. In the worst cases, the TPE material may start to lose its consistency or enter the glass transition state when the temperature rises above 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40ºC).

Insider tip: Do not use a hairdryer to dry the doll to save time.

Quality issues caused by incorrect mixing

TPE is a combination of various materials. Therefore, the quality of a TPE doll depends on whether the materials have been perfectly mixed. Its state or quality may become greatly reduced in the future. Please make sure that you purchase your TPE sex doll from a reliable retailer (such as Mailovedoll) so that you will not end up paying for a defective doll.

Silicone sex doll

What is the silicone material

Silicone resin (also known as silicone rubber) is an artificial polymer material, which is a mixture of silicone polymer, elastomer (a rubber-like material), carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Silicone rubber is generally non-reactive, stable, and resistant to extreme environments and different temperatures, while still maintaining its characteristics. It is used for lubricants, insulations, sealants, glues, and for other purposes. Silicone is an alternative for manufacturing sex dolls. It is durable, easy to clean, and will not be degraded by petroleum-based lubricants. Silicone is commonly known as a medical material, such as in making tooth models. Therefore, silicone has medical-level safety. The silicone used for sex dolls has many special grades and forms, and it always has a high resistance to pressure, high temperature, and deformation.

Advantages of a silicone sex doll

Super realistic

The silicone sex doll can be as super lifelike as a real person. It can simulate real human skin with its amazing texture and details. If you look at the doll from a distance, you will believe that she is a real woman. The silicone love doll looks more like a real person, but the sexual feel is not as good as the TPE doll. Many customers buy silicone dolls to act as models or for the purpose of photographs.

Due to the hardness of the silicone material, a doll made of silicone usually has a more realistic face and body. As a trade-off, the softness and the tactile feel of the silicone doll are sacrificed. The silicone sex doll is different from the TPE sex doll, which is better at maintaining shape and weight.

Safety

Silicone rarely causes adverse reactions, such as allergies, which is one of the reasons why silicone is used in plastic surgery as a breast-filling material.

A silicone sex doll has medical-grade safety, and is 100% safe for the human body.

Easy to maintain and clean

The silicone sex doll needs less maintenance than the TPE sex doll. The silicone doll’s condition can be easily maintained due to its incompressibility and stain resistance.

The non-porous and stable nature of silicone makes it difficult to get dirty, as well as easy to clean and disinfect. You can easily disinfect her by using boiling water, just like disinfecting medical equipment. You don’t have to worry about damaging the skin’s surface with an ordinary cleaning solution. The vagina and anus of the silicone doll are most authentic, which is a great benefit for most people. Cleaning will not be a problem, because it is easy to disinfect, though we still don’t recommend using alcohol for sterilization. Instead, you can use soft cleaning tools.

The silicone material is not as sticky as the thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).  It is much easier to clean. Just wipe the doll with water and a towel, then let it dry.

High-temperature resistance

Silicone can survive in high temperatures (up to 220 degrees Fahrenheit) and low-temperature environments. Because silicone is a thermosetting plastic, its initial curing state does not require cooling. It is based on a catalyst. Therefore, if the temperature goes up, its sensitivity to heat-induced deformation will be significantly reduced. Because of the non-porous nature of silicon, the high-end silicone doll has heat resistance, water resistance, and stain resistance, which means that you can enjoy the doll when bathing in warm-to-hot water without damaging her.

You can use a high-temperature sterilization method to disinfect your doll.

Durability

One of the characteristics of a silicone love doll is that it can maintain its shape even under extreme pressure. Silicone dolls are strong and tough. Compared to the TPE sex doll, the silicone doll can keep its shape while handling more weight.

Disadvantages of a silicone sex doll

Harder than a TPE sex doll

The silicone love doll feels harder than the TPE love doll, feeling denser and stiffer when you touch her. It is more realistic, however, than a rubber doll.

When it comes to ass and boobs, due to the rubber characteristic of silicone, when the doll swings back and forth, her ass and boobs will not shake, like they do on a TPE love doll.

Thanks to the strong and tough silicone material, a silicone doll usually has a more realistic face and body. As a trade-off, the softness and the tactile feel of the silicone doll are sacrificed.  The silicone doll has better heat and stain resistance, and is very easy to clean.

Expensive

The price of silicone dolls generally ranges from $2,500 to $6,000. This is because silicone is a thermosetting material, which means that once it is cured and firm, no change can be made. Less error compatibility makes silicone dolls expensive.

Many people can’t afford the price. Mailovedoll has established mass production and improved doll production efficiency through our strong supply chain and factory manufacturing. With the improvement of efficiency and the reduction of costs, the average price of our silicone sex dolls is around $ 2,000 (depending on doll size). As a customer, you can buy your favorite silicone doll at Mailovedoll at the most reasonable price. Now, we also offer a sex doll with a silicone head and TPE body, which can save you money while you enjoy the realistic sex doll.

Weight

For the same height, a silicone sex doll is heavier than a TPE doll. This is because silicone is denser than TPE, which makes the silicone doll heavier.

Difference in elasticity

The silicone love doll is harder than the TPE love doll, so the silicone sex doll has poor elasticity and softness. The silicone love doll is easy to tear because of the rigid material. When you put a silicone doll in a bad position, it may cause damage. Make sure to perform maintenance on it once every 25-to-40 days to prevent damages.

The silicone doll has poor flexibility. You may not want to move her body to the position you want, especially her thighs and arms, which may become stiff. You should avoid pulling on her body very hard to avoid irreparable tearing.

When the silicone doll swings back and forth, her ass and tits will not shake. People who prefer soft breasts may not like silicone dolls because of this rigidity.

Stickiness

The silicone doll has a certain stickiness. As suggested by others, applying some baby powder can help.

Summary

You can choose the doll you love based on the following aspects. First, ask yourself several questions. For example, how much are you willing to pay Do you want to take a hot bath with the doll Is a realistic vagina and anus important to you

Budget

If your budget exceeds $2,000, you can consider buying a silicone doll. Please also be aware of the shortcomings of a silicone doll. If your budget is low, however, a TPE doll will be your choice.

Preference

If you want to take a hot bath with your lovely sex doll, or if you care about a detailed appearance, the lifelike silicone sex doll is a good choice.

If you are more interested in realistic feeling skin, the TPE sex doll will be a good choice.

For the people who have little time to clean or maintain their sex dolls, silicone sex dolls are highly recommended because they require less maintenance than TPE sex dolls.

All in all, I personally recommend the TPE doll rather than a silicone love doll. The TPE doll is more affordable and soft, and there are more collections to choose from. The TPE sex doll is the best choice as long as the doll is cleaned and maintained regularly. Considering all the factors, I think the TPE sex doll has obvious advantages over the silicone sex doll, especially for beginners. Ultimately, however, the choice is yours.