From flavoured to scented, ribbed to glow-in-the dark, there is a dazzling range of condoms from shoppers to choose from.
But many of those available on shop shelves have been created with men – and their sexual experiences – in mind.
Now a new brand of condoms created ‘by women, for women’ promises to put female sexual pleasure at the forefront of any antics between the sheets.
The product, HANX, is the brainchild of school friends Farah Kabir, a financier, and doctor Sarah Welsh, both 28, who are among the millions of women around the world fed-up with being forced to pick from the ‘garish’ packets of male condoms on offer.
Entrepreneurs: School friends Farah Kabir, left, a financier, and Sarah Welsh, a doctor, have created a range of male condoms that put women at the forefront of their design
In an exclusive interview with FEMAIL, Farah said: ‘You go down the condom aisle and there’s weird dotted extra large strawberry, thin, thick…
‘You’re baffled and as a woman you don’t know what the man wants or what is right for you. We’re a product led by women for women.’
The business partners, who met at school in York before attending Durham University together, conducted a survey of some 1,800 women and 200 men and used the results to inform their design specifications.
The product pays special attention to sensitivity in order to increase the sensation felt by the woman and her sexual partner.
Gap in the market: Sarah, left, and Farah, right, decided to create HANX after Farah was left embarrassed when she was spotted buying a ‘garish’ packet of condoms
Farah explained: ‘It uses the finest ultra-thin vegan, 100 per cent natural and fair-trade latex for maximum sensitivity.’
This latex blend also removes the distinctive smell which puts some women off using condoms during sex. Instead the product has a ‘clean’ scent, Farah said.
HANX also does away with the ‘irritating’ lubricant and bright packaging and is instead sold in discreet, white boxes of three.
Farah, who lives in London, came up with the idea for HANX after being left ‘mortified’ when a male acquaintance spotted her buying a packet of typically ‘garish’ condoms from Boots.
Her experience is reflected in the research with nearly a third of those surveys admitting that they did not buy condoms because they felt too embarrassed.
Discreet: The condoms come in stylish packaging, above, that looks more like make-up
The entrepreneurs hope their product will also empower more women to buy and carry condoms.
Sarah, who splits her time between Manchester and London, added: ‘It makes it the norm for women, as well as men, to carry condoms. The male condom is the single most effective contraceptive that protects against sexually transmitted infections.
‘We should feel comfortable buying, carrying and using them – finally feeling proud to care for our sexual health.’