Promescent Review: Does Promescent Spray Work?

Premature ejaculation (PE) is far more common than you might think, affecting anywhere from 20-33% of men nationwide.1 Seeking help for this clinical diagnosis — or even receiving the diagnosis itself — can be an experience in which men feel shame, embarrassment, or anxiety. And many men who might not qualify for the clinical diagnosis of premature ejaculation would certainly still want to last longer in bed.

With telehealth services expanding rapidly, many men are enjoying convenient and discreet methods of tending to their sexual health without leaving the house. Promescent offers a handful of these convenient services, including the company’s most famous product, the Delay Spray, to help with PE. In addition, they provide access to other sexual health products — from ED medication to sex toys — all delivered straight to your door.

We thoroughly tested Promescent’s products and services and reviewed all of the related scientific literature to help you decide whether to give them a try.

Promescent has grown from a purveyor of Delay Spray to a one-stop shop for a slew of sexual wellness products. Their offerings will appeal to anyone looking to improve performance and increase pleasure, and their prices are hard to beat in nearly every category. There are still a few gaps in their lineup compared to close competitors, but those are closing fast.

To evaluate Promescent, we applied several criteria to our personal, hands-on testing experience and our thorough review of clinical research. These criteria were applied to Promescent as a company, as well as their various products, including their delay spray. We considered effectiveness, safety, cost, and customer care for this review.

Effectiveness and safety garnered the most attention and contributed the heaviest weight to our overall rating. And while cost is important, many of Promescent’s products cost a similar amount as competing products (though often a bit less). Our least influential criterion was customer care, which still carried significant weight considering the delicate nature of some of these products and the need for discretion. But, as with price, the customer care environment offered by competitors is very similar, giving it slightly less importance in our overall consideration.

Let’s take a closer look at each criterion to see how Promescent fits into the marketplace.

Effectiveness

Promescent offers a large selection of products, from delay spray and condoms to massage oils and prescription ED medication. To measure their effectiveness, we primarily focused on their delay spray, both because it's their most popular product and because its efficacy is the aspect of the company about which most people are curious. And it does work.

Our testing team found that the numbing sensation of the delay spray was strong enough to extend sexual performance but subtle enough to allow the experience to be gratifying for both partners. Promescent’s spray outperformed its competitors in testing, including products from Hims (now discontinued) and VigRX. Part of this is due to ingredients, but another part is likely the bottle’s spray pattern, which is neither as broad as Hims nor as single-stream as VigRX. That makes it easier to apply effectively. Check out this short video comparing the sprays in action:

The company’s delay wipes work well but are a little less effective, mainly because they rely on benzocaine instead of lidocaine. Our testers have consistently found benzocaine to be the weaker of the two anesthetics across a range of delay products. The performance of the wipes was on par with Hims Delay Wipes while outshining other offerings from Roman and VigRX.

Promescent only just launched their prescription ED medication program, so it’s a little early to judge, but the medications they’ve included out of the gate are sildenafil (generic for Viagra) and tadalafil (generic for Cialis). Numerous successful studies spanning decades of research have shown both sildenafil and tadalafil to be effective treatments for erectile dysfunction.2 3 Hims and Roman have been in this game a bit longer, but Promescent is undercutting Roman and Hims pricing on daily tadalafil, as we’ll discuss below.

Among Promescent’s other products, you’ll find condoms and sex toys from the top manufacturers in the industry, as well as lubricant options that work well with various toys, condoms, and potential allergies. Ultimately, all this paints a picture of a company whose primary product does what they say it will, and whose ancillary products are also reliably effective.

Safety

Evaluating Promesent’s safety is incredibly complex due to the broad nature of their catalog. We have an expanded safety section below, but here are some of the most important things that influenced our evaluation of the company’s potential safety.

We considered other factors in addition to these, but this group is a great example of how we arrived at our estimation of Promescent’s overall safety.

Cost

Promescent’s cost rating has gone up since we last reviewed them, specifically because they’ve begun offering ED medication at outstanding prices. Let’s look at a quick comparison of the potential cost per 2.5mg and 5mg dose of daily tadalafil:

All three companies deliver 5mg tablets whether you’re prescribed 2.5mg or 5mg, and it’s up to you to break them in half. If your doctor prescribes you 2.5mg, you’ll only get 15 5mg tablets monthly. To get the lower prices listed above, you can request an increase in your dose to 5mg and break those tablets in half if 2.5mg is actually strong enough for you. None of these companies penalize you for canceling your medication subscription, so you can stop and restart deliveries every six months.

Of course, Promescent's central product is the delay spray, and considering its effectiveness, Promescent offers competitive prices compared to their closest competitors. Some of the other products on their site — notably the toys — either match the best prices you could get elsewhere or exceed them by only a few dollars.

Here's a quick breakdown of the Delay Spray packages that Promescent offers:

Note: We say advertised spray count because, in testing, we found each bottle contained more sprays than advertised, effectively lowering the cost per use.

Compared to the competition, these prices are nearly unbeatable. VigRX is the only company that can provide you with a lower cost per spray, but that spray relies on benzocaine instead of Promescent’s lidocaine, it lacks Promescent’s absorption capabilities, and it employs additional ingredients that may have side effects of their own.

Promescent offers great bundles that can save you between 10% and 12%, depending on the set. This is a nice chunk of savings, but the company used to let you customize bundles from scratch, saving a little more with each added item. That system still topped out at 12%, so the savings were the same, but the possible combinations were greater.

Customer care

Promescent's customer care is good, but other companies in this space go the extra mile to employ a consistent bank of phone operators and respond to email inquiries a bit faster. We’ve gotten through to Promescent’s team, and they’ve been very well-informed and pleasant to talk to, but we’ve also gotten the answering machine a few too many times.

One of the best aspects of Promescent’s customer care is their money-back guarantee. With products like the Delay Spray, you can use them for up to 60 days and still ask for and receive a refund. That doesn't apply to toys and a few other intimate products unless they have clearly never been opened. We have a complete list of products eligible for Promescent’s 60-day money-back guarantee below.

This guarantee is exceptional compared to Hims and Roman, two of Promescent’s closest competitors. Both of those companies use vague language to describe potential return situations that essentially guarantee you nothing.

At Innerbody Research, we extensively test each health service we review, including Promescent. Our team has spent over 238 hours testing and researching Promescent products and those of their competitors to evaluate them as fairly as possible. Our hands-on testing gives us insights into the customer experience and product quality that are genuinely useful to our readers.

In addition to rigorous product testing, our team has read through more than 500 scientific journal articles and studies about premature ejaculation and men’s sexual health. Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this guide was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions to live healthier lifestyles.

A delay spray is a topical anesthetic that seeks to desensitize the nerves in the penis without completely numbing them. It does this by applying the anesthetic in spray form that absorbs into the skin after about 10-15 minutes. The result is just strong enough to allow a man to last longer during sex without detracting from his sense of pleasure. Most reputable delay sprays rely on lidocaine as their topical anesthetic, which boasts a good safety profile and reliable efficacy.

Multiple delay sprays have been subjected to clinical testing, but Promescent is the only spray in North America that was subject to an IRB-certified clinical study demonstrating significant evidence of its effectiveness. The study looked at men with “subjective premature ejaculation,” meaning the participants didn’t rise to the level of a clinical diagnosis but were still negatively impacted by a shorter-than-desired ejaculatory latency time, or ELT (how long it takes to climax). Men in the study lasted an average of 6.81 minutes without Promescent. With Promescent, that ELT nearly doubled to 11.16 minutes.7 So, it’s clear that delay sprays work.

For those in a hurry, this video summarizes what our testing team found. We'll also show you how the product arrives at your door.

Fuller details are below for digging deeper.

Promescent is a sexual wellness company that provides convenient and discreet access to sexual health and personal care products, including:

• Promescent Delay Spray
• Delay Wipes
• Prescription ED medication
• Condoms
• Lubricants
• Toys
• Supplements
• Massage oils

The product most people associate with Promescent is their Delay Spray. Before Dr. Ronald Gilbert created it, the options available for men to delay ejaculation were limited and far from ideal. They involved either topical substances that numbed both the man and his partner or prescription pharmaceuticals that posed potential side effects and that men had to take daily for as long as they were sexually active.

Promescent Delay Spray, by contrast, involves no prescription and is designed so that it absorbs completely into the penis. It doesn't transfer to a partner. We found that it works reliably well in testing, desensitizing the skin without completely removing feeling, so pleasure is still very much on the table.

There are several inactive ingredients in Promescent, some of which are integral to its oil-aqueous solution, while others add fragrance or other characteristics.

Promescent continues to branch out, more recently adding a selection of toys and massage oils to a growing list of products. Ordering from Promescent is straightforward and secure, as well. Packages arrive with discreet labeling, though your credit card statement will say Promescent on it. The company benefits from a large and impressive medical review board of experts in urology, sexual health, and psychology.

Sexual health products aimed at enhancing your experience in the bedroom should typically be met with skepticism, but Promescent delay spray undeniably works. Promescent effectively desensitizes the penis without making it completely numb. The result is pleasurable intercourse that lasts longer, thanks to a slightly blunted sensation. In the study we referenced above, men nearly doubled their performance time from over six minutes to more than 11 minutes.

That study also took its participants’ partners into account. It showed that these partners experienced an orgasm of their own nearly 66% of the time when participants used Promescent, compared to just 44% when they did not.7 This kind of performance may help to close the infamous orgasm gap, in which the male side of a heterosexual couple is typically much more likely to experience an orgasm through intercourse.10 Our testers had similar experiences, finding that it provided a desensitizing effect that wasn't too strong and lasted 30-45 minutes.

How does the Promescent spray work?

Promescent Delay Spray works by slightly numbing the nerves in your penis before sex. It does this with the help of a local anesthetic called lidocaine, which effectively shuts down nerve cells' ability to communicate sensations to the brain.4 If lidocaine sounds familiar to you, it's because you may have seen or used products with lidocaine for a sore throat, bug bites, sunburn, poison ivy, and other irritants.

Dr. Gilbert's creation of Delay Spray involved a beneficial innovation: he changed the fundamental composition of lidocaine from a crystalline structure to an oil-aqueous structure, allowing it to absorb into the skin more effectively than lidocaine sprays available at the time.8 He called his formula "TargetZone™ Technology." Its faster absorption into the penis presents a significantly decreased risk of spreading the numbing agent to your partner or another part of your body.

Finding the correct number of sprays to provide effective desensitization may take a few tries. Our testers experienced an appropriate amount of desensitization with an average of three sprays.

Many men find that they climax sooner than they or their partners would prefer. This is the loose definition that many people use for premature ejaculation (PE), though some specify that clinically diagnosed PE refers to the inability to delay orgasm longer than one minute into sexual activity.9

On average, men tend to reach orgasm in about five minutes during sexual intercourse. Meanwhile, women achieve orgasm, on average, in closer to 18 minutes. This disparity contributes to the "orgasm gap" in heterosexual relationships — men achieving orgasms more frequently than women during sexual activity.10 Men don't last nearly as long on average as the typical woman requires to achieve orgasm.

So any man who finds that he finishes before — and more often than — his partner could benefit from a delay spray. It doesn't mean he has a problem with premature ejaculation. If anything, it's a sign of respect for his partner and a desire to see them as fulfilled as he is.

Who should look elsewhere for help with PE?

Men who should avoid Promescent and other delay sprays are those who have allergies to lidocaine or any other anesthetic in the amide group or whose partners may also be allergic. Anesthetics in the amide group include:

• Lidocaine
• Bupivacaine
• Ropivacaine
• Septocaine
• Carbocaine
• Prilocaine

A lidocaine allergy doesn't necessarily imply a benzocaine allergy. Benzocaine is part of a different anesthetic group, and people with an allergy to one group can often tolerate the other. If you are allergic to an anesthetic from the amide group, you can still try Promescent's Delay Wipes, which utilize benzocaine.

However, both lidocaine and benzocaine are contraindicated to several medications, the combination of which could increase your risk of a particularly dangerous condition called methemoglobinemia.11 This condition diminishes your blood cells’ ability to transport oxygen, which can lead to significant tissue damage and even be fatal. We’ll expound on this in the safety section below this one.

The active ingredient in Promescent Delay Spray is lidocaine, which doctors and dentists regularly rely on as a local anesthetic. The medical version of lidocaine spray is significantly more potent than the formula found in Promescent, and that's by design. Medical lidocaine would provide too much numbing, inhibit your sense of pleasure, and increase what few risk factors are associated with the compound.

That said, any lidocaine or benzocaine spray could create an allergic contact dermatitis reaction in those with lidocaine allergies or an allergy to any amide anesthetic. Reactions may also occur in men with tree nut allergies (specifically macadamia nut, which is somewhat rare) and soy allergies.12 That’s due to Promescent’s inactive ingredients, including macadamia nut oil and soy lecithin.

The most dangerous, albeit rare, side effects of a lidocaine spray come from its potential contraindications, which include:13

• Antimalarials
• Antineoplastic agents
• Antibiotics
• Antianginal agents
• Antihypertensives
• Anti-inflammatory/analgesics

The combination of these with lidocaine or benzocaine anesthetics increases your risk of developing methemoglobinemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder.11 Fortunately, several of those contraindicated medications aren’t taken daily, such as anti-inflammatories, antimalarials, and antibiotics. If you’re on a course of any of those, you can skip the Promescent until your treatment is completed.

Whatever your current medical status or medication regimen, it would be wise to speak with your doctor before starting to use Promescent.

Safety of Promescent’s other products

Of course, this is all specific to Promescent’s delay products. The company also offers the prescription ED medications sildenafil (generic Viagra) and tadalafil (generic Cialis). These medications are well-researched and mostly safe, but they carry potentially serious cardiovascular side effect risks.14 That’s why they’re only available as a prescription, and it’s also why Promescent employs doctors to review your case before offering any prescription.

Promescent’s supplements offer non-prescription alternatives to ED medications and prescriptions to aid female arousal in the form of nitric oxide boosters containing L-arginine, L-citrulline, zinc, and a few other ingredients commonly found in such pills. The doses in these supplements are on the low side of average in that market, well within what appear to be safe ranges in the research.6

Beyond that, Promescent’s only serious risks are associated with potential allergies to silicone in its toys and one of its lubricants or the misuse of those toys.15

Promescent offers their Delay Spray in two bottle sizes and prices, each of which is available on a subscription basis for an additional discount. Here’s how it breaks down:

As you can see, the best value is the 60-spray bottle, and because the product has a long shelf life, you're sure to get more of it per dollar. You can also specify what delivery frequency best suits your needs from among 30, 60, and 90-day options.

It’s also worth noting that, in testing, we got more sprays per bottle than advertised, with an average of 35 from the 20-spray bottle and an average of 72 from the 60-spray bottle. No bottle put out less than the number advertised. We’ve actually seen this in other delay sprays, as well. It’s unclear if the industry at large is playing it safe to avoid falsely advertising a number they can’t hit, but delay spray from VigRX also put out more sprays than advertised.

In addition to single-bottle orders, Promescent offers their spray in larger multi-bottle packages, saving you more money per ounce of the spray. Subscriptions are available for these bundles, but there is no additional discount for subscribing. Still, compared to competitors who fail to offer such bundles in the first place, the added convenience of a subscription system is nice.

Promescent Delay Spray is extremely easy to use. Pump 1-10 sprays on the underside of your glans and frenulum, massage until the product absorbs, and wait 10-15 minutes. Waiting is crucial, as it helps ensure you don't spread the spray around unintentionally. Wipe off any excess, and you're good to go.

Here's a more detailed look at how to use the Delay Spray:

1. Give the bottle a decent shake before using. It doesn't have to be a rigorous shake, just a gentle one.
2. With the nozzle close to your penis, spray 1-10 sprays total, focusing on the most sensitive places: the frenulum (the small, v-shaped portion of tissue on the underside of the penis just beneath the head), the underside of the glans (head) of the penis, and the shaft (though this is rarely necessary).
3. Wait for about 5-15 minutes while the spray dries. When it's dry, you're ready to go. If after 10-15 minutes some of the spray remains on the skin, gently wipe it off before beginning.

If this is your first time using a new Promescent bottle, remember to break the little white tab before trying to use it. Whether you apply it while erect or not is up to you. Many men find it easier to apply, specifically to the most sensitive areas, when the penis is erect.

Some people suggest holding the bottle at a roughly 90-degree angle while you spray your penis. We didn't find that to be necessary in testing. The important thing is to ensure the nozzle is close to where you want to spray to prevent unnecessary product loss.

Some men find the application of any delay spray to be slightly cumbersome or messy. Others may not anticipate the need to have their bottle on them at all times or be comfortable with it in their pocket for a night out. Those men would do well to consider Promescent's Delay Wipes. These are pre-moistened towelettes containing benzocaine, an analgesic compound similar to the lidocaine in the Delay Spray.5

Compared to delay spray, Promescent’s wipes have far fewer inactive ingredients. That might make them a superior choice not just for men with lidocaine allergies, but also those with a sensitivity to macadamia nut oil or soy lecithin.

There's a convenience factor with these individually wrapped wipes, but Promescent clearly states that their Delay Wipes are less effective than their spray. If you find that just one or two shots of the delay spray are sufficient and you're interested in trying the wipes, they might be strong enough for you. Just keep in mind that they do end up costing more per use than the spray does.

The only reputable company that can beat Promescent’s $1.12 price point is VigRX, but in order to get there, you have to invest in 60 of the company’s wipes, which costs over $100 up-front. And VigRX wipes only use botanical ingredients; they don’t have either lidocaine or benzocaine in them.

Some of Promescent’s top competitors offered prescription ED medication before they ever offered delay products. On the flip side, Promescent beat these organizations to the punch with their delay spray and by offering a suite of sex toys, lubricants, and condoms. Those companies are catching up in that regard, but with the addition of ED medication to their catalog, Promescent is becoming a one-stop-shop for men’s sexual health.

The ED medications Promescent offers are two of the most-prescribed drugs in the space: sildenafil (generic Viagra) and tadalafil (generic Cialis). The company can provide you with a prescription for either after a virtual visit. And Promescent’s pricing is significantly less than its competitors.

One of the ways it seems Promescent controls costs is by limiting the way they provide various doses. From a provider like Hims, you can get sildenafil in 20mg increments up to 100mg or an authorized generic Viagra in 25mg increments up to 100mg. Promescent only offers sildenafil in 50mg and 100mg pill sizes. A Promescent doctor may still prescribe you 25mg or 75mg doses, but it’ll be up to you to cut pills in half as needed.

That may be well worth it, though, especially when you see the savings you can enjoy through Promescent. Also, the 25mg increments are more in line with how branded Viagra is distributed. The 20mg increments provided by Hims come from generic Revatio, a blood pressure medication. These increments may work better for some men, but if you want to start with the same doses branded Viagra provides, Promescent and Roman are better options (and Promescent is cheaper than Roman).

Here’s how Promescent’s best prices per dose of ED medication compare to those from Hims and Roman:

Note: To get that $1 price on tadalafil from Promescent, you’d have to be prescribed a 5mg dose and break the pills in half, canceling and restarting your subscription (penalty-free) every six months. For men who can achieve an erection on a 2.5mg daily dose, this is the best deal we’ve found from a reputable company.

As you can see, Promescent has a competitive price for sildenafil, but its tadalafil prices are significantly lower than its competitors.

One of the drawbacks to Promescent’s system is that it’s very new, so it’s not yet available in all 50 states or in any U.S. territory. You can currently access Promescent ED medications in every state except Kansas, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C.

In addition to their Delay Spray, Wipes, and ED medications, Promescent offers an array of other sexual health products. Some of these come from third-party manufacturers, and in most cases, the prices match what you’d pay buying directly from those sellers.

The mere existence of many of these products in Promescent’s catalog separates them from their competitors. Hims has been closing the gap recently, adding condoms and some toys to their lineup. But Promescent still has a wider selection.

The practical customer experience with Promescent is straightforward and robust, with a good money-back guarantee on many products and fast, inexpensive (often free) shipping.

Shipping

For domestic orders, Promescent offers free USPS 3-5 day standard shipping on any order over $20. Orders below $20 will cost $3.99 in shipping.

You have options to expedite your shipment through FedEx for an extra shipping fee:

• Overnight: $38.21 (calculated by location)
• 2-day: $9.95 (flat fee)

Returns

Promescent offers a 60-day money-back refund policy for those who are dissatisfied with the products they ordered. The company reserves the right to deny refunds for products that malfunction due to misuse. To get the money credited back to you during a refund, you have to contact customerservice@promescent.com within 60 days of the original shipping date from Promescent.

The list of products that are covered by the 60-day money-back guarantee is limited and includes:

• Delay Spray
• Delay Wipes
• Personal Lubricants
• Female Arousal Gels
• VitaFLUX for Men & Women
• Before and After Wipes
• Toy Cleaner
• Condoms
• Adult Toys/Vibrators

Some intimate items (like sex toys) are neither returnable nor refundable unless the product has never been opened. However, Promescent sells a few items from We-Vibe, and they offer a 60-day orgasm guarantee that Promescent will honor if you use those toys and are dissatisfied.

Prescriptions are not returnable, but if a shipment arrives damaged, Promescent will send a replacement.

Promescent does not refund any shipping fees, but the existence of their guarantee starkly contrasts against the lack of any such promise from their closest competitors, Hims and Roman. VigRX’s 67-day guarantee is one week longer, but the quality and variety of their products are notably inferior to Promescent’s.

Privacy considerations

All of your shipments arrive discreetly. There is no information on the outside of the package that would in any way identify the product. No brand, product, or company information whatsoever exists on the exterior.

This level of discretion is fundamental when ordering health products online but is particularly important with products of an intimate nature. You can rest assured that Promescent understands and will protect your privacy. That discretion doesn't entirely translate to your bank statement, however. There, charges from Promescent will bear the company's name, though they don't include any additional identifying information.

Promescent employs SSL encryption to protect your data. Still, they openly state that they may sell your usage data and use that information to improve their site functionality and marketing strategies.

Promescent may have been the first company to offer an oil-aqueous lidocaine solution as a sexual desensitizer, but other companies have come along with similar products since then. There are also techniques and different approaches to tackling PE that may interest you.

Hims

Hims is a telehealth company that offers everything from sexual health products to talk therapy and hair loss treatments. They offer delay wipes that are manufactured by Promescent.

Hims boasts a network of doctors that makes it possible to acquire a prescription for a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). That class of drugs has proven effective in studies treating men with clinically diagnosed premature ejaculation. The downside is that you have to keep taking SSRIs daily, even if you have large gaps in sexual activity. Otherwise, the medication may not be effective when you resume said activities. And there are potential side effects that are far greater than those associated with lidocaine.18

Before it was discontinued, our testers found that Hims Delay Spray didn't't pack the same punch as Promescent, even though Promescent manufactured their spray. Based on the results of some slow-motion video we captured, it’s possible that the spray pattern from the Hims bottle (which Promescent didn't make) failed to deliver the fluid with as much accuracy or in the correct dose.

You can see that video yourself in the Evaluation section toward the top of this page. It's a moot point now, anyhow, since Hims stopped offering the delay spray later in 2024.

If your PE issues are minor, and perhaps you're also looking to address ED or hair loss, Hims might be an all-in-one solution, but for men looking for a spray that offers significant value and performance, we still recommend Promescent.

Hims continues to offer non-prescription delay wipes similar to Promescent’s but at a higher price.

Read more about Hims in our comprehensive review.

VigRX

VigRX offers a benzocaine-based spray for an outlandishly low $0.46 per pump. You'll get about ten times the quantity dollar-for-dollar compared to Promescent, but the up-front cost is higher at $50. Their spray works reliably, as well.

However, due to the use of benzocaine, there is a slightly higher chance that you could have an allergic reaction, as benzocaine allergies are more prevalent than lidocaine allergies.19 And the VigRX formula is noticeably thicker, so even with extensive rubbing, you'll likely have to wipe it off before you can safely begin intercourse. Ultimately, we’d only suggest VigRX spray to men with lidocaine allergies who don’t want to use delay wipes.

Roman

Roman is quite similar to Hims in its offering. Like Hims, they lack a delay spray but offer delay wipes, ED treatments, hair loss interventions, and more. But they have one less SSRI in their catalog compared to Hims.

In many cases, Roman’s products cost more than those from Hims or Promescent, but they have an edge in a few categories, namely testosterone support, hair care products, and skincare.

Other approaches to treating PE

We’ve already discussed the use of SSRI antidepressants to treat PE, but there are a few other options men can turn to if they can’t use delay products due to allergies or other concerns.