What Are Sex Pills and Do They Really Work?

These products often share several ingredients with traditional male enhancement pills, but their formulas tend to focus on increasing semen output and raising testosterone levels, respectively.

What Are the Best Medications for Erectile Dysfunction?

Performer 8 utilizes a well-known brand of ashwagandha — KSM-66. It’s not the most potently concentrated form, but it’s been subjected to multiple clinical studies, many of which show comparable rates of adverse effects as those seen in the placebo groups.5 Lastly, when it comes to pills, one occasionally overlooked aspect of safety is the size of the pill itself; many people have difficulty swallowing pills of any size, but especially larger ones. If you're one of these people, keep in mind that Performer 8 is a middle-of-the-road size compared to others, while Volume Pills is definitely on the small side. One thing that helps Performer 8 in contrast with others like Semenax, however, is the width — Performer 8 is narrower than some. Considering the practical and potential costs when trying a male enhancement product, we take price into account along with things like shipping costs, money-back guarantees, and bulk purchasing discounts.

Male sexual dysfunction

Shipping from all of our recommended companies is free, so let’s take a look at how the other parameters stack up: Male Extra narrowly claims best erection pills this category thanks to: A tie for the lowest cost per bottle at the highest bulk purchasing level A narrow edge over Performer 8 in cost at the three-month level, which is kind of a “Goldilocks” quantity for many first-time buyers At the three-month amount, however, Performer 8 only costs $10 more than Male Extra. And Performer 8 could be considered among the best deals at its highest bulk purchasing level of five bottles (technically a three-month supply with two free bottles thrown in). At $195, that five-month supply is one of the most affordable, bested only by Male Extra’s 5-month deal at $180. Three-, five-, and six-month deals often present consumers with a nice middle ground of lower costs per bottle and a smaller initial investment than 12-month offerings require. In the customer service department, Performer 8 is the only company offering a lifetime guarantee on its product.

Hormone tests

Others among our top picks offer 67- or 100-day guarantees, which are admirable but can’t compare to the lifetime promise. Performer 8 is also the only company with a fully functioning live chat feature that provides interaction with real humans on the other end. This is an undeniable convenience for products where nutritional questions can get complicated and require a back-and-forth. Male enhancement pills are nutritional supplements designed to improve various aspects of male sexual health. Many focus on erectile performance, seeking to improve blood flow to the penis and address certain nutritional deficiencies that might contribute to mild erectile dysfunction. Ultimately, even the best male enhancement pill can only go so far in addressing things like erectile dysfunction.

If you have only mild symptoms (e.g., the ability to get mostly erect but not enough for penetration, or your erectile performance is mostly reliable but a tad inconsistent), male enhancement pills may be able to help.

But most men — especially those with moderate-to-severe ED — would do better to seek out prescription-strength assistance.

Premature Ejaculation (PE)

They typically include botanical ingredients like ginseng and horny goat weed, as well as amino acids like L-arginine and L-carnitine. Technically, the category includes the ridiculous and often dangerous types of pills you see sold in gas stations and truck stops around America. These are not the types of male enhancement pills we’ll focus on here. It doesn’t guarantee their efficacy, but the supplements in our guide come from more reputable companies than those hawked next to novelty lighters and beef jerky. Other types of supplements exist under the male enhancement umbrella, including volume pills and testosterone boosters. There is a common misconception that male enhancement pills are intended to make your penis larger.

How to Identify Safe Supplements

We’re also wary of any product that makes a big deal out of certain ingredients, only to include them in doses that are significantly smaller than doses used in studies. Many of those studies lack statistical significance as it is, so turning to an inferior dose of a poorly studied ingredient isn’t the way to gain our appreciation. Performer 8 includes a streamlined set of specific ingredients, and several of those ingredients appear in doses consistent with, or at least approaching, doses used in clinical studies. Its inclusion of ashwagandha allows its formula to address testosterone levels directly and reduce stress and anxiety.2 That can yield positive results in your body’s ability to generate an erection while preventing the psychological factors associated with ED from creating a negative feedback loop in which one or two failed erections create self-doubt and stress that leads to more failed erections. The safety profiles of these various male enhancement products are a mixed bag.

Can you permanently get rid of ED?

Since many of the studies looking into common male enhancement ingredients often lack large enough sample sizes to say anything positive with confidence, it’s also difficult to say how safe these products may or may not be. In many cases, male enhancement pills use doses of individual ingredients that are lower than those seen in studies. That might be a good thing for their safety, but without research into how these ingredients may interact when taken together — even at lower doses, and particularly over a long period of time — it would be irresponsible to declare them safe. We are aware of certain side effects that crop up in studies examining these ingredients’ potential to treat ED, but some boast studies specific to their safety. Other ingredients are mainly studied for very different potential benefits — like L-carnitine, which boasts a fair amount of research into its potential as a weight loss supplement.38 As long as the doses in those studies are comparable, we can begin to create a more comprehensive picture of each ingredient's side effect risk.

Vitamins and supplements for ED

Ginseng is a common ingredient in many male enhancement supplements, but several studies have examined its potential as an anti-inflammatory or antioxidant agent. Some of these studies have looked at doses up to 9g daily and showed few-to-no side effects.3 Other studies showed potential benefits at doses as low as 1g/daily. Performer 8, our preferred male enhancement product in terms of safety, utilizes a 6g daily ginseng dose. Stomach discomfort, flushing, and constipation crop up occasionally in the research, but cases are often mild and resolve quickly.4 Another ingredient we like to see in male enhancement products is ashwagandha. There has been a lot of research into ashwagandha’s anxiolytic effects, but other studies looking at its ability to boost testosterone have been promising, as well. While it is possible for increased blood flow to the penis to result in an erection that’s marginally larger than you’re used to, the physical structures of your penis will not grow in any way.

The best male enhancement pills combine various ingredients to improve sexual function, virility, and libido.

They don’t all work quite the same way because their ingredient lists can differ in sometimes subtle and other times dramatic ways.

• Sexual dysfunction can be a symptom of underlying health issues.
• Psychological factors like depression can reduce sexual desire.
• Medications for depression may cause sexual side effects.
• Lifestyle changes can improve mental health and sexual function.
• Support groups provide emotional help related to sexual health problems.
• Sexual therapy addresses emotional and relational challenges.
• Educational programs can dispel myths and promote healthy sexual practices.
• Partner communication is key to resolving many sexual medicine issues.

The best way to understand how a male enhancement pill might work is to look at its ingredients and consider how they might work together. In many cases, the companies creating these formulations use ingredient doses that are well below what clinical research suggests could be effective.

• Penile injections with vasoactive substances are more invasive options.
• Vacuum erection devices create a temporary erection for sexual activity.
• Surgical options include penile implants for severe erectile dysfunction.
• Urological assessment is essential prior to invasive treatments.
• Recovery time and risks vary among surgical treatments.
• Some conditions require combination therapies for best results.
• Managing side effects is crucial for invasive or pharmacological treatments.
• Follow-up care ensures the success and safety of treatment plans.

And very little of that research has been repeated in enough studies to reach statistical or clinical significance.

• Premature ejaculation can be managed with behavioral therapy and medications.
• Desensitizing sprays or condoms help delay ejaculation.
• Psychological counseling can address performance anxiety contributing to issues.
• Squeeze and stop-start techniques are non-pharmacological methods.
• SSRIs are often prescribed to increase the ejaculatory latency.
• Anxiety reduction exercises may improve overall sexual performance.
• Education about sexual response can improve confidence and satisfaction.
• Partner involvement enhances therapy effectiveness and communication.

The general idea behind male enhancement formulas is that combining multiple ingredients can increase the odds

• Managing cardiovascular health is vital in preventing sexual dysfunction.
• Obesity and diabetes are risk factors for reduced sexual performance.
• Smoking cessation can improve blood circulation and sexual health.
• Alcohol consumption may impair erectile function temporarily or permanently.
• Regular check-ups can detect hormonal imbalances affecting libido.
• Sleep disorders can negatively impact sexual desire and performance.
• Certain medications for blood pressure may contribute to sexual side effects.
• Mindfulness and relaxation techniques can reduce performance anxiety.

of success by working on slightly different potential problems (i.e., hypogonadism, performance anxiety, and circulation issues).

What Treatments Might Not Work for Erectile Dysfunction?

We also order the majority of these products ourselves to test the quality of each company’s website, customer service, privacy experience, and shipping logistics. All told, our team has spent over 200 hours researching the products and services of these companies to provide an accurate, unbiased analysis of how they compare. We reviewed more than 100 scholarly articles pertaining to erectile health and the various ingredients included in common male enhancement supplements. 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. We’ll continue to stay on top of new developments in male enhancement and erectile dysfunction treatment to keep this article up to date.

Hormone replacement therapy

We had to be very careful in evaluating male enhancement products, as so many contain ingredients without enough clinical research to recommend them in good conscience. Among the products we found suitable, our comparative analysis focused on four key areas the average customer would need to consider before choosing one: effectiveness, safety, cost, and customer service. Effectiveness may be the most obvious, but safety was just as important for us. Those two criteria carried the most weight in our consideration. As you’ll see, these supplements’ prices fall within a pretty limited range; many of them are considerably less expensive than brand-name ED prescriptions but a lot more expensive than generic prescription alternatives.

Indirect mechanism

This reduces the impact of cost and customer service in our final recommendations. You’ll see that Performer 8 outperforms the competition in most categories, with greater doses of ginseng and barrenwort than most competitors. There’s even a certain point of view from which it offers the best cost, which we’ll get into below. Since everyone uses male enhancement pills for different reasons, one remedy might not be as effective for you as it is for others. But we don’t think the answer is to cram a bunch of ingredients into a pill and hope it pleases everybody.