Ristela is a dietary supplement for increasing sexual satisfaction and stimulation in women, sold by a brand called Bonafide. The brand claims that their supplement “increases orgasm and physical arousal” and is manufactured with “high quality ingredients.”
But does Ristela contain research-backed ingredients for supporting sexual health in women, or are these just marketing claims? Does it contain any questionable additive ingredients? How do real users rate and describe the effects of the supplement? And what retailer sells Ristela for the best price?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze the ingredients in Ristela based on medical studies to give our take on whether the supplement is likely to be effective for improving sexual satisfaction in women, or if it’s a waste of money.
We’ll feature real customer reviews and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells Ristela for the best price.
Ingredient Analysis
The active ingredients in Ristela are shown above.
There are some ingredients in this formulation with research backing for enhancing sexual function in women.
L-arginine was shown in a meta-study published in the Pharmacy journal to improve sex drive in women.
The study authors analyzed results from seven clinical trials on l-arginine supplementation for sex drive in women, and in six of the seven trials, l-arginine use was shown to enhance libido. The doses used in some of the trials were lower than that in Ristela.
L-citrulline is another amino acid, and while we can’t find any clinical trials showing it to improve sexual function in women when taken in isolation, it was shown in a 2013 clinical trial to enhance sexual function scores in women when combined with other ingredients that are in Ristela.
When supplementing with l-citrulline along with the other active botanical ingredients experienced a 227% improvement in sexual function scores after eight weeks of treatment.
Pycnogenol is a patented compound derived from pine bark, and it was shown in a 2011 clinical trial to improve symptoms associated with menopausal transition including loss of libido.
While there are clearly some research-backed ingredients in Ristela, there is also one inactive ingredient that may be questionable from a health perspective. The inactive ingredients in this supplement are shown below:
Titanium dioxide is a colorant that’s banned for use in the E.U. over toxicity concerns, as we discussed in our review of Olly Lovin Libido, another women’s health supplement.
Overall, we consider Ristela likely to improve sexual function and sex drive in women. From an effectiveness perspective, we consider this supplement to have one of the more impressive formulations of any libido enhancer we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health.
We don’t currently recommend Ristela due to the inclusion of titanium dioxide.
But how do real users rate and describe the effects of this supplement? We’ll discuss in the next section.
We Tried Ristela Ourselves
One of our product testers named Jodie Steinberg tried Ristela for two months. Here's her experience:
The product was very easy to use. It comes in a standard plastic bottle with a twist top.
The pills are a bit large but I did not have issues swallowing them.
The product claims to provide powerful, hormone-free support for sexually active women who want to enhance their response to sexual stimulation. I agree this product works and does what it says it will do.
I didn't experience any side effects at all while taking Ristela.
The product says it can take up to two months to work. I found the product started to work much faster within the first month.
Overall, I rate Ristela 10/10, and I plan to purchase it in the future.
Questionable Health Claims on Ristela Website
There are several uncited and questionable health claims on the Ristela product page of Bonafide’s website.
As shown below, the manufacturer claims this supplement is “scientifically validated” and cites specific health claims such as that 75% of women saw an increase in sexual arousal by month two:
However, the clinical trial citation for this health claim (found here) is not to a trial on Ristela but to a trial on a different supplement called Lady Prelox.
According to Pharma Nord, Lady Prelox contains the same active ingredients as Ristela but at different doses. It also contains different inactive ingredients.
We find it to be unfair to consumers to make specific health claims about a supplement’s efficacy based on a clinical trial on a different supplement, even if both supplements contain the same active ingredients.
The Ristela product page also suggests that the supplement becomes more effective over time:
This citation corresponds to a footnote on the site that lists the Menopause journal, however we cannot find any publications in the Menopause journal testing Ristela.
We recommend that consumers exercise caution when considering supplements sold by brands that make specific health claims without providing clear proof of those claims.
Real Users Review Ristela
A YouTube creator named “Savvy’s Second Act” reviewed a number of Bonafide supplements including Ristela. We’ve timestamped the below video to begin at the point she starts discussing Ristela:
Ristela is sold on Amazon, which is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion.
The supplement has been reviewed over 60 times with an average review rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Cait” who claims Ristela was recommended by her OBGYN and has been effective:
“My gyn recommended this, and said it has actual data to support its claims. It definitely has made a difference.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Delia” who gives the supplement a 1-star rating and claims it caused severe side effects:
“After a few days of taking the pills I had a severe reaction and ended up in the hospital. Do not take these pills unless you want a one way ticket to the tomb”
Bonafide (the manufacturer of Ristela) currently has a 1 out of 5 star rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, with a notice at the top of the page that health claims made by the brand were in violation of the BBB Code of Advertising.
We’ll review the questionable health claims on Ristela’s website in the next section.
Where to Get the Best Price
Ristela is sold at a variety of online retailers. Here’s a price breakdown at the time of publishing this article:
EveryMarket: $99.52 (link)
Amazon: $64 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
Brand website: $57 (plus shipping, link)
At the time of publishing this article, Ristela is slightly cheaper on the brand’s website than on third-party retailers even when factoring in shipping costs. The shipping rate based on the test address we input was only $5, bringing the total to $62.
Our Clean Libido Picks
There are vitamins and herbs which have been shown in clinical studies to improve sex drive in women.
Panax ginseng extract was shown in a meta-study on natural products for treating female sexual dysfunction to be effective for improving sexual arousal and sexual desire in women.
Illuminate Labs Panax Ginseng Extract is our third-party tested ginseng supplement, that costs only $15 at a subscription rate.
Ginkgo biloba extract is clinically shown to improve sexual desire in menopausal women, and also clinically shown to improve sexual function in postmenopausal women.
Illuminate Labs Ginkgo Biloba Extract is our third-party tested ginkgo supplement, that costs only $15 at a subscription rate.
Vitamin D was shown to improve sexual desire, orgasm and satisfaction in young women with low vitamin D status in a 2018 clinical trial.
MBG Vitamin D3 Potency+ is our top vitamin D3 supplement because it's highly affordable (under $13 at a subscription rate at the time of updating this article), and free of any unhealthy additive ingredients.
Pros and Cons of Ristela
Here are the pros and cons of Ristela in our opinion:
Pros:
- All active ingredients have research backing
- Should improve sexual function
- Should improve sexual desire
- L-citrulline may have cardiovascular benefits
Cons:
- Contains titanium dioxide
- Brand makes questionable and poorly-cited health claims
- Unimpressive Amazon reviews
- Unimpressive BBB reviews
- Brand charges for shipping
