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Sensation Play in BDSM: A Video Beginner's Guide

 Looking to add some sensation play to your life but don't know where to start? Tawney Seren and Lucy Love will walk you through this primer on what sensation play is, and how to get started, and some ideas of what to try!

About Tawney:

Tawney Seren is an author, adult industry assistant/guide, reviewer, and avid reader who loves educating others and herself about the big world of sex. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and doggo in the Pacific Northwest, writing to-do lists, tackling new projects, and watching re-runs of her favorite shows. You can find her blogging at openbobsbb.com

Sensation Play in BDSM: A Video Beginner's Guide Video Transcript

Everybody, it’s Tawney Seren and Lucy Love, and we are here with Naughty Betty’s to talk about sensation play.

What is sensation play?

Sensation play is a number of different activities, both vanilla and kinky, that uses the body sensation for sexual arousal. Now that could be like a number of areas all around your body, from the inner thighs to maybe your forearm, the back of the neck. Maybe kinetic revs, a whole bunch of areas. This isn't just maybe for nipples or clitoral stimulation or genital areas; this can be a number of areas around your body.

 Yeah, and I feel like a lot of people get focused on genitals when they're thinking of pleasure, and they're thinking of that endgame. And really this is about erogenous zones, and erogenous zones are just places of heightened sensitivity around your body that can provide you with pleasure in touch -- the right way and consensually, by you know whomever you allow to touch you.

That way always do check-ins first, especially if you're not sure about a certain area. Yeah, especially if the area could be a little bit … what I mean … erogenous zones are different for everybody, right? It could be a place that you know you don't want to touch in public. It could be a place you could have fun with touching, but in regards to sensation play we're talking more about like heat, electric, ice, metal and glass toys.

Different sensations you can bring in, even down to being like blindfolded, right? That can really enhance that with your partner and don't necessarily mean doing them to your genitals, right?

Yeah, so first we have like play ice, and ice can be used on a plethora of areas. I personally like to use ice even on my arms, right? In this forearm area I like ice on the back of my neck while I stuff because ice is so cold, so cool, especially like on the back of the neck area it just creates this like numbing cool sensation that really adds an extra layer to whatever kind of play you're engaging with.

And what's really fun is you can get toys like glass toys and metal toys that you can put in the fridge for a little bit or you can make cold and then use on the body. Make sure it's the temperature ahead of time right that can be just, really, especially glass toys, like yeah in the metal where they can really hold that cold for you and you get that whole different sensation in the body. Yeah, like if you are a fan of, you know, cold stuff like that like it really just, it just makes you feel very nervous chills.

And if you're someone like me that has a really hard time getting nipple arousal, like it's a great way to like get that sensitivity going there and kind of add a little something. Yeah if it's not my nipples either, yeah, first go-to now for stimulation, oh no it just kind of makes it fun cuz then there's ways to make them a little more, you know, sensitive to maybe they are good players in the game for you.

And then we have heat play like wax, yes, and wax can be very fun. Some wax, dripped on the butt you know, or even on the chest like the nice collarbone area. The heat adds a nice warm element; you're not ready for the heat. Of course you want to check with certain heats because you can, you know, be really, have really hot sometimes, yeah. And thankfully there's some like candles and things where you can have like that cool wax.

And don't worry, we'll have links to different toys and things you can use for any one of these sensations down below, so definitely take a peek at that.

But there are some waxes that just kind of run a little bit colder so that you can train, because all these things aren't stuff … like with electro play, right, if you want to just dive into …  um yeah I love the way wax feels, like you're anticipating that drip, which is a sensation in itself. The anticipation as you're waiting for it to come to fruition, and as it drips on you it just feels so amazing, and some waxes can even become oils, and then you add in that sensation of like love. Oh gosh, yeah, that like connection with your partner, which can be really fun.

I mean all these are sensual touches, sensation, oh yes. Yeah, I love using things like toys, like chain ticklers, so like that light and fluttery feel. Or like I guess I mean really spanking and pain is a form of sensation. So yes all these things should be taken in stride with your partner. Pulling the hair: when you feel that hand go up the back of your neck and just that nice firm grab, fantastic.

So definitely sensations are a wonderful awesome thing that you can bring into the bedroom. Like we've mentioned already, you have like your cold and ice play; you have your hot sand; we talked about electricity.

Oh my gosh, electricity. So electro play is something we will go into more depth with about, how to do it safely, because there are different levels that you can use. It was something for me because I was not into pain play, but I didn't know if I'd like it or not, right? But I am always down to try different sensations, yeah.

So there's a lot of different toys that you can use that are going to spark that little bit of a jolt in you, and when you get your adrenaline going with it it can create that kind of euphoric feeling. It's similar, it's akin to like when you're talking with some people and they're like I love getting tattoos right?

We got exotic here, yeah, a bit like that where you start to get that kind of euphoric feeling after your adrenaline has kind of kicked in, and but along with that euphoric feeling I think it's something that not a lot of people think about with sensation play, and that is aftercare. Aha, especially after care -- some cuddles and soothing words with your partner. Of course discuss what your needs are for aftercare. Specifically I want food, right, and water, a nice fuzzy blanket.

But of course aftercare should always follow, after especially with experimenting. Maybe you do some electro play a little harder than you normally do -- you want to especially prioritize some aftercare. It's true, and always make sure if you're engaging in something you're not familiar with that you have a safe word in place. That way that you are able to cut that off immediately, and like we mentioned with the baby steps, you know, especially when you're dealing with things like electric hot pain, you have to be comfortable. You have to be able to know that you can end it at any point, because sensation play can be, you know, very intimidating.

And one last little form of sensation play I’ll say before we go: cutting off your senses, yes. So whether like the blindfold, yeah, amazing what like cuz you like maybe wouldn't think how much cutting off sight, like that really impacts the sensations but it could also be very scary and overwhelming. Hence the, you know, aftercare, and a safe word.

Making sure that you're comfortable with that if you are restricting access to movement through bondage, right? Role play, yes absolutely, all the sensations like rope play and some eyes are blindfolded, and some electricity, oh it could be really really fun 

So whatever your choices are with sensations in your play, just make sure to keep it safe, keep it sane, keep it consensual, keep it fun.

And check out all of the awesome suggestions we have here at Naughty Betty's to take with you and to try on your journey through these sensation plays.

 Yay, thank you so much everybody. I'm Tawney and I'm Lucy, we'll be back with more, bye.