What exactly is a butt plug?
A butt plug is anal sex toy that's meant to do exactly as the name implies, plug the butt. "For people with prostates, a butt plug can put pleasurable pressure on the zone that is sometimes called the P-spot," Adam Lewis, co-founder of Hot Octopuss, a sex toy company in the UK, tells Health. "And if you don't have a prostate, the plug can create the pleasurable sensation of being filled, and stimulate the nerves in the anus." Butt plugs also stimulate the internal part of the clitoris and G-spot, which is why some women like to wear one during vaginal penetration.
Just like vibrators, butt plugs come in all shapes, materials, and sizes. But if you're a newbie, you'll want to start with a small, slim model; this is not the right time to be ambitious.
Butt plugs are often used as prep for anal sex. But it can create pleasure in other ways, says Lewis. Wearing a butt plug during penetrative sex has the secondary effect of narrowing the vaginal canal, Stuart Nugent, educator and brand manager at sex-toy company LELO, tells Health. "This can massively increase the sensitivity of sex for partners in penetrative sex, especially if it's a vibrating butt plug."
Why Do People Use Butt Plugs?
These ones an easy guess. For a lot of people, butt plugs feel AMAZING! That goes for people with vaginas and penises. No matter your reproductive anatomy, anal pleasure can be enjoyed by all.
For men and people with penises, anal plugs help to stimulate the prostate. A small gland between the bladder and the penis, that when stimulated, can offer immense pleasure. Women and people with vaginas can also experience pleasure when the anal nerves are stimulated, and may simultaneously stimulate the internal structures of the clitoris.
Butt plugs can be used to warm up on your way to anal sex, on their own, in conjunction with penetrative sex, with clitoral stimulation, while masturbating, there’s lots of possibilities here. Just use your imagination!
Using anal plugs can narrow the vagina, which may mean heightened stimulation for both partners.
While it’s totally possible to have anal orgasms on their own, there’s also the world of intense blended orgasms, which happen by stimulating more than one erogenous zone at once.
Convinced yet?
Your Best Butt Buddy
Here’s the thing, of all the sex toys out there, butt plugs are incredibly cute, and have the potential to reflect your personality.
Some of them have neat jewels on the end, tails, tassels, cartoons, and all sorts of colorful displays of cuteness, to help amp up your sex toy game.
No matter your style aesthetic, there’s an anal plug for you.
So Many Options!
Beyond style, there are anal plugs made from all different materials, and in quite a few sizes.
You’ll want to start small at first to ease yourself into it. Some companies sell sets of different sized plugs that let you work your way up. Not that you have to, you can absolutely stay at the smallest size for the rest of your butt pleasure life.
When picking your new butt buddy, you’ll of course need to go for body-safe materials like ceramic, glass, metal, or silicone.
You can even find vibrating plugs, which can be intense but also lead to earth-shattering orgasms by stimulating the surrounding areas.
Why do people like butt plug?
The anus has a lot of nerve endings, and is near both the male and female g-spots. It is common to stimulate the anus for sexual pleasure.
People with prostates enjoy butt plugs because they stimulate the gland, potentially leading to a prostate orgasm. Even if one doesn't occur, most still report that it feels good. There are butt plugs that are specially shaped to reach the prostate.
People with vaginas also enjoy butt plugs. Wearing one during penetrative vaginal sex can simulate double penetration—getting penetrated in the anus and vagina at the same time.
People who enjoy anal sex use butt plugs to warm up the anus before sex. They may also masturbate using a butt plug when they are by themselves to enhance the experience.
Butt plugs can also be part of dominance and submission games.
How To Decide What Type Of Butt Plug Is The Best For You
However, if you’ve never tried them and are feeling a little intimidated, we’ll teach you how to decide what type of butt plug is the best for you! Take a look at this article about finding your dream butt plug!
Butt Plugs Have Variety of Shapes, Size, and Features
While you’ll find them in countless varieties, these kinky toys all share a characteristic teardrop-like shape. Anyone who has an anus and some enthusiasm can use them. That means anal plugs are a universal toy that transcends sexual orientation and gender.
Essentially, the toy is meant to plug your anus. That creates a special type of pressure that can leave you trembling! Overall, most butt plug types have a conical shape that gets wider at the bottom. They also have a flared base. This base is incredibly important for any plug. It stops the toy from fully entering your booty hole and getting stuck in it. But even though these gadgets share some standard features, they are available in various designs, shapes, materials, and sizes.
Generally, some of the most common plug types are standard, vibrating, jeweled, tunnel, inflatable, extra-large, animal tail, prostate massager, etc. The standard type has a classic shape that you’re probably already familiar with. It’s made out of a smooth material like silicone and ranges in size from three to five inches or more. A vibrating plug is similar to the standard type, except that it contains a pulsating motor on the inside. This toy is undoubtedly the top butt plug for women. Its vibrations can reach the clitoris, G-spot, and vagina through the anus to create powerful orgasms!
Other kinds like jeweled plugs are made of stainless steel. They contain a pretty gemstone or diamond at their base for a classy and sexy look. The other variants all have special features too. What’s more, the most frequent butt plug materials are silicone, metal, glass, jelly, plastic, and others.
Identify the Goal of Using a Butt Plug
So which kind will be the best for your experiments? Well, that will depend on what turns you on.
For instance, during solo play and masturbation, the standard or vibrating plug will be ideal. You can use this type in combination with other activities. That includes foreplay, vaginal/penile masturbation, vaginal penetration to simulate DP, etc. Furthermore, you can try it on your partner while penetrating them, giving them oral sex, and other types of naughty activities. This anal toy is also the right one to use if you’re thinking about wearing it outdoors without anyone noticing.
And if your goal is to get trained or dominate your partner with lots of BDSM play, you can even choose some of the kinkier options. These include inflatable plugs, hollow tunnel plugs, and even extra-large variants for extreme insertions. Inflatable plugs are highly popular because they can double in size when they expand. That results in intense stretching and pressure that is simply perfect for submissive play and domination. What’s more, tunnel plugs will train you to gape. And if you’re really adventurous, try an extra-large one. With over nine inches in girth, it will definitely stretch you out. This toy can also allow you to dominate your partner like never before.
What’s more, if you’re looking for a butt plug for beginners, anal training kits could be perfect. These contain a variety of different-sized plugs. You can use them to prep for anal sex with bigger dildos or your partner’s penis. The kits will also allow you to increase the plug size from small to large. They are also a fantastic investment for any sex toy collection due to their size variety.
So before you order one, consider your butt plug goals. Think about what could turn you on the most!
Reminder to Start With a Smaller Size and Work Your Way Up
Regardless of any type, keep in mind that your asshole is highly sensitive. An untrained booty is exceptionally tight. If you simply grab the biggest plug at first, you could experience discomfort and pain.
That’s why beginners should always try the smallest toys first. It is usually about the same girth and length as a finger. This type of plug will probably not cause you any pain. As for the material, it’s best to use a silicone butt plug. Silicone toys are soft, easy to clean, and highly effective for newbies. If you’re patient, the real fun will start once you explore all sorts of different sizes and gradually work your way up. That’s why it’s clever to invest in butt plug kits with a variety of sizes. Another option for newbies is to get an inflatable toy. You can inflate this plug to your desired size after insertion. It will allow you to stretch your booty gradually, and you can increase the size after each session.
Safety Reminders for Using a Butt Plug
Like we’ve said before, your sexual appetite could deceive you. You could end up with a toy that is too big at first. Thus, it’s best to start small and find something that allows for easy insertion. Another crucial safety tip is always to use lubricant during butt plug insertion and removal. It will eliminate any pain and make all the sensations caused by the toy much more pleasurable. In addition, lube will decrease any risks of anal tears and similar issues. And before you begin, make sure that you’re clean and that your bowels are empty. And if you’re planning to wear the plug for a long time, 2–3 hours is the maximum. Even if you’ve heard stories of people plugging themselves up overnight, don’t risk it as it can be harmful.
How to insert a butt plug
There are three parts to a self-retaining plug: the head, the neck, and the base. For safety and ease of insertion, the head of a plug should be somewhere approaching an egg shape in its long axis, with the smaller end facing away from the base. The one thing a plug absolutely should not do is to end in anything approaching a point, because perforating the bowel can kill you from sepsis, but it is surprising how many plugs show precisely this design fault. Some plugs have a spherical head and those are perfectly safe, but can be more difficult to insert, because the internal sphincter of the anus has to stretch quite abruptly over them, instead of taking its time as it would with the progressive stretching caused by an egg shaped head. Another solution to the taper problem is to make the head out of a series of balls of increasing size set one atop the other, with the largest ball next to the neck. A plug of this type stretches your sphincter in stages as it goes in, and equally can generate all sorts of interesting sensations when it is slowly pulled out again… or so they tell me. Just don’t forget to use a lot of lube.
How to remove a butt plug?
What goes up must come down, right? In this case, not quite. The problem with silicone plugs in particular, is that the water-based lube that must be used with them wears off during insertion, and will be totally gone after about ten minutes. By then, the anal sphincter will have contracted back down, and the first time you retrieve a plug of this type you may end up with visions of having to wear it forever.
A silicone plug can give every impression that it has no plans to budge, at least to begin with, but be patient, hold the base and apply a gentle, but firm pull. After a few seconds, the plug will start to come out, and now is the time to rock it backwards and forwards — slowly — which will gently stretch the anus and help it open. Now relax… you will feel the plug come down and then, as it passes through the internal sphincter, everything will feel very tight and you will get the urge to push. Once the plug starts come out faster, the best thing is to push back on it, using less force than you need to push it right back in (unless you are planning to do that), and just enough to slow its progress through the sphincter. This is much more pleasant that letting the body just eject it.
How to Play With a Butt Plug
Start slow. Anal play is often more enjoyable when you are relaxed. If you are tense, an anal tear may occur. Pay attention to how you are feeling. If something hurts a lot or doesn't feel right, slow down or stop.
Start with something smaller than the butt plug. A finger is usually a great tool for warm up. If you don't want to spread bacteria from the anus to other parts of the body, or you want to keep your hands clean, wear a disposable latex or nitrile glove. Put lube on your finger and rub the rim of the anus gently before inserting your finger. Once you fit a finger or two in there comfortably, move on to inserting the butt plug.
Experiment with different positions for butt plug insertion to find out which one is best for you. Each person is different and will find different positions most comfortable based on their specific anatomy. Some people use numbing creams to avoid discomfort during anal play. However, this will prevent you from feeling when your body wants you to stop. For your safety, avoid using numbing cream when using a butt plug.
- Wash Your Hands
Even if your anus is clean, it can still harbor bacteria that can cause infections in the vagina. After you touch the anus, make sure to wash your hands before touching other genitals. Wash with warm water and soap to prevent UTIs and yeast infections.
- Care and Cleaning
Most silicone toys can go in the dishwasher as long as they don't have a motor in them. This kills bacteria. Boiling glass, silicone, and stainless steel toys will also disinfect them. Make sure to do this before sharing a toy with a partner. Even if you only use the toy on yourself, disinfect it periodically to stay clean and healthy.
Down to Business
Alright, you have acquired your new butt plug, or maybe it’s been sitting in your closet for a year, and you’ve yet to bring it out to play.
Either way, now is the time.
Relaxxx
First things first, foreplay. You’ll want to be turned on, present in your body, and relaxed – that’s the keyword. It’s important to be able to voluntarily relax and contract your rectal muscles. Especially considering the most natural response when someone goes near your sphincter is to squeeze it shut.
Lube it Up
You’ll definitely, 100% want to use lube. Be sure to pick a kind that is compatible with both your anus and the toys you’re using. Don’t be afraid to be extra generous when lubing it up! Apply it to both your toy and your butt.
Go Slow
Fingers are a great way to ease into the sensation, then when you’re ready, little by little, start to insert the plug. Make sure to take your time. This is not a process you want to rush. If it’s tricky at first, you can put it in, take it out, relubricate it, and try again. You may even need to do this multiple times, before getting it in there.
Know the difference between pain and pleasure. If it hurts, stop. You may need to slow down, try a smaller size, use more lube, go from a different angle, or wait for another day.
When You’re Done
When you’re ready to take it out, you can lube up the area again, firmly grasp the base, relax, and gently ease it out.
How to clean your butt plugs?
If all of the information presented so far causes you to be intimidated, do not worry. The good news regarding all of these things is that cleaning your butt plug is extremely simple and takes very little time.
Most people, in fact, clean their sex toys with one of two main methods:
- You can clean any sex toy by washing it with a mild soap and warm water. Many people use baby shampoo to clean their butt plugs, which works perfectly because baby shampoo cleans thoroughly but gently. Wash it for a few minutes to make sure that it is thoroughly clean and that you’ve removed everything that is harmful to you so that the toy is squeaky clean.
- You can also use a special cleaner made specifically for sex toys, which can be found in all reputable sex toy stores. Most of these cleaners are sprayed on the toy and then wiped away and they are usually antibacterial as well. In addition, some of the cleaners are made with all-natural materials including tea tree oil and lavender so they can smell just as good as they work.
- After you clean your butt plugs -- indeed, any sex toy that you own -- you should either let them air-dry, which is the recommended method, or clean them with a clean, lint-free towel or cloth.
- After they are cleaned and dried, they should be stored in a cool, dry place and stored separately from other sex toys.
As you can see, cleaning and storing your butt plugs is not time-consuming at all so there is no excuse for not following this simple step.
You may be a little sore the next day, that’s normal. If you’re in pain, however, you’ll want to try a different strategy or size the next time to prevent any possible injury.
Welcome to Club Butt Plug. Have fun!
Those above are some about butt plugs. Please leave comments when you have some questions and some good ideas about butt plugs.
