Freaky New Sensations To Try In BDSM Play

You might already know that skin is your body’s largest organ, but have you ever thought about what that can mean for your pleasure in the bedroom? Skin contains over millions of nerve endings, which help you sense touch, pain, temperature, and pressure; this opens the door to truly endless opportunities for sensation play all over your body (not just your erogenous zones) that goes beyond the caress of a lover or the sexual stimulation you may be used to. Sensation play is a great way to spice things up while playing solo or with a partner, and there are plenty of beginner-friendly ways to explore this avenue of pleasure if you’re not ready for or aren’t interested in the more kinky aspects of it! We don’t know about you, but that gets us pretty excited here at Sexyland, so let’s discover more about the thrilling possibilities… 😉

What is Sensation Play in BDSM?

Sensation play falls under the umbrella of ‘sensory play’, which is a category of stimulation that engages the 5 senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch). This can also include ‘sensory deprivation’, which involves limiting one or more senses to enhance others, such as wearing a blindfold to heighten how sensitive you are to touch.

BDSM sensation play is a creative (and surprisingly meditative) way to practise mindfulness with yourself and remain completely present with a partner/s, and makes pleasure the objective of the journey you’re on rather than focussing on the orgasm as the end goal.

Popular types of sensation play in BDSM

Sensation play usually focuses on touch and physical stimulation, which can include:

• Massage—this is a great beginner-friendly way to explore sensation play as it’s usually quite a relaxing experience and doesn’t require any extra equipment. If you’d like to elevate your massage experience, you can try a massage rollerball glove, and a luxurious massage oil never goes amiss.
  
  You can take it up a notch by using a massage candle where the wax melts into a lovely warm massage oil for extra sensation points! Sexyland’s customers are big fans of the Earthly Body massage candle range as they’re richly scented, and some are even edible so you can lick the tasty melted oil off your lover’s skin…
  
  
• Tickling—torture or tantalisation? It’s up to you! You can tickle yourself or a partner with feathers, Wartenberg pinwheels, your own fingernails, and by lightly trailing the tails of floggers over the skin, so there’s quite a few different sensations tickling can produce.
  
  For a beginner-friendly way to try this type of sensation play, a feather tickler with a long handle is easy to wield, or for something a little more intense, these Filigree Metal Sensory Fingertips by Sex & Mischief® slip right over your fingers and enhance your natural touch!
  
  
• Temperature play—this involves experimenting with hot and cold and to create a thrilling contrast between the recipient’s skin and whatever you’re using on them, such as dripping warm, melted wax onto the skin (refer to those massage candles from before), or running a wet ice cube over the nipples.
  
  A beginner-friendly way to experiment with temperature play is to use warming and cooling lubricants on the skin or with toys! The Wicked Chill + Heat Water-Based Lubricant Sensation Kit has just landed at Sexyland and comes with both types of lubricant for versatile play, all in a convenient mini size. If you want heat or chill without any mess, you can also try wrapping metal toys like metal butt plugs in warm or cool towels, or just soak them in water at the temperature you want before play. We especially like the idea of taking a metal flogger, dipping the tails in warm or cool water, and then draping them all over a playmate’s skin!
  
  
• Impact play (spanking, flogging, caning, etc.)—despite its popular portrayal in modern media, impact play doesn’t necessarily need to be all pain all the time, and the soothing aspects after each hit can be a great opportunity to develop an erotic bond and deepen your affection for each other. There are two distinct types of impact, thud-y (deep and cathartic) and sting-y (sharp and biting), though you don’t have to choose if you love both! Plenty of impact play toys can deliver a combination of both if used in the right way.
  
  For beginner-friendly impact play, smaller toys made from softer materials will offer a more gentle introduction to these thrilling sensations. Something like the ZYL Faux Leather Flogger With Chain Finger Loop is a great place to start as the soft faux leather delivers a light (but buildable) sting, and the looped chain at the end of the handle lets you swing the mini flogger around your finger for consistently accurate impact.
  
  
• Electro-stimulation—this is a sexual activity that involves applying electrical currents to the skin. While this may sound like a painful electrocution experience, e-stimulation actually doesn’t always hurt and can be as gentle as a tickling vibration when used therapeutically, such as for TENS and EMS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and electronic muscle stimulation).
  
  If you’re still on the fence about e-stim sensation play, try a toy that can pull double duty like the Pretty Love Magic Devil Clitoral Suction & E-Stim Finger Vibrator, which can also work as a standard clitoral sucker toy if you’re not feeling the electro-stim vibes.

General safety tips for sensation play

• Always communicate and listen to your partner. Establish your safewords and boundaries before play and check in with each other often to make sure everyone is comfortable or if you need to make any adjustments.
  
  
• If you’re dripping melted wax onto yourself or somebody else, start from a taller height than you think you need to. The wax will cool down as it travels through the air so if you find it’s not warm enough by the time it lands, you can always get closer, but you can’t unburn the skin if you start close and the wax is too hot!
  
  
• Always use drip candles that are specifically designed for use on skin and DO NOT use regular candles as these can be made of waxes that don’t melt until they’ve reached higher, non-skin-safe temperatures. If you’re not comfortable holding a candle while it’s dripping, try using a plastic spoon with a massage candle instead since the candle’s container will provide a nice pool of melted wax to dip into and scoop up.
  
  
• When exploring impact play, remember that the safe areas to hit hard are the fleshy ones, like the buttocks and thighs. Exercise more caution around less padded areas like the chest, arms, shoulders, back, calves, and genitals (though this can vary if everyone involved is into something like CBT, AKA cock & ball torture). Avoid anything more than a light tap along the face/ears, joints (inner elbow and inner knee) and areas where there are important blood vessels, internal organs, or bones near the surface, like the neck, stomach, spine, and sides of the waist.
  
  
• If you’re using ice cubes, make sure they’re wet first by having a bowl of water nearby or popping them in your mouth before use—this will ensure they don’t stick and freeze-burn the skin.

How do I introduce sensation play to my partner without overwhelming them?

If you’re thinking about trying sensation play with a partner/s, have an open conversation about it outside of the bedroom first—this allows them to consider the prospect of sensation play without the pressure to make a decision in the heat of the moment, discuss their thoughts and boundaries, and also gives them time to do their own research on it if they want to.

Here are some examples of how you could bring up the topic of sensation play with a partner:

• “I've been curious about exploring sensation play together. How would you feel about trying it with me?”
• “Have you ever tried (insert a particular element of sensation play you’re interested in)? If yes, what did you think of it? If no, what do you think of giving it a go?”
• “I know you like (insert act/kinky play element you know your partner likes), what do you think of combining it with (insert element of sensation play you’re interested in)?”

If you’re ready to stimulate yourself in all-new ways and experience undiscovered thrills, come on down to any of Sexyland’s adult stores and explore our range with the help of our friendly Fun Specialists, or shop our range of sensation play toys online and snag our lightning-fast 2hr Delivery on bestselling adult goodies!