Anal play isn’t just about penetration .
If you have caught yourself wondering how to enjoy anal for the first time, this is for you.
This article is filled with tips all about getting ready for your first experience and how to prepare for anal sex. Cutting to the chase, it means prepping your butt (or your partner’s butt)—and ensuring your mind (and theirs) is comfortable with the idea of anal play.
That’s because, although the action takes place down below, you’ll get the most pleasure if you and your partner have relaxed minds, trust each other, and are comfortable with what you’re both doing.
It’s also worth saying right at the start that you don’t have to be penetrated with a penis—or penetrate someone using a penis—to get involved in anal play. Anal play has nuances and a scale of activity, just like more common forms of sexual engagement.
It’s also worth saying right at the start that you don’t have to be penetrated with a penis—or penetrate someone using a penis—to get involved in anal play.
That means safe anal sex can and does include activities such as rimming, fingering, pegging, and the use of sex toys like a butt plug or anal beads. Anal play can also be done solo when you jerk off or if you’re giving prostate play a try.
The anus is a special erogenous zone that can give you immense amounts of pleasure and satisfaction when stimulated correctly. Unfortunately, if you are not prepared with proper hygiene, you can suffer from infections from bacteria as well as feel pain in the area surrounding your rectum.
Anal play is more common than you might think
Today, anal sex has far less to do with sexuality and far more to do with individual preferences, fantasies, turn-ons, and the desire to feel the most mind-rattling orgasm possible. Anybody can and should enjoy anal sex, don’t let your mind stop you from this wonderful experience.
Anal penetration can be a really good idea when you are mentally and physically ready to take the plunge. As one of the fastest-growing sexual activities amount consenting adults, this form of sex can be enjoyed by both partners, from both a penetrated and penetrating position.
But don’t take our word for it—there’s an increasing amount of research to back up this view.
Anal penetration can be a really good idea when you are mentally and physically ready to take the plunge.
A study we looked at from 2019 reported that more than one-third of US women have had anal sex—and that number, surprising as it may seem, is very likely to under-report the real figure.
In another study on anal sex, 15% of straight men said that they had been rimmed, and almost a quarter had been anally penetrated with a finger.
Finally, in an all-male, all heterosexual study from 2018, just under a quarter of guys said that they had received anal erotic stimulation at least once in some form.
Many of these men admitted that anal sex was something they desired but were unsure of how their partners would react (obviously this was before they proceeded with the anal sex)
Top Anal Products for Beginner
Why bother with anal at all?
The simple answer is that anal sex can feel terrific.
Men and women have thousands of nerve endings in and around their butts, which is why fingering and rimming can feel so great. For men, the anal sphincter provides a gateway to the prostate which will give you the strongest orgasms you’ve ever felt. Anal sex feels great because of the direct touch and stretch of the sphincter muscle. It also has an erotic feel because of the proximity between the sphincter muscle and our genitalia.
Men and women have thousands of nerve endings in and around their butts, which is why fingering and rimming can feel so great.
Anal play can feel particularly intense for guys because it can stimulate the prostate gland. About the size of a walnut, the prostate is located approximately one inch inside a man’s butt. Touching it in the right way will give all-consuming, whole-body orgasms. For that reason, it’s often called the male G-Spot or P-Spot. You can read more about prostate massaging on our website.
But first, try it alone!
If you think that you might like to give anal a go, and you’d like to be the recipient, then it's a good idea to try it out alone first. First off, get hold of some high-quality lube—you’re going to need a lot of it.
While most of the time water-based is the best bet when you’re starting. In the case of anal, if you are not using toys, you may want to check out silicone lubricant. Because your body cannot absorb the silicone like it can water, silicone lube will last 10x longer and stay way more slippery than any water-based lube you can get. This is especially important since your anus is not self lubricating like a vagina. You can either use your fingers (starting with just one) or a toy such as an anal probe, prostate massager, dildo, or anal beads to see if you like the sensation.
Have some patience when you set out on your first solo anal experiment and don’t give up after a single try. It's essential to go slow and give your sphincter time to stretch out and then relax.
Have some patience when you set out on your first solo anal experiment and don’t give up after a single try. It's essential to go slow and give your sphincter time to stretch out and then relax. To that end, invest in anal toys that either have a tapered design or a series of bumps or lumps that progressively increase in size. Anal training kits are a good option too, as they usually include two or three different-sized butt plugs that let you gradually develop a safe stretch. You can read more about different kinds of anal toys on our site. Practicing alone gives you a chance to learn your boundaries in a safe, controlled environment before you involve anyone else. It also offers the opportunity to work on your breathing.
Mastering deeper, slower breathing during anal experiences will do wonders for relaxing your sphincter muscle and making penetration a lot smoother. It will also keep your body relaxed and let you get lost in the sensations—whether you’re alone or with a partner.
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Cleaning before is important
Before getting started with anal play, be it solo or with a partner, cleanliness is extremely important to your health and safety. Follow these quick steps to prepare for anal sex.
Go to the bathroom
- Between 30 to 60 minutes prior to anal play you will want to empty your bowels and wash the anal area with warm water and some good anti-bacterial soap. Unscented wipes (baby or otherwise) are a good alternative if you are in a rush.
Enema if you have the time
- For an extra deep clean it's always recommended to use an enema 1-2 hours prior to anal sex. Keep it simple with a few cups of warm water because you are only cleaning out the last few inches of the anus. Stay away from cold or burning hot water so you don't irritate your anus.
Towels are your friend
- Grab a towel and lay it down on the bed or counter before you get going. The last thing you want is to stain or potentially ruin any surface you are using. It's also great to clean up lots of lube you will inevitably be using. Anal play is messy, it's unavoidable.
Use gloves or condoms
- Because we are talking about being clean, gloves or condoms are a great way to keep your fingers, penis and even sex toys clean. Don't worry about killing the mood, these are commonly used and really useful.
Take things slowly… very slowly
Anal play with a partner needs patience, excellent communication, and trust. That means taking your time at every stage—all the way from initial discussions through to the very first time you are penetrated or penetrate someone else.
When it comes to your first time, build up to anal play with plenty of foreplay as it’s a fun and very effective non-verbal way of communicating trust and intimacy.
When it comes to your first time, build up to anal play with plenty of foreplay as it’s a fun and very effective non-verbal way of communicating trust and intimacy.
You could also consider giving the recipient a regular orgasm first. This works equally well for men and women—women generally can have more orgasms in a single session than men, and men can still have a prostate orgasm even if they’ve cum in the time-honored way just a few minutes before.
So why not give it a try and use the new anal adventure as a way to extend the duration of your lovemaking.
It’s important with all sex—but particularly with anal—that you are sure that your partner is on board and enjoying what you’re doing.
It’s important with all sex—but particularly with anal—that you are sure that your partner is on board and enjoying what you’re doing.
This applies whether you’re using your penis or an anal sex toy, or whether you’re a man or a woman.
When you first start experimenting, the person doing the penetrating will have to pause regularly and let their partner get used to the sensations—either by staying inside of them or by withdrawing.
This requires patience, understanding, and excellent communication. Take care at these times to enter and withdraw gently and carefully as rapid and thrusted movements can cause pain, anxiety, and distress.
Some couples have a code word that they use to make a very definite distinction between pleasure, pain, and the crossing of any non-consenting boundaries.
Although you might associate this with more extreme, domination-type sex, it's a good tactic for anal too, especially during your first few sessions.
Explore the World of Anal Pleasure
Browse Our Informative Blog Posts for In-Depth Guide and Insights:
- Beginner’s Guide to Male Anal Masturbation
- Anal Training 101| The Ultimate Guide to Anal Stretching with Toys
- Everything You Need to Know About Wearing a Butt Plug in Public
- Beginner's Guide to Pegging: Tips, Techniques, and Safety Guidelines
- 15 Tips on How to Give a Rimjob
- A Beginners Guide to Anal Toys: How to Use & Tips
- Best Anal Sex Toys For Men in 2024
Use Loads and Loads of Lube
If you don't use lubricant generally during sex, then you're missing out—and you absolutely should. It's not such a big deal if you're having vaginal sex as the more a woman is aroused, the moister she becomes.
But that's not the case with anal sex, so you need lots of lube to keep things moving nice and smoothly. Don't save the lube for the main event, however, bring it into your foreplay for some super-intense hand job or fingering action.
Many people consider silicone lube to be the best option for anal play, although water-based lubes are popular too. Silicone lube is slicker and thicker than water-based lube, which means it will last much longer needs less reapplication.
Many people consider silicone lube to be the best option for anal play, although water-based lubes are popular too.
Now, there’s nothing that says you can’t take a break and stop to reapply some lube. But sometimes, if you’re in it for a long session and you want to keep the momentum and the intensity going, the last thing you want to do is start scrambling for the bottle of lube that you threw onto the floor in the heat of passion!
Without getting too technical, the best silicone lube lasts longer than water-based lubes as the molecules are much larger. So, instead of getting absorbed into your skin, it rests on your skin’s surface and provides that oh-so-smooth glide until you either wipe or wash the lube off.
You can use silicone lube with condoms, some anal toys, and prostate massagers—just so long as your toys aren’t also made of silicone.
There’s a long scientific explanation for this. But suffice it to say that if you put silicone lube on a silicone toy, the toy will start to degrade, become porous and unsafe for use.
You can use silicone lube with condoms, some anal toys, and prostate massagers—just so long as your toys aren’t also made of silicone.
Silicone lube is not safe with silicone toys. Some people use oil-based lube for anal play, but it tends to be more for those who get involved with huge anal toys or enjoy fisting. If you're just starting to experiment with anal, we’d suggest silicone is your best bet.
Few Tips for Anal
Never ever go from butt to vagina
- If you penetrate the butt first, you must wash your penis off before going into your partner's vagina.
- If you don't, you risk infections from fecal matter. The unwanted bacteria can really affect your partner's health so be respectful.
Condoms are a plus
- It's very easy to cause micro-tears in the anus which can lead to sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
- If you are with a long-time partner this might not be so much of a concern but with new partners, anything that can be sexually transmitted should be mostly resolved with the use of a condom.
Need help choosing the right condom?
Check out our essential guide and selection tips here:
Keep calm and stay positive
- Accidents happen when you experiment with anal sex, don't let it affect your mood.
- Clean up and figure your next steps. Maybe it's switching positions or just getting more towels.
- The main thing is to stay positive so as to not kill the mood or embarrass anybody
Pick the Right Position
When it comes to full-on anal intercourse, you could initially consider adopting positions that gives more control to the recipient.
If you are looking for the positions for first-time anal then maybe let your partner sit on top or straddle you, so they have more say over the speed and the depth of penetration.
If you are looking for the positions for first-time anal then maybe let your partner sit on top or straddle you, so they have more say over the speed and the depth of penetration.
If you're the one doing the penetrating, pay attention to your partner at all times—and go at their pace, not yours. If you've been together for a long time, you can probably read all the subtle body signals and respond accordingly.
You might think that doing it doggy style is the best way to begin, but you should give that some serious thought. It's undoubtedly easier for the person doing the penetrating, but it has the disadvantage that they can't see their partner's face and gauge their reaction.
If you're the one being penetrated and you’re confident in your partner, then perhaps it might ultimately be worth persevering to see if it gets better.
Hygiene time again...Post anal sex clean up is important
Hygiene is one of the most significant barriers to people trying anal. As mentioned before, clean up before anal sex is important but equally important is the post-anal clean-up. It's all about how you prepare for anal sex before and after.
You should have already taken and shower or at least washed up your anal area with soap, water, or baby wipes. If you did decide to use an anal douche beforehand, you don't want to use one again since that might throw off your body and the natural bacteria you need to stay healthy. Only douche once every few days at most.
Hygiene is one of the most significant barriers to people trying anal. As mentioned before, clean up before anal sex is important but equally important is the post-anal clean-up
If you did encounter poop during anal play, don't worry, that is normal. You should definitely take a shower again though to make sure you rinse off all the fecal matter, lube, and body fluids.
While we’re on the subject of bowel movements, anal play may impact on your intestines. It can cause constipation and make you flatulent because of all the extra air and lube that’s being pushed in.
It's totally normal, and you shouldn't panic. But as it's not something that's often discussed, you might think you're doing something wrong when you're absolutely not.
It's also true that you might feel you have to empty your bowels or pee after anal sex. That's also a natural response, even if you don't actually end up passing anything. But like the extra gassiness, it's not something that's often openly discussed.
Using an Anal Douche
When talking about how to prepare for anal sex, there is lots of talk about douching. There are a few things you should know if you’re new to using an anal douche. First up, buy a product that’s specifically designed for that use. A lot of people use improvised devices, which is a big mistake.
Pushing an improvised douche inside your butt or using it to create a strong water jet can cause tiny punctures in your rectal tissue.
You might not even feel them or even know they're there, but these small tears can increase the risk of contracting STDs through anal play.
Pushing an improvised douche inside your butt or using it to create a strong water jet can cause tiny punctures in your rectal tissue.
Don’t be worried or self-conscious about buying a proper anal douche—douching before and after anal play is much more common than you think amongst men and women.
There are many different kinds of anal enemas to try, including shower enemas, enema bulbs, fleet enemas, and enema bags.
After a little experimentation, you'll find the one that's most comfortable for you.
When it comes to the actual liquid you use, water is fine for infrequent douching, but saltwater enemas are also a good option if you’re going to be using a douche on a more regular basis.
Don’t be tempted to use soap and water or any anti-bacterial toy cleaner washes.
Step-by-Step How to Anal Douche
- Before you start, sit on a toilet and try to have a bowel movement
- Wash your hands and get out a clean douche bulb.
- Find a comfortable position—ideally in your bathroom, perhaps in a shower cubical or bath.
- Apply a liberal amount of lube to the nozzle tip of your douche as well as inside your butt.
- Always use lukewarm water—not too cold and certainly not too hot!
- Keep the water pressure low—you’re not washing your car or the garden fence, it’s delicate in there!
- Relax your sphincter and push the nozzle gently inside—just half an inch or so.
- Let the water flow in slowly until your rectum feels full.
- Sit back down on the toilet and relax your sphincter. Let the water flow out along with anything that was lodged in there.
- Repeat this process a few times until the water comes out clean.
What are the Dangers of Anal Sex?
Is anal sex dangerous or is it safe? Anal is still the most high-risk kind of sex in terms of getting HIV or other STDs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, and hepatitis.
That risk can be dramatically reduced by using a condom—more specifically, by using several condoms in succession during a single anal session.
Couples who are both confident that they are in a monogamous relationship may decide that they don’t need condoms—and want to do it bareback—and that’s fine.
Couples who are both confident that they are in a monogamous relationship may decide that they don’t need condoms—and want to do it bareback—and that’s fine.
But you need to be 100% sure. Ahead of this decision, some couples take an STD test at the same time, make sure they’re both clean and then go ahead without protection—a lot of people are doing that these days and they’re calling it fluid bonding , but it is not without risk.
Although women can’t get pregnant from anal sex per 'se, if you don’t use a condom, sperm can trickle out of an anus and get inside a vagina.
This is another excellent reason to wear a condom—even if you’re in a fluid bonded relationship. But even with a condom, you should never switch straight from anal to vaginal sex as you can pass on infections and introduce foreign bacteria.
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Uncomfortably Numb
We’ve said all the way through this article that it’s important to be relaxed and comfortable to have the best kind of anal sex. And so it’s tempting—especially when new to anal play—to think it’s better to get wasted, drunk or stoned and make it easier to receive. But that’s a big mistake.
If your pain receptors aren’t properly engaged, then you run the risk of taking things too far and too quickly and causing serious internal damage. You might also let things happen to you that you wouldn't typically want.
And, as all sex should be totally consensual, this is something you should avoid.
With that in mind, if you’re going to use numbing lube, pick one with a low level of active ingredients.
If you’re going to use numbing lube, pick one with a low level of active ingredients. .
Numbing lubes are designed to cut down on any discomfort and improve the sexual experience.
They're not meant to completely remove any sensation either for the person being penetrated or the person doing the penetrating, so don't over-use it.
Remember, if you do use numbing lube, you should be able to feel the changes in pressure during penetration or other anal play.
We’d recommend choosing an anal numbing lube with either a Benzocaine or Lidocaine content of between 2% and 10%.
Passion Anal Desensitizing Lubricant
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- Make anal sex fun and remove any unwanted pain or discomfort with the mild numbing effects
- Formulated with a light 2% Lidocaine to provide slight numbing to the anal area
- Stop painful anal sex before it begins & make anal sex fun and pleasureful
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- Long lasting gel stays super slick and never gets sticky or tacky
- Does not stain your sheets or clothing
- Gets rid of discomfort but does not numb your partner
Our Anal Sex Kit
Unlock a world of intense pleasure with our carefully curated selection of essentials tailored for anal exploration.
| PRODUCT AND HOW IT ENHANCES ANAL SEX | PRODUCT MODEL |
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Anal Douche - Ensures cleanliness and hygiene before engaging in anal play.- Prepares the area, creating a comfortable and worry-free experience. - Reduces the risk of any unwanted surprises during intimate moment |
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Prostate Massager and anal Vibrator - Targets the prostate, intensifying pleasure and potentially leading to more intense orgasms.- Offers various vibration settings for customizable sensations. - Designed for precise stimulation, catering to individual preference |
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Vibrating Dildo - Mimics the natural feel of penetration while adding stimulating vibrations.- Provides a versatile experience with adjustable speeds and patterns. - Enhances pleasure and satisfaction during solo or partner play. |
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Vibrating Anal Beads - Graduated beads offer a gradual and pleasurable insertion experience.- Vibrations intensify the sensations, adding an extra layer of enjoyment. - Ideal for those seeking a rhythmic and escalating pleasure during us |
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Silicone Based Anal Sex Lube - Ensures smooth and comfortable penetration.- Long-lasting formula reduces the need for frequent reapplication. - Compatible with various materials and easy to clean up. |
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Butt Plugs - Gradual tapering allows for comfortable insertion and a sense of fullness.- Ideal for both beginners and experienced users, with various sizes available. - Can be worn during other sexual activities to enhance overall pleasure. |
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Conclusion on Preparing for Anal Sex
Anal can be a beautiful, intense, and supremely intimate act. But it isn’t for everyone, and it’s not an obligatory requirement in any relationship—including many gay relationships. Both you and your partner need to be comfortable with the idea and the actual physical act. For that reason, some couples may never get beyond an initial discussion. In contrast, others will find that it becomes a regular part of their sexual adventures.
Anal can be a beautiful, intense, and supremely intimate act. But it isn’t for everyone, and it’s not an obligatory requirement in any relationship—including many gay relationships
Those adventures, for some couples, develop into other forms of anal play, such as large object penetration with toys including huge butt plugs—often called anal training or anal stretching. If this is something you might be interested in, you can read a dedicated article on the subject on our website. That said, although no-one should do anything that they're not comfortable with, anal sex can get to feel more natural and more enjoyable with time. So, if you're the one being penetrated and you’re confident in your partner, then perhaps it might ultimately be worth persevering to see if it gets better. Whatever decision you make, as with any kind of sex, remember that with anal, the most important things are to be safe, respectful, and understanding of each other’s boundaries. References: