Although it may seem harmless, you will always need to practice some safety measures when you’re playing with something BDSM related… but I’m sure you already knew that, right? Wink*. Sensory play tends to be more in the lighter and softer side of things, but you still need to take some safety measures in order to ensure everyone’s happiness and safety.
Sensory play it’s a really popular companion of hoods and gags. And as any object that restricts breathing, you will need to be extremely careful. You will need to constantly monitor your partner’s reactions and body. Some common problems you need to look out for are sensation loss, change in skin color and colder skin, basically any circulation problems. If you notice any of those symptoms, you will need to stop right away and calmly take out all the items.
One word of advice that will help you it’s to always apply your stimuli very carefully, slowly and controlled. Remember the goal is here to shock the body; you don’t actually want to cause pain. If you will be doing something like wax play, clamps, paddling or flogging, take special care in learning and reading how to actually use them safely. The key is always to have fun, and no one can have fun if things go wrong!
Before you start playing with anything, you must have a conversation with your partner. This will be needed in order to learn boundaries and hard limits in order for play to go smoothly. And even when you know their limits or have played with them for some time, you will still need to be careful about any discomforts or changes in their breathing/body/circulation.
If you guys are just starting out, it’s better to stay away from spider, Jennings’s and ball gags. Yes, I know you’re probably dying to try them, but it’s better to wait a while because they can cause jaw pain. And the same thing goes with hoods and masks; it’s better to try them when you’ve playing for a while, not on your first session, because they can be more dangerous. All those things will still be there, there’s no rush wink*.
Another thing you want to keep in mind is to alternate between areas. You don’t want to over apply stimuli in the same area for a long time, it’s better to alternate and vary in several places. If you’re spanking, you don’t want to spank near vital organs or the spine and you don’t ever want to do anything on the eyes or face. If you have your partner restricted (I’m sure you’ll have), don’t leave them alone and don’t ever leave clamps on for longer that 10 minutes because you know, circulation. Sensory play can be really fun…if you play safely wink*.
