Anal Play for Beginners: Butt Plugs, Booty Beads, & More!
Keep the back door open! Anal play can be fun for everyone: we've all got a booty. Whether you’’ve always been curious about anal play and just want to learn, you’re interested in experimenting with anal play in the near future, or you’re already a self-proclaimed booty play connoisseur, this blog post is going to dive into all things butt play: how do you start? What does it feel like? What kind of toys can you use to create the most pleasurable, fun, & safe experience possible? What the hell are butt plugs and booty beads?!
Let’s get into it, babes!!
Anal Play + Butt Toy 101
Starting off with the simple stuff – feel free to skip this section if you’re already familiar with the basics of anal play and the different types of butt toys on the market!
What is anal play?
Anal play is simply any sexual activity that involves the anus! This could look like two male partners engaging in anal penetration with their penises, a heterosexual couple having anal intercourse as opposed to vaginal, or any solo/partnered play using some type of toy in the anus. Anal play is something that you do need to prepare for a little bit more than vaginal penetration due to how sensitive the anus is, and the different type of sensations ir provides. Your anus has a TON of unique nerve endings that feel amazing for many people when stimulated, and also provides a route to the prostate, which is sometimes known as the “male G-spot.” Yup, just like the infamous vaginal “G-spot!”
Are there different kinds of butt toys?
If you’d like to experiment with anal play with a partner before trying it with a penis, or you simply want to stick to butt toys that you can play around with safely during solo play, we highly recommend looking into butt toys! There are many different types of butt toys: anal plugs, anal beads, dildos, strap-ons, and more.
What are butt plugs?
Butt plugs are sex toys that you insert into your anus to essentially “plug your butt,” which can provide super satisfying sexual pleasure! They are typically shaped like a teardrop and have a wide base so that they won’t get stuck if they’re inserted too far into the anus.
Butt plugs serve two main purposes: pleasure and stretching.
Simply leaving a butt plug inside your anus can be super pleasurable, depending on how much you enjoy anal stimulation, especially if you use a vibrating butt plug that delivers delicious vibrations to the nerve endings inside of your anus. Penis owners are able to experience unique orgasms thanks to the prostate simtulation provided by butt plugs, and vagina owners can indreictly stimulate their A-spot (it’s a thing!) or G-spot using butt plugs.
Butt plugs can also aid in stretching your anus if you’d like to gradually increase the size of toy or penis that is inserted into it, so they’re a great way for beginners to start working their way up to more intense anal play.
Butt plugs come in many different materials, including silicone, stainless steel, and glass – we’re personally obsessed with toys of alternative materials lately such as glass & steel, and the unique sensations they provide to both vaginas and anuses. Check out one of our favorite glass booty beauties, the Over Easy Glass Plug, made of gorgeous, artistically-crafted glass that seriously leaves you wondering whether it’s a butt plug or just a pretty tableside decoration!
What are anal beads?
Another popular type of butt toy is anal beads, which are a super unique way to explore booty play! The beads cause the sphincter (the muscle that contracts around your anal opening & that needs to be relaxed in order to fully enjoy comfortable anal play) to open and close during removal. This stimulates the natural contractions that the pelvic floor makes during orgasm – simply slide the beads deep inside your anus for a satisfying sensation of fullness! Use the loop at the bottom of your beads to pull them out during orgasm for extra intense pleasure. We absolutely LOVE these silicone anal beads that are great for beginners!
If you want to try out some different textures of anal beads to see what you like best, we recommend the Satisfyer Anal Plug Set, which comes with three plugs of different textures: swirl, double-beaded, and triple-beaded! You’ll love getting to play around with these different shapes, sizes, and textures, and the different sensations they provide compared to a traditional butt plug.
Can dildos & strap-ons be used for both vaginal and anal play?
Absolutely! We won’t go too deep (hehe) into dildos in this blog post since we recently published a Full Guide to Strap-Ons for Beginners, but you can use most dildos & strap-ons for either anal or vaginal play. Just be sure that you’ve played around a little bit with anal play and know your limits + what you’re comfortable with before trying to use too long of a dildo, or one with too much girth. And make sure to use lots of lube, no matter how experienced with anal play you are!
What are butt toys made out of?
There are many different types of butt toys made of differnt materials, but WinkWink only carries non-toxic, body-safe materials like ABS plastic, silicone, nickel-free metal, and glass. All of our insertable toys are non-porous, which means they won't harbor bacteria after you wash them and are easily sanitized. We recommend checking out silicone toys if you’re a beginner, and playing around with steel & glass toys if you want to experiment a bit!
How to Use Butt Toys
How do you start out with anal play & butt toys?
The most important things to remember when you start out with anal play: always make sure to use lots of lube, go slow, and stop if there's any pain. We recommend slowly introducing yourself to the sensations of anal play using your fingers and/or small butt plugs. As we mentioned before, butt plugs will help stretch your anus, and it’s best to start out with smaller plugs, then gradually increasing in length/girth. A great butt plug for anybody new to anal play is the F31 Small Plug, and if you’d like to purchase a set with the intention of increasing the size of plugs you use, opt for a variety set like the Doc Johnson Mood Pride Anal Training Set.
If you’d like to read up on the risks of anal sex, and how to best protect yourself and/or your partner(s) during anal play, Planned Parenthood has a great article that’s quick & easy to read!
Are butt toys supposed to be painful?
No! Pain during anal play happens when your muscles aren’t relaxed enough, and/or not enough lube is being used. Please stop your anal play if there’s any pain, and either add more lube, spend some more time prepping with small butt plugs or anal beads, and make sure you’re feeling comfortable + safe enough to completely relax your muscles. There shouldn’t be any pressure put on by a partner or by yourself to enjoy anal play or to keep going if it’s painful – it should be an enjoyable experience for all parties involved!
What kind of butt toys help to loosen your butt?
Butt plugs are great for training your anus to stretch & relax during anal play. We’d recommend starting out with some sort of anal training set like the B-Vibe Anal Training Set, which includes three basic silicone butt plugs designed for all stages of anal training. Start off using your fingers, then the smallest plug, and gradually increase the size as you become comfortable, especially if your anal play goal is to insert a toy or a penis.
How do you clean your anus for anal play?
To ensure clean, mess-free anal sex, you can perform an enema, or what’s called “anal douching.” The purpose of anal douching is to flush out your rectum with water to gently get rid of fecal matter. For quick & easy cleaning prior to anal play, use an enema bulb like the B-Vibe Classic Enema or the CleanStream Enema Bulb, which will slide inside of your anus to provide a thorough cleansing.
Can you use lube with anal toys?
Yes, and please, please do! Most silicone sex toys are compatible with water-based lubes, hybrid lubes, and oil-based lubes, whereas glass & stainless steel sex toys are compatible with any type of lube. Learn more about lube from our Lube 101 Guide!
How do you clean butt toys?
Silicone butt toys can be cleaned just like any other silicone sex toys, using warm water and a disinfecting toy cleaner to rinse & wash the toy.
Glass & stainless steel butt toys are a little easier – just pop them in a pot of boiling water, let them soak for a few minutes, and bam, they’ll be sanitized!
Where can you buy butt plugs, prostate toys, and other butt toys?
The majority of sex shops & boutiques will sell anal toys, as they’ve become much more mainstream in recent years. At WinkWink, we have over 50 different anal toys that you can purchase for all your booty play needs, desires, and curiosities – shop all of our anal toys online here!
Best Butt Toys For Booty Play
Now that you’re familiar with what anal play is, why it can be SO much fun, and how to safely engage in it, let’s go through some of our personal favorite butt toys for all kinds of booty play! We've got smaller toys for beginners and anal training sets, as well as larger toys for those who are more experienced.
Best Silicone Butt Plug for Beginners: F31 Small Plug ($23.99)
Best Glass Butt Plug for Beginners: Crystal Delights Small Clear Plug ($94.99)
Best Stainless Steel Butt Plug for Beginners: Njoy Small Pure Plug ($69.99)
Best Vibrating Butt Plug for Beginners: B-Vibe Small Vibrating Snug Plug 1 ($99.99)
Best Vibrating Butt Plug for Gentle Stimulation: We-Vibe Ditto Vibrating Plug ($139.99)
Best Textured Anal Plug Set: Satisfyer Anal Plug Set ($39.99)
Best Anal Beads: Silicone Anal Beads ($27.99)
Best Prostate Massager: Aneros Helix Trident Prostate Massager ($55.99)
Now go have fun exploring some kickass ;) anal play!!
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