Sensation Play: 6 Non-Toy Ideas to Try

Looking to create some new sensations without using sex toys? Kayla Lords suggests six sensation play ideas to get your kicks – without breaking the bank (or your bones!)
 

Much of the way we humans interact with the world and our surroundings is through the five senses – smell, touch, sound, sight and taste. And, as kinksters, you're probably already aware that our senses can play a massive role in how we experience pleasure. Still, many of us forget to make the most of our sense and take full advantage of them during playtime. 
 

What is sensation play? 

If you're unfamiliar with sensation play, it's basically the act of stimulating your senses in different ways to heighten or experiment with different types of pleasure.
 

As our senses have a large and fascinating ability to invoke fantasy, memory and eroticism, there are plenty of things we can try when it comes to sensation play, such as: 
 

• experimenting with stimulating more than one sense
• depriving ourselves or our partner(s) of one sense in order to heighten the others.
• toying with our pain threshold
   

6 non-toy sensation play ideas to try

Toys are often used in sensation play, but sometimes during a scene we don't always have them to hand or perhaps we can't afford to purchase them in the first place. So, here are six non-toy sensation play ideas you can try with minimal effort and investment. 

1. Soak up the sting

Some of us love pain in all its forms; others have a preference. Plenty of people love the sting from a good smack or a quick kiss from the tip of a flogger. Of course, if you ask a sadist, they probably love all forms of pain. But when you want your sensation play to sting, and no sex toys are handy, almost anything will do. Here are a few sensation play sting ideas to try:

1. A quick smack of your hand – that one is probably obvious.
2. A snapped towel – think back to locker rooms during your school days.
3. Anything thin and long  – a small wooden spoon, a plastic or metal spatula.
4. Your belt rubber bands – as a masochist who prefers thuds, this one is just mean!
    

2. Feel the thud

The thud is a sensation that’s part pain and part massage. For those of us on the receiving end, it’s one of the sensations that go deep into our centre. Sometimes thuds leave bruises, but not always. No heavy spanking paddles or other sex toys around? No worries, you can still achieve that feeling of the thud! 

Try punching as impact play. Target big muscles only t;, thighs, calves, the side of the spine) and use the flat part of your fist, between your knuckles. Take your time, go slowly, and stay away from the side of the torso and the area next to the spine. Heavy brushes, books, blocks – if it’s large or thick and has a flat surface, this type of sensation play can recreate that thudding feeling.

3. Embrace the burn (with or without a flame)

Burning can have so many meanings. Some people want to play with fire, others with candle wax; it's all part of sensation play. However, definitely don’t pick up a random candle to try wax play at home. Stick to candles made especially for that or do your research before you decide to use one. But if candles are out, how do you get that burning feeling without resorting to sex toys?

 

“Burning can have so many meanings. Some people want to play with fire, others with candle wax; it's all part of sensation play. However, definitely don’t pick up a random candle to try wax play at home.”

Curiously, the opposite sensation of heat – coldness – will also give you a burning feeling. Ice works well if you can apply it to the skin before it melts too much. The first sensation is of burning before the sense of coldness sets in.

A cold glass – and by cold, I mean, a glass you've placed in the freezer for a few minutes or put into something with ice in it – can also work. I've tried this with a glass dildo before, but if you don’t have that, a drinking glass or an empty bottle should work nicely. Insert it somewhere, or run it over your partner’s skin.
 

4. Share the squeeze

This type of sensation play doesn't necessarily require bondage rope. One strong arm wrapped around my chest and above my breasts gives me the same feeling. Being wrapped in both of my partner’s arms does it too. I may pretend to struggle, or I may relax into it; it all depends on my mood. It’s not quite the same feeling as rope, but it’s just as intimate.


Choking sensation play
 

5. Choking: a classic form of sensation play

Choking isn’t for everyone, and sometimes you don’t know how you feel about it – good or bad – until you’ve experienced it. However, it’s one of the easier sensation play scenarios to create, but also an easy one to screw up (check out our guide and safety tips to belt, or anything else around someone’s throat should always be done with caution. You don’t need anything special for it, and for those who enjoy it, it creates an endorphin rush like you won’t believe.

6. Feel the fear

Ask any top or Dominant who’s been doing this a while, and they’ll tell you that just one certain look or whisper can scare the hell out of your partner. It’s about getting into your partner’s head; using the thing that makes them nervous against them as a form of sensation play. 
 

“Choking isn’t for everyone, and sometimes you don’t know how you feel about it – good or bad – until you’ve experienced it. However, it’s one of the easier sensation play scenarios to create.”

But if you want to cause fear in a scene and mindfuck your partner into believing you’re doing something you’re not, I know of a great example. A submissive wanted to try knife and blood play, but she was terrified. Her Dominant bound her to a table. He had a large assortment of knives next to her and sharpened them as she watched him.

Just before he was ready to use them on her, he blindfolded her. Instead of using the knives, he applied ice. She was so deep in the mindfuck that she believed the trickle of water (from the melting ice) was blood, and she was excited but also terrified.
 

The Dom set the entire scene and made it look believable. In the sub's mind, they were trying knife and blood play, even though she was terrified. Her fears were amplified by the sensations he caused, and no skin was broken, and the knives were only for show.
 

The final FET: sensation play

Our six tips on sensation play prove that while the gear and the sex toys are fun, they aren’t always necessary. When you put your mind to it and think a little creatively, you can come up with all sorts of sensation play ideas and create different sensations without spending any money. So, soak up that sting and feel the thud... for free! •

Kayla Lords is a freelance writer, sex blogger, and a masochistic babygirl living the 24/7 D/s life. 

Are you a fan of sensation play? What hot experiences have you had without the use of sex toys? Leave a comment in the Fetish.com forum.

Images shutterstock/Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz, shutterstock/Izida 1991