When getting down and dirty we typically take our clothes off, but what if we told you it can be hotter to keep them on?
Where masturbation is concerned, it seems 63% of women are doing this already, embracing a technique called ‘wrapping’.
Simply put, it involves putting a layer of fabric between your vibrator and your clitoris, which in turn changes the sensation produced by the sex toy’s vibrations.
Sex education site OMGYES, which surveyed 20,000 women on this practice, suggests thinking of fabric as an ‘accessory’ you can add to a vibrator to provide you with a different sexual experience.
It doesn’t just work on your clitoris, you can use it to create a pleasurable sensation on your nipples too, if that’s an area you like to stimulate.
Why can wrapping feel so good?
While our bundle of nerves down there can feel incredible when it comes into contact with a vibrator, for some this feeling can be a little too much.
‘A lot of people with vulvas can find a wand vibrator too intense against their clitoris, so what a piece of fabric can do is create a barrier between the tissue and sex toy, which can blunt the intensity, which people really enjoy,’ sex expert and author of Kink Curious, Gigi Engle tells Metro.
‘I think people think “vibrators are supposed to feel great, why does it feel itchy or painful when I use it”, and usually it’s just because you’re too sensitive for direct contact.’
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Of course, even if you enjoy direct clitoral stimulation and don’t struggle with sensitivity issues, the different fabric textures can simply expose you to a new pleasurable way of getting yourself to orgasm.
‘Vibrations from the same toy can become silky, fluffy, pillowy, or fluttery,’ an expert at OMGYES says.
Some women will prefer a more coarse fabric like towel, while others may enjoy a silkier fabric, meaning you can let the vibrator slide to where it feels best.
It’s a tried and tested crowd-pleaser, with one woman telling OMGYES: ‘I thought I didn’t like vibrators. Then we tried using it on me through our bedsheet. Now, I’m a convert!’
‘I always use [a vibrator] with at least a blanket in between,’ adds another. ‘It softens the stimulation, makes it feel more human-like.’
One woman even shared she enjoys using a vibrator over ‘silky boxers’. ‘It spreads the sensation out and creates slippery softness all along my vulva,’ she explains.
Fabrics to try wrapping with
- Silk: Very smooth, with reduced friction
- Jeans seam: Targets pressure and vibrations
- Thin cotton: Makes vibrations feel softer and warmer
- Fur: Silky sensation up close, but a ticklish sensation when barely touching
- Towel: Creates texture and friction when rubbed across skin
- Knotted rope/coarse fabric: Directs pressure and vibrations
- Lace: Sudden sensation changes from gaps in fabric
- Velvet: Soft and fuzzy, feels different in each direction
- Corduroy: Fuzzy but firm, and the ridges can give extra pleasure
Source: OMGYES
Minimal clean-up
If you’re someone who likes sex to be as hassle-free as possible, Gigi says wrapping is a great way to go about this.
‘Sometimes the thing that can stop you from masturbating is the hassle of clean up,’ she explains. ‘It can be annoying knowing that if you use your vibrator you’re going to have to wash it and dry it, and it’ll be a whole thing.’
The expert says the problem with this is that the more orgasms you have, the more you want, so if you begin to avoid masturbation because of the clean-up involved, it could lead to an orgasmless cycle.
Of course, not everyone cares for an orgasm, but if you do, you don’t want to fall into this habit.
‘Using a duvet or T-shirt can mean you don’t have to clean your vibrator every time because it didn’t touch your vulva,’ Gigi says. ‘You could even put a condom on your vibrator for a different sensation, and you can throw that in the rubbish after which is great.’
If you’re not opposed to chucking things in the wash, you could even pop a sock over your vibrator for a simple texture change.
The front-wedgie
You might think a front-wedgie could never be pleasant, and you dread having to try and rearrange your knickers subtly in public, but it could also be a tool in your arsenal for masturbation.
The sex education site says that keeping your pants on for a solo-session could enhance the experience, especially if you pull the front of the underwear up towards your belly button.
‘This creates constant gentle pressure,’ a site expert says. ‘The clitoris and lips become snug and contained, forming a harder, tenser surface that vibrates differently.’
Not to mention that fabric can hold that bundle of nerves in place, allowing you to really focus on that pleasure spot, and you could even combine this with accenting.
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