Anal Toys
Anal toys need more care in the choosing than almost any other category, because shape, size, material and base all matter. Butt plugs, anal beads, tail plugs, prostate massagers, vibrating plugs and the lubes built for this.
Anal toys need more care in the choosing than almost any other category, because shape, size, material and base all matter. Butt plugs, anal beads, tail plugs, prostate massagers, vibrating plugs and the lubes built for this.
A toy for anal play is anything made to go in or against the anus, and every single one of them shares one feature that is not optional: a flared base or a retrieval ring. Unlike a vagina, the rectum has no natural stopping point. Anything without a base can travel, and that is an emergency room story rather than an inconvenience. Every toy on this page has one.
Past that, the category sorts by what the toy does once it is in. A plug stays put and delivers fullness and pressure. Beads move, and the sensation lives in the pull. A prostate massager aims, using a forward curve to reach a specific gland rather than filling space. A tail plug is a plug that is also something to look at. Knowing which of those four you want is most of the decision.
The fact that decides how the whole thing goes: the rectum produces no lubrication of its own. None at all, ever, under any circumstances. Lube is not an accessory here, it is equipment, and you want noticeably more of it than feels reasonable. The awkward part is that silicone lube lasts longest, which is exactly why people reach for it, and it degrades silicone toys. Water based with silicone. Silicone lube is fine with glass and steel.
The category splits by what the toy does once it is in.
If this is the first time: smallest size, softest material, and far more lube than you think. Silicone has give, which matters more than any other spec at the start. Rushing is the single most common reason people decide anal is not for them.
If you want fullness that stays put: a plug. It goes in and it holds, and plenty of people wear one during other kinds of sex because it makes everything else more intense. See butt plugs.
If you want movement rather than stillness: beads. The pull is the whole point, and the spacing between beads changes the feeling more than the size of them does.
If there is a prostate involved: the curve is the spec, not the size. A straight toy will press past it. If a prostate massager seems to do nothing, the angle is almost always the reason rather than the toy.
On size: girth decides comfort, length does not. A shorter, wider toy is more demanding than a long, narrow one, and the number people fixate on is the wrong number.
On material: silicone to learn on, glass and steel once you know. Silicone flexes and forgives. Glass and steel are rigid, heavier, and they hold temperature, which is a real sensation rather than a gimmick. All three are non porous and genuinely cleanable.
On lube: water based with silicone toys, always. Silicone lube lasts longer and is lovely with glass or steel, and it will wreck a silicone toy. The anal lubricants here are thicker than standard lube for a reason.
On cleaning: non porous materials only, washed before and after. Anything jelly, porous or unbranded holds bacteria no matter how it is cleaned, and this is the one part of the body where that stops being a theoretical problem. A toy cleaner covers it.