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Paying attention to your erogenous zones during every sexual experience can ensure all of your solo and partnered adventures are jackpots of sexual pleasure.
Human erogenous zones are areas of your body with sensitive nerve endings which produce or enhance sexual arousal when touched. Sure, your genitals are sensitive (obviously!), but many erogenous zones are outside the genital area. Erogenous zones vary from one person to another, as does the type of touch people prefer.
Some of your erogenous zones may respond well to a vibrating wand, while others require a light touch. The type of touch you like may change! Some people prefer attending to certain erogenous zones during solo sessions and others during partnered experiences. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.
Finding these sensitive body parts and learning what type of touch they respond to is the key to foreplay, improving your connection with your sexual self and your partners. (Yes, it's foreplay even during masturbation.)
Some erogenous zones are easy to find, but others may surprise you. Truthfully, any area of the body can be an erogenous zone, but some are more common than others. Here's a top-down guide to help you experiment and find some of your erogenous zones and a few tips on how to touch them. After reading, you may feel inspired to try these out during a solo sesh or share this information with your partners, and we hope you do!
Scalp
The top of your head is home to lots of nerve endings. Why not try a scalp massage as an erotic start to your sensual experience? The area directly behind the ears or just around your hairline is the most sensitive. Alternating between light touch, massaging, and even using your fingernails to graze those areas can send shivers down your spine and make your toes curl.
To intensify the experience during partner play, try running your fingers through your partner's hair or even tugging gently.
Ears
Once you've attended to the scalp and goosebumps are running down your partner's legs, give their ears some attention. Ears are sensory receptors, so the nerve endings are incredibly sensitive, making them a particularly effective erogenous zone.
Try licking, nibbling, or kissing your partner's ears, especially their earlobes. Some people even love the feel of warm breath against those sensitive spots. If your mouth is busy elsewhere, grazing your partner's earlobes with your fingertips might be enough to send them over the edge.
Alternating those moves with some whispered dirty talk can up the intensity. Listening to erotic audio can stimulate your ears (in a way) while you explore your body if you’re flying solo.
Lips
Our lips invite touch. Their curves, hue, and the way they move can entice a partner to touch, kiss, or nibble them. Sure, kissing during partnered sexual experiences is a fantastic start to erotic adventures, but your lips don't need to be exclusively for partnered sex.
Your lips are an erogenous zone you can use during solo sessions to heighten arousal. Try touching your lips with your fingertips, licking them, biting your lower lip as you caress yourself, or even using your mouth on your vibrator or dildo.
Back of the neck
The nape of the neck, right at the base of the hairline, is one of the body’s most sensitive parts. As a bonus, running your fingers across your partner's neck is acceptable in public, so you can use this erogenous zone for some surreptitious sexy time during a dinner out on the town.
During solo play, grazing your fingertips along your neck, or even keeping one hand behind your head to stimulate this area, can enhance the experience.
Armpits
If your partner is particularly ticklish, getting consent before trying this area out is crucial if you want to test this erogenous zone. Some evidence suggests our armpits release pheromones, so you may find laying your head near your partner's underarms arouses you. If it doesn't, just keep moving until you find the hot spots for you both.
Breasts
Breasts, especially nipples, are full of nerve endings and seem to be an immediate turn-on button for many people. Breasts are sensitive regardless of gender, though women's breasts tend to be more so.
While the concentration of nerve endings is most prominent in your nipples, many people enjoy touch along the edges of their breasts. Since the entire breast is an erogenous zone, this gentle introduction to direct nipple stimulation can be incredibly erotic.
Temperature play is also a great way to stimulate your breasts. Experiment with temperature by having your partner sip cold water or place an ice cube in their mouth before teasing your nipples.
Stimulating your nipples during a solo sesh can increase the likelihood of orgasm and may even cause one without genital stimulation. You may enjoy nipple play involving oils or lube. Try rubbing in circles, rolling your nipples between your fingers, or even pinching them. Some people enjoy nipple play so much they use nipple clamps which cause a rush of blood flow to the area.
Inner wrists
If you've ever had a partner pin your hands to the bed (or floor, or counter) during sex, you understand how sensitive the wrists can be to sensual touch. While restricting movement with hands or restraints is an effective way to stimulate your wrists, this sort of play requires explicit consent from you and your partners.
Even if you aren't into restraint, you can still enjoy the erogenous zone of your wrists. Start off a self-pleasure session by gently tracing your fingertips up the length of your arms, from your palm, all the way to the base of your ear and back. Hitting your ear, neck, armpits, and wrists in one fluid motion can result in heightened sensitivity and a more powerful climax.
Stomach
Like your armpits, touch along your stomach can tickle, so it’s often best to tread carefully here. Watch your partner for signs of discomfort, like wiggling away from your hands. While some people enjoy tickling as foreplay, it’s a turn-off for others.
It’s obviously difficult to tickle yourself, so, during masturbation, touching your stomach can be an effective turn-on.
Many people find their lower stomach just above their public bone is a highly reactive erogenous zone. Try lightly grazing the area with your fingertips or even your nails. You may even enjoy massaging the area while using a sex toy for direct genital stimulation.
Fingertips
Oh, how our fingers love to roam! Don't save your fingertips for partnered sex. Your fingertips contain specialized nerve endings that link directly to your brain. These super-sensitive nerves help your brain process your surroundings, and since sexual stimulation requires brain activation, we can't think of a better way to start your arousal response.
When you use your fingers for grazing your skin during masturbation, you're helping your mind stay focused on the moment. You're also likely to discover more areas of the body that respond to sensual touch as you explore.
Lower back
Your lower back, particularly directly over your spine, is full of nerve endings which stimulate arousal. Many people enjoy having this erogenous zone massaged, but there are other ways to activate the nerves in your lower back which may be even more effective at increasing arousal.
Placing a hand on your partner's lower back and applying firm pressure or swirling your fingers in circles while you perform oral sex can heighten the sensation for them.
Butt
Ah, butts! There are just so many ways to enjoy them. Spend some time kneading the sensitive spot where your butt and upper thigh meet. You may want a firm grab, a stinging slap, or gentle grazing of this area during foreplay and sex. Or you may enjoy all three types of stimulation.
Alternating between types of touch is particularly effective in this erogenous zone. If you're feeling adventurous, you and your partner may decide to give paddling a try. You can start with something soft and move up to wooden paddles, riding crops, and more if you find it's your thing.
Anus
A conversation about butts and sexual stimulation wouldn't be complete without talking about the anus. Some people enjoy light rubbing of the anus during solo or partnered sexual activities.
Many people enjoy anal penetration with a dildo, a butt plug, or a penis. Many anal sex toys stimulate the perineum, a sensitive area along the front wall of the anus. It's important to remember the anus is not self-lubricating like the vaginal opening, so lube is a must if you and your partner explore backdoor play.
Vulva
The most sensitive female erogenous zones are the many parts of the vulva. The vulva includes the vaginal opening, labia, and clitoris. For vagina-having people, the vulva is a super-sensitive hot spot of pleasure. There are plenty of vibrators designed to stimulate various areas of female genitalia, but you don't need them to get started enjoying this erogenous zone.
Using lube when touching your vulva can improve sensation and make it easier to orgasm. Try lightly stroking your outer and inner labia or gently tickling your vaginal opening.
The most sensitive area of the vulva is the clitoris. It holds 8,000 nerve endings and serves as an orgasm powerhouse. A large portion of women can only orgasm with clitoral stimulation. Some women enjoy direct stimulation of the clitoris, while others prefer circling the sensitive area. Vibrating, sucking, and even tapping are fun ways to stimulate your clitoris during solo or partnered sex.
G-spot
Just inside the vaginal opening, against the front wall of the vagina, is the g-spot. Rubbing this area with a sex toy, a finger, or during a cleverly angled penetrative position can result in intense sexual pleasure. Some women can enjoy ejaculatory orgasms from g-spot stimulation.
Inner thighs
Gently stroking your inner thighs or even using your vibrator against them before stimulating your genital area can increase arousal and prepare you for an intimate experience with yourself.
If you're with a partner, asking them to kiss, lick, or tease your inner thighs can heighten the anticipation of oral sex and increase pleasure.
Behind the knee
Tracing up or down your legs during your next masturbation session may reveal an erogenous zone behind your knees. Rich with nerve endings, this sensitive area can be ticklish, but the right amount of pressure and speed can cause the good type of goosebumps to travel from your toes to your labia.
Feet
If you decide to start exploring erogenous zones at the bottom and work your way up, you may find your feet are one of your most sensitive areas. Even if you don't have a foot fetish, stimulating your feet and ankles is not only relaxing; it can be an incredibly erotic way to start a solo or partnered sex session.
Try using oil or lotion to massage your feet. The increase in blood flow will relax tired feet and prepare your mind and body for pleasure.
Experiment with erogenous zones to boost pleasure
Whether you're enjoying a solo sesh full of sensual touch, music, and vanilla-scented candles, or taking a few minutes between Zoom meetings for a quickie with your partner, lavishing attention on these sensitive spots will increase sexual arousal and orgasm potential.
Paying attention to your erogenous zones throughout the day can improve solo sex sessions by priming your brain for arousal. Perhaps you and your partner can make a game out of stimulating erogenous zones between Saturday errands so your nighttime exploration is more intense.
If you're looking for help finding your erogenous zones and learning how to touch them, try a guided erotic meditation from Dipsea. In these sessions, Myisha Battle, a certified sex and dating coach, will guide you in finding out exactly how your body likes to experience touch.
Listen, light yourself up.
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