Chemical play (the gift that keeps on giving)

This post is about Edgeplay

Please don't read it if you are not
interested in learning about:
urethral play
urethral sounds
needle play
blood play
medical play
advanced CBT

For some time now we've wanted to further explore urethral torture / CBT sensation play via chemical play. It has long been a fantasy of sol's and mine. I always liked it's potential, and was recently re-inspired by this great description on a Tribes thread on BDSM techniques:

"I love things that slowly heat and add to the intense buildup of heat via pain!"

Oh, yes....

Chemical play according to Wiki is "the use of balms and ointments such as Bengay, Icy Hot, Biofreeze, etc" (here in Australia we use Dencorub) to create sensations on a submissive's body during a BDSM scene. But it's more than that. This kind of sensation play can utilize a wide range of intense preparations / mild irritants, everything from menthol to toothpaste to wintergreen oil. We are also interested in using spices like cinnamon, eucalyptus, peppermint, chili peppers and ginger - spice play :). You can use these materials fresh or you can use condiments (including essential oils) made from them.

Because this type of play interacts with other sorts of play - and because chemical play often gets called different things - we are going to be touching on other topics such as Food Play, Spice play, Irritant play, Abrasion play, etc.

There's not much written about chemical play. There's not even a chemical play group on Fetlife! (actually there is: Spices, oils, roots and balms for sadism or sensual intensification. Took a bit to find, of course they couldn't just call it "chemical play"! It's well worth joining). I'll keep researching and trying to find material but so far there's just one organization doing workshops, one or two articles online, a couple of blog posts and some threads on various fetish / kink / gay forums etc. Oh, and LOTS of YouTube videos of vanilla idiots rolling in agony after putting various products on their balls.

So I thought I'd turn a post about a rather good scene into a sort of BDSM For Beginners post, to try and collate a bit of the info that's otherwise hard to track down. Also, because you need to take care with this kind of play. One of the chemical play blog posts I mentioned (Vince of Obedience Realized) has some great ideas and is definitely worth a read, but I disagree with one small part of his comment that:

"Chemical play is an extremely easy thing to add to play by a Dominant. It takes no skill, and is very effective".

I know what Vince means here .... chemical play is not exactly Florentine flogging or needle play. But. If you are ever to move beyond using the smallest amounts possible, it DOES take skill. Or you will cause your sub agony well outside their limits. You need to familiarize yourself with the preparations and irritants you plan to use, and you need to spend time testing how those agents and irritants react on your sub. Putting all this info together into a scene takes skill.

Chemical play is usually regarded as edgeplay. However you can make this kind of play as light and sensuous, or as edgy and intense, as you like. It all depends on what you plan to use, and how you plan to use it. In our case, because sol is a masochist and really enjoys this kind of thing, we can push the envelope a bit - with care we can create sensations not just on his body but slightly inside his body, in particular in relation to urethral torture.

One thing it's very important to stress with this type of play is that you not only need to pre test what you plan to use, you need to be aware that these types of irritants often take a while to build up their intensity ... and equally take a while to stop having their effect. In some cases you can neutralize the sensation, but in others you have to cope with it until it fades naturally.

As ausboy wrote on a Milovana forum thread "It burns and burns and there is no way to take it off you just gonna deal with the pain until it goes away". But dark was absolutely correct when he responded "I think that is the turn on for most who use it. They give up the control about the pain and have to take it".

This touches on the mindset you need to reach for, during the scene. The extended intensity will also impact on your scene's timing and construction. You may have finished playing and packed up and be ready to leave, while your sub is still in the zone dark describes! As Vince oh so accurately notes in his Chemical Play post:

"Chemical Play leaves a little gift that keeps on giving after the session is over"

And that is half the fun :).

This BDSM For Beginners series style post is set out in the following sections:

1. What we used
2. The scene
3. What we learned and want to share with you
4. More about neutralizers
5. Will there be a next time?
   
6. What we'll do next time

Like most BDSM For Beginners posts, this one is long. So treat it like workshop notes - read the hot scene in the middle and bookmark the rest for later, when you need more info for your own scenes.

WHAT WE USED

Having fantasized about chemical play for a while, sol shared with me some interesting ideas regarding food stuffs, and in particular various forms of chili pepper and hot sauces. When the opportunity of an afternoon's play with MzAntonina arose over Mardi Gras weekend in Sydney, we arrived laden with goodies:


And no, they weren't to eat for lunch! The foodstuffs included:

• fresh lemon
• fresh ginger
• three types of fresh chili, including locally grown jalapino and habaneros
• wasabi (Japanese horseradish)
• mild green Tabasco
• red Tabasco
• Mexican El Yucateco XXX chili sauce (picante habanero)
• Mexican Cholula hot sauce arbol and piquin
  
• Japanese La Yu chili oil
• The Chilli Factory, Sydney's Turbo Supercharge (Extremely Hot Habanero Paste)

The only non food item was a tube of extra strength Dencorub. Sol had used it before on his cock and found it very painful. I'd tried using Tiger Balm on sol without much success some years before, so something stronger was obviously needed....

We had done some research into how to neutralize sensations if things got too much for sol. Keeping in mind milk and yoghurt often work well to alleviate chili based irritants (something about certain proteins soothing and reducing stinging and burning sensations) we brought with us fresh plain yoghurt.

Products like Dencorub, Capsaicin and Bengay are pain-relief analgesic formulations used to relieve muscle aches and pain due to arthritis and strain. Bengay's main active ingredients are menthol and methyl salicylate. Dencorub's Extra Strength Heat Gel contains:

"26% methyl salicylate, which makes it a concentrated hot formula that gives hours of relief from pain resulting from sprains, strains, painful joints, muscular aches and pains, as well as Arthritis, Rheumatism, Lumbago and Fibrositis"

What's happens when you apply these products is the menthol acts as a topical analgesic and provides the cool feeling and the methyl salicylate provides the heating by dilating the capillaries in the affected area, which increases blood flow to that area. When you apply them to the genitals - keeping in mind Hardy Haberman's advice in Family Jewels (p.51) to not "use any of these compounds - Tiger Balm, Ben Gay, Icy Hot, or any other - as lube, within the urethra or rectum or on any mucous membranes" - they produce an intense burning sensation which some people may actually find pleasurable, and in some people may actually increase the duration of an erection. It's the cooling effect of the menthol that is the last to wear off.

We had several of the nastiest types of chili covered in our food range. Wiki says :

"There are five major species of Capsicum cultivars, and appear in many varieties. The hotness of the fruit is indicated in the Scoville scale, which ranges from no heat at zero to pure capsaicin at 16,000,00:

1. Capsicum annuum, which includes bell peppers, cayenne, paprika, and jalapeños
2. Capsicum baccatum, which includes the ají pepper
3. Capsicum chinense, which includes habaneros
4. Capsicum frutescens, which includes tabasco
5. Capsicum pubescens, which includes rocoto.

The heat level of chilis is determined on the Scoville scale. Here's wiki again:

"The Scoville scale is a measurement of the spicy heat (or piquance) of a chili pepper. The number of Scoville heat units (SHU)indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes ...

"a sweet pepper or a bell pepper, containing no capsaicin at all, has a Scoville rating of zero, meaning no heat detectable. The hottest chilis, such as habaneros and nagas, have a rating of 200,000 or more, indicating that their extract must be diluted over 200,000 times before the capsaicin presence is undetectable"

In our sample to try today we had:

• Jalapeño ( 2,500-10,000 Scoville Units)
• Piquin (30,000-50,000 Scoville Units)
  Tabasco (30,000-50,000 SR) is native to Mexico but is now grown in large amounts in Louisiana by McIlhenny Company for the sauce of the same name
• Thai 75,000 - 150,000 Thin fruit with a pointed tip. Often used in the cuisines of Southeast Asia, especially (as the name implies) Thailand.
• Habanero (80-300,000+ Scoville Units). The latter featured in the El Yucateco EXXXtra Picante (more than 11,000 Scoville units). According to the El Yucateco website, the recipe is fashioned after Mayan tradition. It's also called Kutbil-Ik, which means "crushed chili" in Mayan.

This was going to be fun...

Despite how intense this sounds, it was important to keep in mind that the capsaicin in a habaneros was miniscule compared to the strength of pain-relief analgesic formulations. They needed to be utilized with care.

THE SCENE

Please note that a longer, more graphic version
of this scene appears on my private Edgeplay blog.
Drop me a line if you'd like access.

MzAntonina had greatly enjoyed our last scene - which had concluded with some q tip play using isopropyl alcohol - and was delighted to play again. Sol said after that scene:

"it hurt like fuck :) :) :) :).

"It was bright loud burny stingy pain. I'm not surprised I made a lot of noise. But one of the best things was the reaction from Mistress and MzAntonina: "gee that really seemed to hurt, let's do it again!"

"I'm definitely looking forward to doing it again plus with other substances"

We were certainly happy to explore further. We negotiated a scene where sol's genitals would first experience some needle play and sounding as preparation for sensation play with various hot condiments and fresh spices.

This was what we called a testing session. Damage to delicate internal linings was to be kept minimal, but the idea was to explore the potency / strength of various irritants (ginger / chili / etc) within sol's mucous membranes, to provide information that would be useful for future play.

We also wanted to see how long certain products took to build and fade, in terms of sensation, and try out various neutralizers for effectiveness. As it was sol, we might push our explorations a little further, keeping in mind Brian's comment on Tribe that:

"Even after sessions that were excruciating for those few minutes, I have had no adverse reactions, just some tenderness and pinkness but no harm. :)"

I directed sol to make several urethral size ginger plugs and chili strips. He also left several larger pieces for us to use as we desired. You can see them on the plate below. The white bowl contains just squeezed lemon juice:


We also had on hand the yoghurt, tissues and damp face towels as neutralizers. Lemon juice has also proved effective, although we had that for a different reason...

We set a timer, because MzAntonina and I do tend to get distracted, time wise and we had a deadline of about an hour or so, to allow time for sol and I to prepare for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade that night.

We placed a black rubber sheet on MzAntonina's massage table, told sol to strip and tied him to the table with black rope:


I prefer using rope with carabinars for a restraint system with a quick exit, however I hadn't brought them, so MzAntonia brought out black rope from her play box and tied it beautifully.

We tied his hands behind his head and then gagged him:


He said later that he "liked the gag", it gave him:

"something to think about ... it was uncomfortable enough that you had to focus to keep things together".

Restrained in this manner, mouth gagged, how was sol to communicate a problem or safeword? We use a mix of hand signals (his hands were tied above his head but we could still see them) and of course - as you can see in the photo above - his facial gestures and noises can still indicate concerns.

Out came our traveling needle play kit and MzAntonina's sharps container:


We wanted to start with needles because we thought once they were removed, the puncture wounds might respond in interesting ways to the various irritants we planned to introduce. Well, that's our story and we are sticking to it. The fact we also really enjoy putting needles into male genitals has nothing to do with it....

We snapped on some of MzAntonina's great pink latex gloves. I'd like to stress here: NEVER ever play with these kind of irritants without gloves!

We swabbed down sol's shaft and started our row of needles about half way along, working towards the (more sensitive) top:


We started with two 25 gauge needles and then two 23 gauge. We'd both been wanting to try out the various styles of needle cap and this provided an excellent opportunity. First we capped our needles with cork, then silicone (yellow) and rubber (black):


We found cork the easiest to use, although of course they are single use so more expensive in the long run. We then placed a few needles under sol's scrotum. Sol said later he found the scrotum needles "slightly sharper than on the shaft but not as intense as the head":


We wanted to insert some needles in his foreskin and shaft, but remembered the access problems we encountered last time. To avoid these we tied a black cord through his PA ring and tied it to his chest rope:


This made his foreskin easy to pierce:


We admired our work for a bit, then dribbled fresh lemon juice over the needles in his shaft:


This caused a mild response. We then removed the needles in the shaft, allowing the lemon juice to drip into the holes:


A much better response! To access the head of his cock we undid the cord and tied it to his thigh rope restraints, causing his cock to bend back like this:


We each inserted a needle each:


Sol reacted intensely as he always. You might recall sol said this, the first time I put a needle through the head of his cock:

"the sensation of the needles through the head is hard to describe ...

"the whole end of the cock is loaded with nerve endings, it's not like skin of the shaft where you just have a pin prick at entry and exit. The skin at both ends of the head needle seems to be loaded with nerve endings. It feels like you are pushing the needle through a thick layer of nerve endings and everything tingles as it goes through this thick layer of sensation...

"yes it hurts (like penetrating skin) but it also tingles and zaps almost like an electric shock ... every needle also feels different, it's like all the different nerve endings there create different intensities, a mm to each side would create a different effect..."

As I wrote on the same post:

"It was certainly intense for sol ... as for me, I nearly came, just doing it! I punched one hand up in the air in a victory salute ... yay!!! I'd done it!!! ... and truly, I nearly came"

This time was just as good :). But this was just the "foreplay" of the scene. Now it was time to get out S(A)X's incredibly useful urethral sound and enlarge the urethra...

Both MzAntonina and I really adore sounding so I'm afraid I have no photos of our fucking sol's urethra. Here's one from our last scene:


Sol said after that scene:

"it went in all the way .... I couldn't feel it at the far end, like they say in the books it's the first five or six cm of the urethra that has most sensation ... but the feeling of fullness with the full diameter of the sound I almost felt like I was coming ... the only other time you get that same sensation is when you are coming"

In this particular scene we also took the sound down the whole way, so we could enjoy fucking sol with it. However our main focus for the day was to widen the first inch or so, so we could insert various agents with ease.

While MzAntonina had a turn I removed the needle play kit from between sol's legs and brought the condiment plate closer:


You can see to the left of that photo the lube we were using and the tiny Asian cotton baby q tips I purchase for CBT. These are so much more useful and more intrusive than the usual size in Western supermarkets.

After a few minutes of fucking, sol's urethra was nicely stretched. While MzAntonina held his cock steady I picked up the first q tip for the day and examined the contents of the plate. Choices ... choices....

As I mentioned earlier our last scene with MzAntonina had concluded with some q tip play using isopropyl alcohol, so we knew sol could tolerate urethral insertions with irritants. But the whole point of this scene was to work up to things slowly and obtain as much info as we could about sol's responses to things. Refusing the urge to go straight to the fresh chilis, I looked at the milder irritants. I'd read that Tabasco sauce was potentially:

"Very intense on labia or rectally on a butt plug. One bottom reports using a 1:1 dilution for 'pleasure' scenes and full strength for punishment scenes. Starts near full intensity and wears off over time or washing"

One man on Fet described a mixture of Tabasco and cinnamon as feeling "like hydrochloric acid was being poured into the tip of my penis".

Could be fun, then. I dipped my q tip in the mildest material on the plate: green Tabasco. I coated both sides of the q tip. With MzAntonina holding sol's cock for me, I dabbed the inside of sol's urethra with the tip...

No reaction. Okay, then ... I gently circled the the inside of sol's urethra with the tip... Damn, only a slight reaction. So I picked up a clean q tip and dipped it in red Tabasco. Definitely a stronger reaction this time, but still not a major one.

After to talking to sol later I think these condiments might have worked better if I had taken a moment to wipe away from the urethra any lube that remained from sounding. I could then use a clean dry q tip to abrade the top and inside edge of the urethra a little. I think any substances placed on q tips and inserted after that abrasion would "take" better. vampyrepain confirms this:

"The main reason that [inserting a q tip] is painful is because the fibers of the q-tip scratch your mucus membranes. Urine is very basic which makes it irritate the scratches as well as kill bacteria as it passes over your scratched urethra. Using irritants such as tabasco or alcohol on the q-tip just further the irritation, but they also lubricate so there isn't as much scratching. For a really awful punishment that won't be soon forgoten, dedicate a little time and first insert a dry q-tip to cause the scratches, the insert an alcohol or lemon juice soaked q-tip to cause inflammation, swelling, and irritation, then end with the tabasco soaked q-tip that will allow more of the burning sensation to penitrate into the scratched, inflammed, and sensatized tissues"

Moving along with our experiments, we next inserted a plug of fresh ginger:


Sol's urethra was slippery with pre come and lube from the sound, so the ginger plug went in easily:


He was enjoying these mild sensations too much so we decided to up the ante a bit. Well, okay, more than just a bit...

MzAntonina scooped up a little Dencorub with a finger tip, then rubbed it over his balls:


The response was quite dramatic. Obviously the product's blurb is right when it stated "the clear gel formulation allows for faster penetration and relief" LOL.

You might like to check out YouTube for videos of men putting Bengay and similar products on their balls. There are lots of videos by drunk under graduates. However the results are the same: lots of yowling, lots of doubling over and groaning and lots of running away to have a shower.

None of these options were available to sol, who was bound and gagged and completely at our mercy. We watched with great interest as his balls tightened and began deepening in color until they were almost dark red.

Sol was almost biting through the gag as each wave of strong sensation built and receded. We had to tell him to be quiet, which really turns him on as well as helps him focus. At one point he called yellow and begged us to turn off the over head fan. At the time I thought he was simply cold (and was rather amazed he was aware of being cold with all the other stuff going on). Later he told me the soft cool breeze from the fan was excruciating on his balls. Next time the fan ... or gentle blowing from our lips ... will become part of the scene!

While sol rode waves of agony, MzAntonina and I removed the final two needles from sol's cock head. I had repeated out loud alexpierce's reminder to be prepared for blood when removing needles from the cock head ... and it was lucky I did this because we experienced the largest bleed so far. It looked amazing, pooling on the rubber sheet underneath sol:


I grabbed the camera while MzAntonina, who greatly enjoys blood play of all kinds, had a wonderful time painting sol's cock red:


You can see more photos and MzAntonina's final "art work" on my Edgeplay blog.

Of course the fresh, flowing blood acted as yet another irritant on sol's poor Dencorub covered balls, and added to his agony. MzAntonina and I exchanged looks ... should we stop? I quickly dipped my bloody gloved finger tips into the cool yoghurt we had near by and applied the yoghurt to sol's balls.

He yowled very loudly through the gag.

Oops. A slight Dominant cock up there, so to speak. Yoghurt only helps with chili, not Dencorub. I'd just made things worse ... or from sol's masochistic point of view, better! He'd just had to ride out the pain. I was keeping in mind Brian's comment that "even after sessions that were excruciating for those few minutes, I have had no adverse reactions, just some tenderness and pinkness but no harm. :) ". And this proved the case with sol.

We cleaned up the blood and yoghurt, noting that the Dencorub was still affecting sol's ball tightness and color as well as his pain threshold. To keep him from getting ...er ... bored, we decided it was time to insert those fresh chilis.

We began with a tiny strip of mild green chili:


We fucked his urethra with it, and then let it sit for a while...

No response. Sol later said "first tip didn't do anything" . But then we replaced it with a red chili sliver:


This was much more successful, in terms of response. We tried in and out fucking motions, also just letting it sit for a while. However the most successful position was to hold it right in and bring the foreskin up over it:


This resulted in some serious noises. Sol later described it as:

"almost off the scale ... that last one got well into the 9 points something out of 10"

Scott Adams' (who created Dilbert) would probably agree. He had a rather fiendish encounter with jalapeños. I don't usually quote vanilla blogs (as their authors may not like appearing on an adult content blog) but Scott's description is just so good I hoped he wouldn't mind my sharing it. This quote picks up after he's ignored advice to use gloves and chopped jalapeños by hand:

"A few minutes passed, and I felt a tingle in my left hand - the one that directly handled the peppers. The tingle turned into a warm sensation, and the warmth turned into...well, this will take some explaining.

"Imagine turning a broom upside down, so the pointy bristles are facing up. You take your hand, palm facing down, and bounce it on the pointy bristles. Can you imagine how uncomfortable that feels on your hand? Okay, good.

"Now imagine that a giant troll sees you playing with the broom. He snatches it out of your hand, chews the handle into a point and shoves it so far up your ass that you can taste it. Then he uses you like a huge flyswatter to kill a nest of porcupines that are living in his salt mine. My hand hurt like that.

"It felt as if my hand was literally on fire. It was one of the most intense pains of my life"

Sol later said he felt the same. Here's another online description, this time from boundecstasy:

"i think she covered my cock in [a muscle cream called "deep heat" ]. That was shear agony... it was like dipping my cock into acid, it was stinging and burning and it was like it was on fire. I was heavily bound so could barely move. The best relief here was when she masturbated me ... brought me near orgasm. This allowed me to concentrate on the orgasm and the pain subsided. However once i climaxed, it was a race to undo the restraints and a dash to the bath so i could put cool water over it to cool things down ... this made it burn worse!"

In fact we'd removed the chili and begun to undo sol's restraints believing he might need a similar dash to the bathroom. However he ferverantly told us to leave him tied.

His concerns over the restraints had broken his headspace, and he tossed back and forwards, groaning through the gag loudly. I took him by the shoulders and called his name to focus him and directed him to be quiet. MzAntonina helped from the other side of the massage table, holding his head and reminding him to breathe ... breathe ... breathe. Soon he slipped back under again.

Our alarm had gone off some time before, and we were short of time, but there was nothing we could do but pack up quietly and let sol ride the waves of sensation. After about half an hour they were reduced enough that he was happy to have the restraints removed. We'd already removed the gag.

AFTERCARE:

Interestingly, after such intense play, sol required minimal aftercare. We left it long enough so that by the time he had a shower - about half an hour after play - his genitals were not too painful. And by the next day he only had a small bruise on the head of his cock to show for all his adventures:

As you can see his shaft is clear of marks. Last time we did this I posted:

"In terms of all the internal play, there was some redness / soreness at the tip of the urethra immediately after play but this quickly disappeared. Sol was a tad nervous peeing for the first time after this scene:

"it hurt like hell when I finally did ... my body actually refused for a couple of minutes, anticipating the pain .... and there was burning for about two days after. Still a little sensitivity in the area ...

"I feel more well used than pain ..."

Which is a perfect way to feel at the end :)

I think sol felt the same this time. He said there was a little soreness around the urethra when peeing, but there was no redness or sore spots visible.

So, all round, a successful scene that had all three participants buzzing for days!

WHAT WE LEARNED
AND WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU

What we learned from this "test session":

• Chemical play is perhaps not the best scene for when you have time constraints!

• Always wear gloves and have a few spare pairs on hand
  

• Never forget that chemical play can be an extremely painful form of play ... sol later said "it was the most severe play we've done" and I agree. I actually noted to MzAntonina during the scene that sol's responses were the most extreme I'd seen. But on the other hand from his point of view he really enjoyed the scene and "never got to the point of wanting the scene to stop".

• Make sure your play partner is not allergic to anything you plan to use. Discuss this in pre-scene negotiations, and for any products they are not sure of, do "test patches" on less sensitive areas of skin

• Different people react differently to the same concentration of something, so testing something on yourself isn't necessarily going to tell you how it will feel for someone else. Have a "test" session before you actually play. Also, check out YouTube's videos of men putting Bengay and similar products on their balls to get a general idea of severity og sensation / response times.

• When you plan your scene, you need to take into account those sensation response times. Also, be careful how many substances you apply ... sensation may just be starting to build when you decide it's not working and dollop on something else *grin*.Here's a "word of warning from someone with first hand experience":
  

  "Irritants (like those I have been talking about) do not act/react immediately. A friend put capcaisin on herself. After a minute or so, she didn't feel anything so she doubled the amount applied. A few minutes later (having still felt no effect) she redoubled the amount applied. And then she started feeling it, and she couldn't find a way to neutralize it. She found out, to her chagrin, how much capcaisin is required to cause first and second degree burns to very tender body parts."

• I highly recommend your sub's genitals are shaved before such a scene. It provides a much cleaner canvas to work on!

• Inserting things into the urethra is a contentious topic. Some kinksters are completely against the idea, and have valid reasons. However if urethral play is something you and your sub want to explore, then keep this advice - which I totally agree with - by MissPlease in mind:

  "I'm of the belief that putting substances in your urethra could cause some damage. I like to err on the safe side especialy when it involves genitalia (even if I do ball busting). When it comes to the urethra or anything internal, I'm very careful. The inside of the urethra is very delicate and can be damaged easily. Inserting oils and ointments might cause some caustic burns. Even with sounds we are warned that whatever is inserted should be sterile and smooth. Sure, a certain amount of bdsm is experimental, but I do try to seek out experienced and educated/informed sources before trying stuff if possible"

• We started with a fairly intense scene because sol is a severe masochist. What if you want to try chemical play at a milder sensation level? Why not start with toothpaste. I've read that it provides a "mild burning sensation when used anally, fairly popular and the most often used in regular scenes, when substances are used. Unless you think you're very sensitive, I'd use full strength." The brands Crest and Closeup are recommended. subfemmepet notes that:
  

  "toothpaste applied to the clit is yummy: :):it varies in its intensity..dies down, comes alive again, ....cleanest clit in town ! minty fresh:t :): similar effect on anus..if you lack a clit, lol"

• Tiger Balm doesn't work for sol, which means it may work for those seeking slightly milder sensations (although having said that everyone responds differently) and also seems a popular product to use of female subs as well as males. Druid found it "invigorating without being excruciating. Even when applied to the helmet and eye it is challenging but tolerable"

• Fresh ginger is also a great mild to intermediate irritant. We've had fun with it - you can use ginger juice, make ginger dildos etc . If you've not explored figging in the past, have a read of this BDSM For Beginners post. There is also a Figging group on Fet :)

• Needle play worked well as abrasive "foreplay" for our chemical play scene ... the punctures in his skin after the needles were removed responded extremely well to the application of irritants. If you are into needle play we definitely recommend doing this first

• Combining other types of abrasion play (stimulating the surface of the body with abrasive materials such as rough silk, coarse cloth, leather, sandpaper, brushes, fingernails .... even twigs, if you include birching) with chemical play has excellent results. Abrasion is more effective on an area of skin which has already been made tender so you could start with a spanking or nipple torture (I've been collecting handmade wooden kitchen / cleaning brushes for a while ... they are excellent at abrading nipples) and move on abrasion play of various types, then finish up with chemical play.
  

• You could also utilize other natural materials like botanicals (for one example, nettles)
  

• Before inserting a little bit of something into the urethra with a q tip, you might like to take a moment to wipe any lube from the area (if you've been sounding) and then use a clean dry q tip to abrade the area a little. You'll find the substance you then insert will "take" better

• How about considering chemical play for LDR and web cam play? It makes an excellent training tool. Here's Vince from Obedience Realized, who I quoted at the very beginning of this post:

  "I enjoy using it as a training device. I prefer to build a submissive’s pain tolerance before they meet me for play again. Right now, boy Jake is preparing to visit and about a month. Once a day, I order boy Jake to cover [his] perineum, the balls, and the shaft of[his] cock with the capsaicin. The intense pain and burning reminds him of what is coming soon and of his service to me. This chemical has a longer staying power and makes a definite impression. Once a submissive has been exposed to it, just mentioning it can change a behavior.

• The Milovana forum has great Icy Hot / Ben Gay teases (here's one)
  

MORE ON NEUTRALIZERS

Here's the basic thing to remember:

"Water soluble irritants respond to safewords; they wash off.

"Oil-based irritants do not respond to safewords; they do not wash off easily."

It's worth further researching other ways to neutralize the sensations, just in case the "waves" prove too severe for your sub.

Vanillas who use these products often find they feel too strong, and there are various places online where you can read their solutions. However you are going to find as I did that internet advice can be varied and contradictory. Scott Adams found this, too:

"With my good hand, I groped for the iPad and searched for home remedies. For every report of a treatment that worked, three people reported that it didn't. I tried ice. I tried milk. I tried alcohol (internal and external). I tried sour cream. I tried ketchup. Each of those things worked for as long as it kept my hand cold, but as soon as my hand reached room temperature, the burn returned. And according to my fellow idiots on the Internet who had made the same mistake, the burn could last most of the night

"I made it through dinner with my hand submerged in a bowl of milk. By now, two hours had passed and the level of pain hadn't subsided one iota."

I do recommend reading the rest of his story, it's a good one (and includes what happened when he needed a pee). Eventually:

"Steve's wife, Sandy, was nice enough to get some Lanacane from their house. After I applied the Lanacane, the pain stopped. I can't say for sure that the Lanacane was the reason the pain stopped..."

Certainly add Lanacane to the list of potential neutralizers, along with other anesthetics like Solarcaine, Xylocaine and Ambesol. These can be used after a scene to relieve pain, but some kinksters also use them before and during scenes.

I'm going to include some of the varied advice I found online below. I can't at the point confirm these suggestions, but at least if some of the various solutions are listed in one spot in this blog post of mine, you know you have a reference point where you can head, if you hit trouble in your own play.

For muscle creams:

Ehow suggests:

1. Blot off any excess Bengay with the facial tissue, toilet paper, or paper towels. Do not rub the affected area, because this could make the Bengay absorb even more into your skin.
2. Saturate a cotton ball in olive oil.
3. Blot the affected area with the saturated cotton ball. Repeat until the burning sensation lessens. Wash the affected area with soap and cool water to remove the olive oil. Use cool water because warm water will open your pores, allowing more Bengay to penetrate the skin.
4. Pat the skin with the towel to dry. Do not rub the towel against the skin.

Ehow UK offers a different version:

1. Avoid water when trying to remove Bengay and other analgesic products from skin. Bengay is not soluble, meaning water will only spread the ointment around, worsening the burning sensation.
2. Pour equal parts of lemon juice and antibacterial soap into a spray bottle and mix thoroughly.
3. Spray the lemon juice-soap mixture on the affected area and scrub thoroughly.
4. Blot dry with a damp cloth.
5. Wash the area to remove any lingering Bengay formula or soap.

A mother who had problems with her child wrote this:

WHAT TO DO: Remove any excess ointment with a kleenex. Do not rub it in. Douse a cotton ball in olive oil and use that to cleanse the affected area gently. Then wash it off with water. Pat the skin dry.

Kinksters who know their stuff, like Midori (in Wild Side Sex: The Book of Kink p.107) suggest:

1. only using the creams externally
2. start with a small amount
3. make sure you have witch hazel will cut oil based material
4. wet towel to remove it
5. aloe vera will sooth

Mistress Matisse recommends milk.

Still need help?! Here's one kinkster's emergency "Oh God help me!" routine:

"I've had some very intense sessions before, and I've ran screaming to the tub many times. When that happens, this is my emergency "Oh God help me!" routine:

"penis under bath tub tap with ice cold water flooding it. This will make it bearable instantly. Then, repeated washing and rinsing with dish soap. Then apply vegetable oil and wash and rinse more as needed. Then dunk little jiggling pink pee pee in cold milk...finish with some vegetable oil, collapse on the floor and catch your breath!!

"(And don't even think about doing that again for at least a year!)"

WILL THERE BE A "NEXT TIME"?

Absolutely. While we pushed sol a long way with this chemical play scene, he was delighted to be pushed and later confirmed he:

"never got to the point of wanting the scene to stop".

Which means we can keep on with our chemical play explorations :)

WHAT MIGHT BE TRY NEXT TIME?

There are so many things we want to explore, with chemical play. Here are a few that come to mind:

• We had several products on the tray and in the kitchen that we didn't try during this scene, so we have those to look forward to :)
  

• Things others have tried / discussed that we might explore: eucalyptus oil, Vicks Vaporub ("Start with small dabs. The effect peaks quickly and fades in about 15 minutes. Very hard to remove"), radishes, wintergreen oil, menthol, any form of camphor etc
  

• Cinnamon oil I now have, and want to try. Midori recommended it to me, for CBT for masochists. Mistress Matisse has written a good article on how to use it. I've also read that it's best "used on nipples (full strength), it provides a mild burning sensation and a nice odor:). Used on the labia, it provides a burning sensation which at full strength is very intense. (My play partner dashed for the bathroom to wash it off, others have found it just bearable and very intense). I usually apply it with a q-tip. This is strong stuff most. Be very careful! I'd recommend a 20:1 dilution to start." This story echos that caution: "cinnamon oil burned off a layer of skin in a rather sensitive area because we didn't wash it off quickly enough, that wasn't much fun"

• Clove oil is also recommended by hardcore players. I recently used it very effectively to help toothache. It's going to take a while before I can stop associating it's smell with non consensual tooth pain!
  

• For American readers: Mistress Matisse recommends Listerine breath strips and Altoid mints for both boy bits and girls bits. She especially recommends using the red cinnamon ones, with flames on the box. In a podcast she describes using inserting them into the urethra of one man (who usually takes a lot of pain), who almost levitated. Another person suggests breath mints like Minty Fresh ("I get a breath mint and put it on the tip of my dick. When it is on there for at least two minutes I always get a one-minute orgasm and it feels great.")

• Capsaicin is definitely worth more research and exploration on it's own. I've been growing several different types of chili here at home, and have found this website and another local one the Hippy Seeds Company where I can purchase even the hottest chili's seeds. I highly recommend you check out their You Tube chili testing videos to see how hot some chilis can be, and how the body reacts to them.
  

• I'd also like to explore more hot sauces. For example, I found two products called "Pleasure and pain" with whip wielding Dommes on their labels. One comes from the US:
  

• The other is from Australia. They look like the kind of items it would be fun to show sol ... just before I poured them down somewhere lethal!
  

• I'd also like to try some of these products - and also Dencorub - on other body parts. Perhaps around sol's anus. Fetish Info Exchange also suggests some interesting suppositories: "fresh ground spices can produce irritations that range from heat to intense itching. Using these with glycerine suppositories can be even more intense." I thought I'd also spend some time reading more about Miss Nancy's punishment suppositories.
  

• We had sol bound and gagged lying down because that was the best position at Mz's place. It also provided excellent access to his genitals when two dominants were working on him. However once we get more of a feel for how he responds to these various items I want to try incorporating chemical play into other forms of play.
  

• Applied after a spanking or birching (my favorite form of abrasion play) for example. The wounds, pricks and abrasions left by the twigs would provide a perfect canvas to apply irritants. I could also use our untreated hemp rope to abrade the skin a little in private spots before the application of other things.
  

• Even another favorite game of mine, sub hunting, would work - there's a real potential for using certain products that result in a strong scent after ingestion.
  

I hope this post has been useful. A final word: be careful ... and have fun!

REFERENCES AND ONLINE RESOURCES:

Scott Adams The Night I Learned To Follow Directions
Ms160's BDSM For Beginners series - the fine art of figging
Brian on Tribe - BDSM Techniques "Oh God help me!"
Chili Seed Bank
Femdom Resources - post on Listerine cartoon by annmo night
Figging.com - Ginger, wasabi, peppermint, lemons
Food play
Mistress Ariachne's BDSM Workshop - Chemical play scenes
Mistress Matisse - Pour Some Sugar On Me
Multics - My BDSM - Irritants
Multics - Irritants info folder
OTKgirl - Miss Nancy's punishment suppositories
Raven Shadowbourne - Types of play 4: ointments, oils and jellies
Vince of Obedience Realized - Abrasion Play
Vince of Obedience Realized - Chemical Play
Wiki - List of capsicum cultivars
Wiki - Scoville scale

PODCASTS:
Mistresse Matisse - Altoids mints and Listerine Breath Strips podcast

FORUMS:
Collar6 - Chemical play thread
Fetish Information Exchange - Irritants thread
Fetish Information Exchange - Playing with fire thread
Get Dare - Q tip pain thread
Informed Consent - Figging
Kink.com - Extra Strength Bengay, Icy Hot, Tiger Balm etc thread
Literotica - Chemical play thread
Literotica - Post anal play thread
Milovana - Icy Hot? thread
My Masturbation - Menthol thread
Orgasm Denial - Icy Hot on female parts? thread
Professional Domination - Deep heat on male genitals thread
SMPlace - Icy Hot thread
Tribes - New to BDSM - Info on scents, oils and such
Tribes - Mediplay - urethral sound thread

FETLIFE:
Cock and ball torture
Figging
Spices, oils, roots and balms for sadism or sensual intensification
Stinging nettles and botany play

Interesting threads:

• Red chili play
• ...Burn..
  

YOUTUBE:
Bengay on balls search results (enjoy!)
Hippy Seeds Company - You Tube chili testing videos

BOOKS:
Hardy Haberman Family Jewels
Midori Wild Side Sex: The Book of Kink

WORKSHOPS
Edukink - Some like it hot

Thank you:
MzAntonina and MacTheKnife
for a glorious day

Scott Adams
for sharing his jalapino experience

Vince - Obedience Realized
for inspiring the title of this post

Photos:
Ms160

"Pleasure and pain" bottles
from Chili Seed Bank
and
Hot Sauce.com