How To Prepare for Anal Sex As a Bottom

Updated on 12/19/2024

When it comes to bottoming, most of us never had access to proper education, especially when it comes to the butt. This means both beginners and experienced players have had to turn to adult movies, friends, or Reddit to figure out how to properly prepare, play, and care during anal sex. This doesn’t sound safe now, does it?

In my surgical practice, I quickly learned that nearly everyone who engaged in backdoor intercourse had cleaning regimens that involved either water or store-bought enemas. For those who may be unfamiliar, preparation for anal sex involves cleansing the butt canal, most traditionally done with liquid expelled from a bulb or shower hose. Everyone wants to be confident that they won’t have any unnecessary surprises when it’s time to play. Sometimes their diet (like fiber intake) or stress levels mean that preparation is what to do before anal play as the final step to getting their butt squeaky clean and ready for the big D. 

After realizing the lack of education, I also realized that there had never been safe and effective anal-preparation products. That’s when I sought out to create Future Method Cleansing Solution—the first ever preparation product developed specifically for butt play and hygiene.

Preparing for Anal Sex: 3 Things to Know Before Playtime

Exploring anal play can be an exciting and pleasurable experience, but it's essential to know your preferences and boundaries before diving into bottoming. Read more below.

1. Know the Kind of Anal Play You Want to Do

When it comes to anal play, there are various types of activities to explore, each offering its own unique sensations and pleasures. Here are some popular options to consider:

• Oral Play: Oral anal play involves stimulating the anus with the mouth and tongue. This can include gentle licking, kissing, or even using light suction. Communication with your partner is vital to ensure you both feel comfortable and consent to this type of play.
• Toy Play: Using anal toys is a common and versatile way to explore anal play. There are numerous options available, such as anal beads or glass anal dilators. Dilators are a great way to start anal training for beginners to work up to full-size toys or penetration play. Experimenting with different toys can help you discover what feels pleasurable for you.
• Penetration: Penetrative anal play involves the insertion of a finger, a penis, or a strap-on dildo into the anus. Start with smaller objects or fingers and gradually progress to larger sizes or toys as you become more comfortable.

2. Get Your Lube Ready

Lube is an absolute must for anal play. Here's what you need to know:

• Choose the Right Lube: Pick a top-notch water-based or silicone-based lube specifically made for anal play. Skip the oil-based ones since they can damage condoms and cause irritation. Explore lubes to find your favorite.
• Don't Be Stingy: When it comes to lube, more is more. Slather it generously on both your backdoor and the object or person going in. Keep the lube close by, as you might need to reapply during the action.
• Take Your Time: Slow and steady wins the race. Take your time applying lube and during penetration. Use your fingers or a small toy to ease into it and warm up before going all the way. Rushing can lead to discomfort or even injuries.

3. Make Sure Your Bottom is Ready

Getting your body ready for anal play requires some extra steps. Here's what you should do:

• Practice Good Hygiene: Good hygiene is key to a pleasant experience. Hop in the shower or clean your anal area gently with mild soap and warm water. Avoid harsh or scented products, as they can irritate sensitive skin.
• Use a Condom: If you're playing with a partner or sharing toys, using condoms is a smart move. They provide a barrier that reduces the risk of infections. Make sure you have plenty of condoms and replace them if they're damaged or expired.
• Relax and Enjoy Foreplay: Take the time to relax and engage in foreplay. It helps ease tension and increases pleasure. Try deep breathing, sensual massages, and focusing on enjoyable sensations.
• Consider Anal Masturbation: If you're new to anal sex, exploring anal masturbation beforehand can be a great way to get comfortable with sensations and learn what feels good. Though our recommendation is to experiment with dilators or anal-specific toys, you can also use fingers, anal beads, or other small butt plugs to gradually get used to anal penetration.

Remember, anal play is all about consent, comfort, and having a good time. By following these tips and prioritizing communication, preparation, and safety, you can enhance your anal play experience and create a fulfilling sexual connection with your partner.

How to Clean for Anal in 5 Steps

Knowing how to properly clean your anus will help maintain your bottom’s microbiome. While you should never use harsh soap inside your anus, an isotonic solution and a gentle touch are best for rectum cleaning. The skin around your anus is extremely thin, making it important to keep best practices in order to prevent injury and infection. Learn how to prepare for clean anal sex with the following steps:

1. Use the bathroom to get rid of any possible poop present in your bowels.

2. Clean your Future Method anal douche bulb and tip with warm water and soap.

3. Assemble the bulb and tip, then draw the Future Method solution into the bulb (roughly half the pouch).

4. After applying lube to the bulb tip, slowly insert it into your rectum to complete rectum cleaning. The best position is to be standing up (what some people call The Captain Morgan) with one foot resting on either your toilet or the edge of your bathtub. Gently squeeze the bulb, allowing all of the liquid to flow into your rectum. This position uses gravity to naturally help prevent the liquid from going too far up into your sigmoid colon.

5. Before releasing pressure from the bulb, remove both the bulb and tip, and then expel the solution from your rectum into the toilet. If desired, a second pouch may be used.

Prepare for Anal Sex with Products

There are a couple of methods to prepare to bottom: 

1. Water and store-bought enemas: Water, followed by store-bought enemas, is the most common formula/liquid gay men (and those who enjoy butt play) use for anal sex prep.
   There are essentially two types of cells in our anus. When we prepare, the lining (also known as the mucous membrane) can be affected. These cells are hypersensitive, so when somebody prepares with water or store-bought enemas, for example, the ability for these protective cells to function is depleted. Water pulls out all of the cells’ nutrients and store-bought enemas pull out all the water. Regardless of what is used, the end result is cell destruction.
   This human-caused alteration also disrupts what is known as the microbiome in your butt  — that you can manage with pre + probiotics — which affects the normal balance of the good bacteria and bad bacteria that resides there. As a result, there’s a chance that micro-cuts and tears can happen, and with the absence of the protective layer, it can lead to a higher chance of contracting HIV and other STDs, and other significant complications.

2. Isotonic formula: The Future Method Cleansing Solution is truly the first of its kind on the market. It’s the first scientifically-formulated, isotonic solution that gently – yet effectively – cleanses the butt to prepare for the heightened experience we all deserve. Isotonicity means that the formula allows for the free movement of solution across your cell membranes, without disrupting the cells in your butt and, therefore, only cleansing. We want you to be well prepared to bottom for any intimate moment.
   Put another way: if we were to create a spectrum, water is on one end and a store-bought enema is on the other. We want to be right in the middle –exactly the same concentration as a cell, aka “isotonic”. This is important, because we want our solution to do one thing: clean. We don’t want to irritate a cell, disrupt a cell, and certainly not cause trauma. So if an isotonic solution comes into contact with a cell, it leaves the cell alone because there's no difference between the concentration of our solution and the concentration of the cell.
   
   Not only is our solution isotonic, but we added a mild cleansing agent called Tego Solve, as well as licorice-root extract, called glycyrrhizic acid, which is known to be soothing. 

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Is Preparing For Anal Sex as a Bottom Safe?

Yes, preparing is safe, assuming you avoid some common pitfalls and myths.  When we think of preparation solutions, it’s not only the liquid or formula that can cause problems, but also the mechanics of how it’s delivered into the butt.

Over preparation is a big problem in the butt community because we have all been trained to think that more is better.

Avoid These Risks When You Prepare for Anal

1. Over-preparation: Cleaning too deep, with too much force, or with too much water (either all at once or through too many applications) can cause long-lasting problems, including irritation of the region. When you prep for anal with other, larger bulbs in the market and insert 7+ fluid ounces in one squeeze, the liquid ends up going too far beyond the rectum, into the sigmoid colon above, where poop is stored. This can actually make the situation even messier than if you hadn’t prepared at all.
   
   Over preparation is a big problem in the butt community because we have all been trained to think that more is better. But when it comes to preparation, less is actually more. The more liquid you insert into your butt (and the more times you do it), the more trauma that occurs. Regardless of the trauma, most people are uneducated on the actual anatomy of butt intimacy. For routine intimacy of this kind, your finger / toy / partner(s) aren’t going as deep as you think. In order to better understand why less is more, we must first understand the location of our poop and bowels in relation to where in the butt engagement actually takes place. Most shower hoses are actually too long and end up way higher inside your colon. This is no-no #1.
   
   Then, once inserted, you turn on the faucet. Unfortunately, most shower hoses do not have any way to regulate water pressure. Now, all that high-pressure water creates a balloon effect, distending the rectum, washing away all the good things, and then shooting that water way up into the colon–much further than anyone will ever go during routine butt intimacy. You may ask yourself: what’s so bad about this? Well, the colon is where poop is stored. So the more you flush, the more poop you’ll dislodge, the longer it’ll take for things to “run clear”. This is no-no #2.

2. Enema Dependency: Enema dependency is a potentially serious consequence of over-use. I see it time and time again from the aforementioned over-preparation. I even know some people who use the shower hose to poop normally–not just when they’re preparing to bottom. By doing this, the inner muscles of the rectum not only get distended beyond their capacity, but also, over time, they lose their ability to recoil. We need those muscles to effectively go to the bathroom and keep everything in its rightful place. Without these muscles to help, people can lose that imperative reflex, causing significant constipation and/or–the most catastrophic–what’s called rectal prolapse. In order to go to the bathroom, in this over-use scenario, you have to create so much force that your insides are literally pushed out. It isn’t pretty and can lead to a surgical emergency. The good news is that these variables are compounding and with proper education surrounding preparation, we can hopefully avoid these detrimental effects. 

3. Shower Hoses and Water Pressure: When using a shower hose, you’re forced to constantly insert and remove the nozzle in order to expel the water and release the balloon-like pressure. During this repetitive action of fill up, rinse, and release, the trauma is compounded. Over and over again, I see people who practice this type of preparation, some of whom are doing it for over 45 minutes, several times a week. Do we now see how bad this is? And, quite frankly, how unnecessary it is?

4. Numbing Creams: While it might seem like a good idea to use numbing creams before or during anal sex, they can actually increase the risk of injury. Numbing agents can mask pain, making it harder to tell if something is wrong or if you need to adjust. This can lead to pushing past your limits, potentially causing tears or abrasions. Additionally, some numbing ingredients can irritate sensitive anal tissues or interfere with the body's natural lubrication, leading to further discomfort. It's always best to prioritize open communication with your partner, go slowly, and use plenty of lubricant instead of relying on numbing creams.

Unfortunately, no one taught us any better, until now. The goal for Future Method is to educate people on the science of intimacy. We are here to analyze everyone’s intimacy practices and come up with solutions rooted in science. We want you feeling as awesome and as clean as you want, but to achieve these end results in a safe and simple way. 

How to Clean Your Anal Douche Bulb

Cleaning your anal preparation bulb is actually a fairly simple process:

1. Separate the tip from the bulb itself. 

2. Wash both the tip and the bulb with warm water and soap. 

3. Dry them both before putting them away.

4. Please remember to store them in a clean, cool, and dry place in between uses.

Diet Tips for Bottoms Who Are Preparing for Anal Sex

What most people don’t realize is that being ready to bottom at the drop of your pants actually starts with your diet. If you maintain a healthy diet full of fiber (either natural or through fiber supplementation), anal prep should only take a few minutes (and for a lucky few, not necessary at all). 

Why is fiber important when you prep for anal? Think back to the last time you saw a dog poop. Have you ever seen them use toilet paper? No! This is because their food is naturally super high in fiber, which causes their stool to bulk together in one smooth, bulky mass.

While it’s hard for most of us to naturally incorporate enough fiber into our diet (through fresh fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, whole grains, and unprocessed bran), adding supplements is a great alternative. Most of us are probably familiar with drugstore brands like Metamucil, Citrucel, and Colon Cleanse Daily Fiber, which all come in pill and/or powder form. Another option is designer fiber, like our Butt & Gut Daily Fiber, which was specifically designed for those who enjoy bottoming.

If going the supplement route, you’ll need a lot of patience while you find the right timing and dosage of fiber to ensure maximum cleanliness for your body. I always recommend taking your fiber before bed since this allows absorption and optimization to occur while you’re sleeping and then going to the toilet when you wake up in the morning.

Learn More from Professional Anal Health Book

For more detailed medical information on this subject, make sure to check out Butt Seriously; The Definitive Guide to Anal Health, Pleasure, and Everything In Between by Dr. Evan Goldstein A cheeky yet authoritative guide to anal health and anal sex, written by the leading anal health expert in the United States.