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Whether you’re looking to enhance your masturbation technique or experiment with a partner, sex toys can add an extra excitement to the bedroom. Yet with the endless options available online, finding the best sex toys for beginners can feel overwhelming.
Are you looking for clitoral stimulation? On a mission to find your G-spot? Dipping your toe into the world of anal exploration? To help you navigate the vast sex-toy market and launch into action, here’s what to know about sex toys and vibrators for beginners, according to sexologists and sex therapists.
Not necessarily a beginner? Shop the best sex toys of 2024 here.
Experts Featured in This Article
Marla Renee Stewart is a sexologist, educator, and sexpert for various sexual wellness brands.
Aliyah Moore, PhD, is a certified sex therapist, sex educator, and writer.
Shadeen Francis is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a specialty in sex therapy.
What Are the Best Types of Sex Toys For Beginners?
Sexologist Marla Renee Stewart has some tips for where to start: Stewart recommends trying a variety of products including bullet vibrators, G-spot vibrators, and anal toys, depending on what sort of stimulation you enjoy.
If you aren’t sure, she advises opting for a smaller wand vibrator. “You can use this all over your body to find the right spots that feel good to you. Mapping your pleasure from placing this wand on all sorts of parts (think nipples, vulva, clitoris, feet, neck, etc.) can help you to determine where you like vibrational stimulation,” she says.
Once you discover spots you enjoy, Stewart recommends finding products that deliver that type of stimulation and continuing to build on your pleasure zones. Even something as straightforward as a vibrator can have variation with vibration intensity, speed, and patterns, so there’s plenty to explore.
What to Know About Sex Toys for Beginners
For a rundown on how to safely clean your sex toys, sex therapist Aliyah Moore, PhD, recommends carefully inspecting your sex toy as the first step before cleaning and using it. “Your sex toy should be free from imperfections like bumps, cracks, or tears,” she explains. “Any damage can either hold bacteria or injure the soft tissues on your insides.”
When shopping, sex therapist Shadeen Francis, LMFT, advises skipping porous sex-toy material altogether, as these can easily harbor bacteria and are more complicated to clean. “Avoid using toys made with wood, crystals, stones like jade and rose quartz, latex, rubber, jelly, PVC, and vinyl without a barrier of some sort,” she warns.
Paying attention to the shape of your sex toy is key; make sure that things like rippled surfaces and crevices are thoroughly cleaned since these can be magnets for bacteria.
As for the best way to clean your sex toy, you can use a sex toy cleaner, or Dr. Moore recommends using a mild soap and warm water for an effective combination you’ll already have on hand.
Now that you’re equipped with the best types of sex toys to shop and how to properly care for them, the fun begins. Browse the best sex toys for beginners, including expert and editor favorites.