Anal Aftercare 101: Expert Tips on Taking Care of Your Partner After Bottoming

This story originally appeared on Out.It’s easy to get so focused on the pleasure sex brings that you don’t think about what comes afterward, but whether it’s cuddling, a warm bath, or pillow talk, aftercare should be part of your post-sex routine — especially if you’re into anal sex.You may think that aftercare is just for kinky sex, but even the most vanilla among us can benefit, and if you’re regularly topping, you should be putting effort into taking extra care of your partner after anal sex.The goal of anal aftercare is to return to equilibrium, transition back into the real world after intense sex, and care for a body that may have been put through the wringer.“Aftercare is what you do in the aftermath of sex to maximize care and wellbeing,” Good Vibes Sexologist Carol Queen tells Out. “There is a solo version of this, but the term is particularly used to refer to checking with a sex/play partner about how they are feeling: seeing if they're doing well, communicating about your scene or date, finding out whether they need anything from you.”Bottoming on its own can be a particularly vulnerable and physically taxing sex act, so even if you’re not in a Dom/sub relationship or into kinky sex, anal aftercare should become part of your postcoital regimen. What is anal aftercare?In its simplest form, anal aftercare is a term to describe the way you care for your partner after anal sex, especially for the receptive partner. “It’s about what everyone’s mind and body may prefer or need after a round of anal,” says Todd Baratz, an AASECT-certified sex therapist at #LUBELIFE. “It’s really no different from sex aftercare — or any kind of care— it just happens to describe the period specifically after anal sex.”Just like the kind of aftercare that kinksters have made a required part of BDSM sex, anal aftercare is about looking after your partner’s emotional wellbeing and the impact of any kind of anal play, like “toy play, anal i