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How to eroticise safe sex this Valentine's Day

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Everyone's excited and making Valentine's arrangements, either spending some time away from home, planning romantic dinners or changing up boring sex positions. How ever you choose to spend the day/weekend, it ultimately will lead to some hot steamy sex. 

Why is it that most adults, even though they now know of the risk associated with unsafe sex, still refuse to use condoms on a regular basis?

Because condoms allegedly "interfere with sensation, take away from the warmth of the real thing, and are smelly, inconvenient and simply...no fun."

But wait! Condoms are also about "attitude". Yes, they do take away some sensation, but they no longer have to be a bother, ugly or smelly. There are far too many new ones on the market that have done battle with those old stereotypes.

The secret to eroticising condom use is to make 'friends' with your condom. Remember that, like cooking, it’s just an attitude and a little knowledge about the type of material involved helps. Some tips for the both of you to keep in mind:

Know what you are dealing with: 

- Take out a test condom and explore it; feel its smooth texture; stretch it.

- Lick, smell it; or blow it up like a balloon.

- Whatever you choose to do – have fun with it.

- Find something you find erotic about the material.

Put it on with flare:

- Put it in your mouth with the ring just inside the lips and roll it over your partner’s penis with your lips and tongue. The condom should unroll from the inside of the ring as it goes down. Try it, it is not that difficult.

- Slather it with your favourite lube.

- One of the biggest mistakes condom users make is not using enough lube. Even if your condom says that it’s lubricated, it still only contains a fraction of the lube necessary for a longer session of love-making. Dryness can take away from the sensation and can even make the experience unpleasant or painful.

More pleasure for him

Dab a little on to the inside top of the condom before rolling it on. This will allow the condom to move against the penis, giving him more sensation:

- Thin condoms offer more of a real sensation, period.

- Go bigger. Many men need to move a size up. Too tight cuts off sensation.

Pleasure for her

Women’s pleasure-condoms have ridges and ribs that increase tactile sensation against the labia and entrance to the vagina.

Spice up the experience
If you are put off by the scent of latex or condoms, try a flavored one. Banana, strawberry and mint are all fun flavours.

If you feel an irritation every time you use a condom stop using that particular type. You may have an allergy either to the latex or the lubricant/spermicide already on the condom.

Alternatives
Try a latex-free condoms such as the female condom. Look for condoms that are free of any spermicide or lubricant, or use your own lubricant.

Image supply: iStock

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