11/08/2024
Introduction to Safe Play: After care
You've done your research, you've had your conversations, you've done your pre-care, and you've had yourself a wild time. You're done! Everyone had a good time, and can move on with their day, right?
Wrong. Even during the safest of play, things can get intense and you can experience some emotions you aren't ready for. So you gotta wind down, take care of all those pesky feelings, clean up any bruising/welts/etc., and get everything smoothed out so that everyone involved wants to come back.
This might make you think of a couple of common tropes: Men crying after s*x, and women wanting to cuddle after s*x. And you should be thinking of these, because these are clear and perfectly natural cases of people needing after care. As a society we tend to stigmatize these things, but it is important to embrace them for what they are if you're going to have pleasurable play for everyone involved.
Those are by no means the only things that could require aftercare, as they don't even include any physical care. Sure, a lot of cuddling and physical reassurances will be required for those, but what I'm talking about when I mean physical care is literal First Aid. Impact play, as well as other physically taxing forms of play, require treatment after the fact no matter how much you prepare for them in advance. Bruises and welts need topical ointments, potential cuts require cleaning and bandaging, etc.
After Care comes in many forms, and you're not always going to know that you need some sort of care before you experience it. Keep your mind open to new possibilities, and your heart open to your partner's needs, and you should be able to manage this part of the process without any difficulties.
