While I’m technically a sex and relationships journalist, at parties, I tell people my job is writing about anal. A great ice breaker, my declaration doesn’t just help me avoid tired references to Carrie Bradshaw; it also lends itself to thoughtful conversations about how anal play has entered the pop culture lexicon, the damaging realities of deep-seated sexual stigma, and the fast-growing peach pleasure product market. Its latest addition? An anal sex suppository from sexual-wellness brand Foria: Booty Melts with Hemp ($34).
Broadly speaking, an anal suppository is a medicinal bullet-sized solid designed to melt into a liquid once you insert it into the anal canal, where it’s warmed by the body. While you might be familiar with laxative suppositories for chronic constipation or moisturizing ones for treating anal fissures, anal sex suppositories like the Booty Melts are made with ingredients that support comfort during penetrative anal play—which should never be painful (more on that below). And the insertion process allows those ingredients to reach deeper internal tissues than you could access with a lube or arousal oil alone.
As the author of many articles about anal and a proud advocate of pleasurable anal sex, I just had to get my hands (er, hiney) on Foria’s Booty Melts as soon as I heard about them. And now that I have, I think everybody with a body (read: butthole) who engages in any form of anal should bestow their bum with the joys of an anal sex suppository.
Below, learn more about the purpose of anal sex suppositories like Foria’s new Booty Melts and my experience trying out the melts myself.
What to know about Foria Booty Melts for anal sex
Foria’s Booty Melts are cocoa-butter-based anal sex suppositories that are infused with just two additional ingredients: hemp and jojoba oil. Cocoa butter has a low melting point, which means it will melt inside your anal canal quickly, enabling it to deliver the benefits of both active ingredients just as fast.
The hemp is the primary medicinal component, as it contains 150 mg of cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG), which are both non-psychoactive hemp compounds. “The CBD and CBG are there to help relax the anal sphincter muscles and promote ease of entry—which are two of the main ingredients of pleasurable sex,” says somatic sex educator Kiana Reeves, chief content officer at Foria.
“The CBD and CBG are there to help relax the anal sphincter muscles and promote ease of entry—which are two of the main ingredients of pleasurable sex.” —Kiana Reeves, chief content officer, Foria
Indeed, CBD is a common ingredient in both anal and vaginal suppositories designed to reduce pain or increase pleasure during penetrative sex because it’s a vasodilator, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory agent. As pelvic floor physical therapist Heather Jeffcoat, DPT, previously told Well+Good, this means that when CBD is introduced to the body’s most absorbent tissues by way of a suppository, it can promote blood flow, ease pain, and reduce inflammation.
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Additionally, the organic jojoba oil in the Booty Melts helps “hydrate and soften the skin in and around the anus, which allows for easier, more pleasurable insertion,” says Reeves. Plus, it reduces the risk of micro-tears during anal sex, she adds. Just as the skin on your hands is less likely to crack and bleed when it’s hydrated, so is the lining of the anal canal.
How to have pain-free anal sex with an anal suppository
While anal suppositories like Foria’s Booty Melts are made to soften the anal sphincter muscles and hydrate the surrounding skin for more comfortable penetration, they’re not meant to serve as a replacement for the two core practices of good anal sex, namely: Keep it slick, and move slowly.
As for the first? Unlike the vaginal canal, which can self-lubricate, the anal canal cannot, says Reeves. In order to achieve the slide-and-glide that makes anal penetration pleasurable, you need to add in a store-bought anal lube—and continue to reapply it throughout play, she says. Otherwise, the friction of dry skin on skin or silicone on skin can cause micro-tears in the delicate tissues of the anal canal, which increase your risk for post-play pain, infection, and hemorrhoids.
When it comes to the second tenet of good anal sex, it’s equally important to be patient with penetration. Just as you have to train the other muscles in your body in order to get them to do what you want them to do, you have to train your anal muscles, too—which takes time.
“The entrance of the anal opening has two sphincters, layered on top of each other,” says Reeves. While the outer sphincter is under your conscious control and can be opened and closed at will, the inner sphincter has to be ‘taught’ or trained to relax through anal dilation, anal massage, foreplay, and intentional breathing. “That inner sphincter is governed by the autonomic nervous system, and in order for it to open and be fully receptive to penetration, you have to feel safe and relaxed,” adds Reeves.
All of the above is essential to keeping anal pain-free (aka how it should always be). Anal sex suppositories are designed to be used in conjunction with these other practices in your anal toolkit to make anal penetration even more enjoyable, says Reeves.
My experience with Foria Booty Melts
As much as I love to help other people have anal sex, receptive anal play doesn’t usually make an appearance in my solo or partnered sex life—mostly because I’m a busy girl, and my butt does not respond well to knowing it’s on a schedule. But as luck would have it, the day Foria’s Booty Melts were delivered was a day I had nothing on my to-do list but myself. (Yes, I schedule masturbation into my Google calendar.)
In my excitement, I opened the package, washed my hands, and immediately plopped one in. No thicker than a Bic pen, these melts are accessible even to people who have never had so much as a pinky in their stinky (sorry). And while the melt holds its shape in the temperature-protective packaging, as soon as you take it out and hold it between your fingers, it becomes malleable. (If you still feel on edge about insertion, you can coat the bullet with some anal-specific lubricant, like Cake Cush Tush).
While the melt holds its shape in the temperature-protective packaging, as soon as you take it out and hold it between your fingers, it becomes malleable.
According to Reeves, the Foria Booty Melts work best if you insert them 15 to 20 minutes ahead of anal play, “so they have time to melt and absorb locally into your body.” While my melt, well, melted, I took out my favorite hands-free grinding vibrator (for some fun in the front door), and by the time I reached orgasm, I could tell that the hemp from the melt had also absorbed into the muscles in my hiney, and they were relaxed and chillin’.
I took out an anal-safe stainless steel wand, lathered it and my entrance with lubricant, then got into a missionary with my legs lifted—and wow, did I enjoy myself. Personally, I find it easiest to have an orgasm (including an anal orgasm) when lying on my back. If you’re new(er) to anal play, however, Reeves suggests experimenting with different positions. “Some popular positions for anal play include lying on your side, doggy style, or using pillows for support,” she says. “Find what feels most comfortable and pleasurable for you.”
As a sexperimenter who has had the pleasure (truly, pleasure!) of using a variety of CBD-infused sexual wellness products, I wasn’t surprised that the Booty Melts turned me into a puddle of delight when all was said and cum. But I was worried that my bum was going to feel goopy the rest of the day. Thankfully, however, while a little clean-up was required, I did not feel like I was dripping like an ice cream cone in the sun as I went about my day.
Admittedly, Foria’s Booty Melts are a little on the pricey side (given that a package of four is $34, each bullet is $8.50), so I can’t afford to use one every time I have anal. But I will reach for them anytime I or one of my partner’s is sizing up toys and looking to spice things up. And I’d recommend these to anyone who’s looking for some extra support when it comes to dabbling in derriere play.
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