7 Underrated Erogenous Zones That You Shouldn’t Be Neglecting in the Bedroom

Originally published @ popsugar.com

By Isadora Baum

 

If you’re getting lucky between the sheets, you’d probably want to make the most of your time, right? Well, there’s a lot more to sex than getting into some of the best positions for orgasm or even spicing things up with a new sex toy. There are a few untouched areas that deserve some major love, as they can provide stimulating sensations throughout the body and boost arousal in pretty impressive ways. The good news is, it’s never too late to try something new with a partner and see if giving attention to these seven erogenous zones can really make your “O” that much hotter.

1. Feet and Ankles

“We often talk in somatic psychology about bottom-up processing, which is about tuning into your body before focusing on the cognitive thoughts happening in your mind. The feet are absolutely the best place for that bodily presence and awareness to start,” Dr. Holly Richmond, PhD, a somatic psychologist, licensed marriage and family therapist and sex therapist, told POPSUGAR.

Plus, if you focus more on pleasure, rather than jumping straight to the genitals, you can further express yourself sexually with a partner. Of course, everyone knows about foot fetishes, but this is an area of the body that is often overlooked in typical intimate connections. “Our feet take more pressure than any other part of our body, and for women who frequently wear heels, that can translate to soreness or even pain. Having someone attend to our feet in a way that starts out as nurturing and sensual, and then moves towards the erotic, can jump start the arousal process,” she says.

2. Inner Thighs

“Again, the inner thighs are an area that typically gets skipped over because it’s so close to the genitals. There are a ton of nerve endings in the inner thighs that rarely get touched on a day to day basis, like the front or back of our legs do,” says Richmond. You can either engage in inner thigh play alone or with a partner as a means for foreplay. “I frequently recommend to my solo clients to caress their own inner thighs to get things heated up — it’s almost impossible not to get aroused. Asking a partner to do this for you is, of course, a great arousal strategy as well,” she says.

3. Stomach

Proceed with caution if you’re known to tickle easily. “The stomach can be tricky because some people are so, so sensitive that any light touch on the stomach feels like tickling, which is more uncomfortable than it is pleasurable,” says Richmond. “If you’re ticklish, it’s almost impossible to translate that feeling into erotic, but if you can tolerate it, having your partner trace circles or a figure eight pattern on your stomach can be a huge turn on,” she says. You can always ease into it first, or see if there are certain areas on the stomach that are fair game.

4. The Chest

Don’t neglect the breasts,which can make for intense orgasms, but focus some attention on the chest, too. “Many women love having their décolletage explored and caressed, and male clients often report enjoyed having their chest rubbed, but in a firmer way. The chest protects our heart, so it can often feel like a vulnerable place when we’re with a partner, but sinking into that openness and trust can make any overtly sexual acts that follow feel more connected and intense,” says Richmond.

5. Lower Back

You might complain about lower back pain after sitting in a chair all day, but in bed, the low back can make sex so much better. “The small of a woman’s back is a super-hot, underrated erogenous zone, to be sure! I can’t tell you how many female clients have said, ‘I love it when he puts his hand on my lower back. It’s such a turn-on,'” says Richmond.

Here’s how to do engage your lower back during sex. “From there, your hand can eventually slide down to her butt, but having a warm hand on the lower back if you’re in public, then switching that up to gentle stokes and caresses when you’re naked, can help things move from zero to 60 quickly when it comes to creating arousal and fueling desire,” she says.

6. The Face

“You frequently see actors in movies reaching out to stroke their partner’s face. It’s such an invitation of intimacy and a nod to attraction, but I rarely hear my clients talking about it in real life. Perhaps more than any of the other areas mentioned, the face holds such enormous capacity for intimacy,” says Richmond. Just think: you’re looking into each other’s eyes, touching sensitive skin, and showing affection in a gentle, appreciative way.

“Not only does it feel wonderful to have our face caressed, but typically if someone is stroking your face, you’re looking them in the eyes. Eye contact is the key to empathy, and empathy can be incredibly powerful in helping couples feel connected — a true sense of oneness — when they’re having sex,” says Richmond.

7. Hair

Go wild on your partner’s scalp (with permission, of course). “Women’s hair is often an explicit and overt expression of sexuality, so for a partner never to attend to it is a huge miss. Playing with someone’s hair can happen anywhere, from sitting together in a café and gently pushing it back off her face, to the bedroom where it may look more like a partner’s hands being buried in her hair, or even hair pulling,” says Richmond.

Ask your partner what is preferred in terms of aggression and range. “The nerve endings on our scalp are so sensitive, so I always recommend it as an area for couples to utilize, whether that’s about gentle touch and massage, or tugging at it in more rough and urgent sexual expression,” she says.

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