⛓️ Selfbondage Safety
👋 Introduction
Self bondage can be dangerous. If you don't know what you're doing it can result in serious injury or death.
Some of these risks may
not be immediately obvious compared to other kinky ventures. This page is a quick summary of some of the risks associated with selfbondage. It is by no means a complete guide.
🔥 Risks
Gags
The best way to minimise risk is to think about what may happen if you are unable to release yourself for extended periods of time:
- Your mouth will remain open and you will be unable to speak and call out for help - You should already be comfortable wearing a gag for extended periods of time. If you don't consider how being unable to speak may prevent you from getting help in an emergency you will be risking your life.
- You may vomit whilst wearing a gag that covers your mouth fully - I don't reccomend you wear any gag that covers the front of your mouth. Dildo gags are particularly dangerous because they can trigger your gag reflex.
Rope
Rope bondage can be difficult and there are plenty of hidden dangers.
For example you could make a tie that gradually tightens around your arm or wrists. This could cut off blood-flow to that area, making it impossible to escape.
There are plenty of safer alternatives to rope such as a pair of wrist cuffs which are unable to tighten or a strip of bondage tape which is easier to cut or rip apart.
You should always be thinking about how you can minimize risk.
Before tieing yourself up with rope you need a basic level of competency. You should research rope bondage safety, learn how to tie knots on other objects such as a plushie or a chair and only attempt aesthetic ties to begin with. For example a Hishi Karada (Rope Dress).
Rope is tough and difficult to get out of. Make sure you have a good quality pair of Tuff Cutt Shears within reach and a backup pair of scissors or a knife in case they break.
Locks - Different types of locks and why some are not suitable for selfbondage
Don't use any type of lock that releases after a set amount of time or requires a key, without giving yourself plenty of other escape options.
This includes time locks, ice locks and ordinary padlocks. If a lock breaks, you loose the key or get stuck in a dangerous time sensitive situation you could end up seriously injured or dead unless you can call an emergency contact or alert others of your prescence.
More information available in the "Phone a friend" sectionEmergencies - Preparing for the unforseen
Even on the best of days something can go wrong. A basic albeit rare example is if a fire alarm goes off and you are called to immediately leave the building. For this reason always consider how long it will take to escape from a selfbondage scenario and consider what mental and physical state you may be in if this happens.
Never take substances that can affect your judgement. You may need to get out of bondage quickly and you don't want to increase the risks that you may hurt yourself.
Pain can be unpleasent but it's a useful signal that you need to stop. Taking substances that numb this kind of pain can be reckless.
The Neck - Avoid the neck at all costs
Never tie anything around your neck or across the front of your neck or in a way. You're risking your own life if you attempt this.
📞 Phone a friend
Recognising that you are able to make mistakes and put yourself in a dangerous scenario, regardless of how much you prepare is important.
For this reason you should have a friend, partner or housemate you can contact if something goes wrong whilst tied up.
This may be embarrassing if the person dosen't know about your kinky shenanigans but it's better than accidently killing yourself. If you live alone you should also make sure the person you contact has a key to your house or flat.
🗣️ Traditional methods
Safer and (hopefully) more reliable than using technology.- Having a friend or partner help out - Having someone watch over you is the safest option by far.
- Living with other people - This is more of a life choice but it is a lot safer if you have other people living in the same house / flat as yourself. In a worst case scenario you can at least call for help.
- It's a date - Arrange for a friend or partner to come round at a specific time and help you escape if you can't yourself.
📱 Modern methods
- Use a Smart Speaker device (such as Amazon Alexa) - As long as you can speak you can call anyone in your contacts and explain the predicament. Practice this before relying on it.
- Automated fake calls & SMS messages using an app like Do It Later - You can schedule a message to be sent if you don't escape in time. You want to send it to multiple contacts who you know are nearby
- Loud alarm - Pump the volume up on your phone, maybe even plug it into your speakers and set a loud continous annoying sound to go off after a certain lenth of time. This is only useful if you live in a shared flat or house, just make sure to unlock your door beforehand
⏰ Timed Locks
Timed locks are a staple of strict selfbondage which gives the unique sensation of not being able to escape until a certain length of time has passed.
This means they are inherintely more dangerous in a time sensitive scenario such as a gas leak occurring or a fire alarm going off.
If you are willing to accept the risks associated with timed locks you must also have multiple Phone a Friend style escape methods available, so you know
that if something goes wrong you are able alert other people of your predicament.
For example a person living alone who has locked there door, not arranged for a friend or partner to come round and has only setup a system to alert their mates via text after a certain length of time is at a higher risk than a person who lives in a shared flat, has un-locked their door, called a friend around and set a loud timer to go off after a certain length of time to alert their housemates.
Even if you do take these precautions you still have to make sure you have placed yourself in a tie that will remain tolerable for a long duration of time. For example, placing yourself in a hogtie position is a terrible idea because you have your hands tied behind your back in an uncomfortable position which can restrict blood-flow.
✔️ Reccomendations
I highly reccomend ageofbondage.com. The Ice Locks are relatively cheap and i've been using them for quite a while now.
❌ Avoid like fire
Anything from Ebay, Amazon, Wish etc... your safety comes first. Here is a prime example of an electronic time lock i'd avoid as well as a style of Ice Lock which has been known to jam when the barrel inside gets stuck
🔑 Restraint Reccomendations
✋ Hands
- Metal Handcuffs - Can be suitable if they come with a quick-release mechanism. Keep in mind that these kind of handcuffs have a tendency to tighten overtime, so they can restrict bloodflow to your upper arms and hands.
- Wrist Cuffs - A safer option is to go with a pair of Non-Locking Wrist Cuffs. These kind of cuffs don't tighten but may still apply pressure to your wrists and arms, especially if you tie them too tight or attach something to a connecting chain or rope.
- Tape - It is possible to use tape to tie both your hands together by simply using the weight of the roll and spinning it around both wrists. This is tricky to do properly and can be tricky to get out of so you will still need a pair of scissors nearby. Check you can bite through the tape if neccesary and never tie behind your back.
🦵 Chest & Legs
You should have more freedom here. The same warnings still apply such as making sure you avoid pressure points and can get can get out quickly in an emergency.
👤 Head and Neck
This is a difficult question to answer and can only be considered on a case-by-case basis. As stated before you should try to avoid the neck but wearing something like a Collar attached very loosely to a piece of furniture may be fine depending on the scenario. Similarly wearing a Blindfold and Gag may be appropriate as long as your hands are not tied. You can see where there is a fine line between something dangerous and something that is relatively safe.