Hitting someone (consensually) in the face, even with an open hand, is always going to be alittlebit dangerous. Your face is where you keep your brain, eyes, teeth and other gooey essential organs. Hitting it can, in the wrong circumstances, cause some pretty stupid injuries.
Fear of causing injury (or being injured) causes some kinky couples to exclude faceslapping from their todo list. Which is a shame, because moderate faceslapping can be a thoroughly enjoyable experience for both the giver and the receiver alike.
Like most funbutdangerous kink activities, the key to enjoying faceslapping isfinding ways to mitigate the risk. Here are some suggestions.
♦ Preparation
Obvious first step: remove rings or other jewellery from your hand, and make sure your nails are neat and blunt. Badlyplaced hangnails are theworst.
If the slapee has piercings in the danger zone (lip piercings are particularly tricky), aim for the other side of their face, remove them or cover them with tape.Definitelyget rid of any big, hooped earrings before you start.
Your partner’s jaw should be closed to minimise the possibility of dislocation from a misplaced slap. To get them to close their jaw you can ask them to loosely clench their teeth, or simplysmile.
It’s not a good idea to slap someone in the face while they’rewearing a gag.
By this stage of play you’ll already havedone some negotiation, and thus gotten a rough sketch of your partner’s medical history. Do they have any complex, fragile dental work? Do they have a recentlyhealed face wound? Are they prone to dislocating bones? All of these things indicate that you should be extraextracareful.
Finally (and this one should be a given, but I’ll say it anyway) do take a moment to ascertain whether or not your partneractually enjoysbeing slapped before you just wind up and go for it.
♦ Guidelines
Hit your partner forehanded, not backhanded. The open side of your hand has way more padding than the back – which is mostly bone. You’ll perceive the difference very clearly if you try slapping a table with your palm and then with the back of your hand. Ouch.
You’re aiming tohit your partner with the padding on your fingers, and avoid any boneonbone contact.
Aim for the fleshy part of their cheek. Below the cheekbone, above the jawline, and at least an inch of two short of the ear. Hit with the pads of your fingers.Don’t hit with the ridge of bone at the base of your fingers, or with the palm. Keep your hand flat but loose. Keep their hands out of the way so they don’t knock you off target.
When you go to hit someone they will often (surprise, surprise) flinch. To ensure that you don’t end up whacking them in the ear you can hold them in place by the hair, oflooselycup the opposite side of their face. Don’t hold them in place so rigidly that they can’t shift a little when they take the slap.
The first time you slap your partner, do it gently, like you’re trying to wake up a sleeping baby bird rather than kneading pizza dough.Work your way up to hitting them harder little by little, checking in with them constantly as you do.
♦ Injuries
When you slap someone in the face, you are hitting one of the most sensitive and easilydamaged parts of the human body. Follow the above guidelines and the likelihood of causing any serious injury is minimal – but you should be aware of whatcanhappen all the same.
Perforated eardrum
This can happen when you hit the ear, forcing air into the ear canal. The sudden spike of pressure can damage the fragile eardrum and cause serious pain, as well as temporary or permanent hearing loss.
Solution:avoid hitting the ear. Go see a doctor if your partner experiences pain or a loss of hearing in one ear after being hit there.
Dislocated jaw
Sounds melodramatic, but it is totally possible to dislocate the jaw with a hard slap. To avoid this, have your partner loosely clench their jaw, and remind them to keep their mouth shut.
If it happens:hospital. Dislocated jaws do sometimes pop back in of their own accord, but it’s unwise to try and slot it back in place with your clumsy human fingers. Let a professional handle it.
Chipped tooth
Again, ensure that your partner loosely clenches their teeth before you slap them, and make sure you’re aware of any vulnerable dental work.
If you do chip a tooth, retain the chipped piece (if it’s a biggie, keep it submerged in milk to increase the possibility of reattachment) and see a dentist as soon as possible. Oh, and brush your teeth three times a day, kids. Dental hygiene is cool.
Head injury
Avery smallamount of localised swelling, tingling, lingering pain or tightness in the skin is normal. If any of these things are anything other than mild, consult a medical professional.
Although a slap is unlikely to cause a serious head injury, itispossible. Double vision, nausea, confusion or a worsening headache can all mean serious trouble, so seek medical advice immediately if you notice these, orany other symptoms of a head injury.
