Do you enjoy BDSM with the use of bondage hood? Or are you quietly fantasizing about how it would feel to pull a tight BDSM hood over your head and recede into the darkness? Do you get turned on when you see someone wearing a bondage hood, and love the way it completes the head-to-toe kink aesthetic?
A bondage hood is a simple but essential accessory for BDSM play.
Read: Poll: Where Do You Find Your Sex Toys, Props, and Accessories
What Is a Bondage Hood?
A bondage or BDSM hood is a hood designed with fetish play in mind. It is usually form fitting and tight against the head and face, with built in air holes for safety.
Sometimes a bondage hood is called a gimp mask or a gimp hood, although this is considered an ableist slur. Sometimes it is called a bondage mask, but there are other kinds of bondage masks that are not hoods.
A BDSM hood is often made from leather, latex, nylon, Spandex, or even silk, and may be chosen for its fetish fabric. They are commonly black, but also red, white, pink, beige, and many colors. They can be decorated with BDSM details like spikes or laces, or be plain and smooth.
Read: Mask Fetish: 13 Types of Mask Kinks
Why BDSM Hoods?
There are many reasons why people who enjoy kinky sex, and especially BDSM, want to have or wear a bondage hood.
Depersonalization
In BDSM, there are many kinds of play that explore power exchange dynamics through domination and submission, sadomasochism, erotic humiliation, erotic degradation, and more.
It is very common for a submissive to feel especially fulfilled and excited by any of these and more. One way for a submissive to completely “lose themselves” during a scene is through depersonalization. Wearing a bondage hood removes facial identifying characteristics and lets them become completely embodied.
A dominant may be aroused seeing how a submissive is depersonalized when wearing a BDSM hood. They may enjoy the fantasy of the sub being there to be used, being interchangeable, or being a “hole.”
Bondage hoods are a simple way to help achieve an intense level of depersonalization.
Read: Sadomasochism: Sadism and Masochism in BDSM
Sensory Deprivation
A BDSM hood also blocks out the ways in which we interpret the world and space around us. It is more difficult or impossible to see, hear, or taste and more difficult to smell. This is called sensory deprivation, and many people find it to be a very profound experience.
While a hooded person is cut off from their sensory input, they go inside themselves deeply and some express connecting to the universe or other souls or the ultimate consciousness outside of the senses.
Read: Sensory Deprivation Kink: Tips for Couples
While not all BDSM practitioners attribute this mysticism or spirituality or psychology to their experiences in fetish life, many do, describing it as sacred, magick, ritualistic, and even spiritual and religious.
Sensory deprivation is also meaningful for many of these reasons to people who do not enjoy or identify with BDSM. There are relaxation and meditation options where people float in total darkness for an experience some describe as pure consciousness.
Sensory deprivation is one tool to entering sub space or altered states described in other ways. It is also part of depersonalization for those who enjoy that ultimate abandon.
Read: All About Degradation Kink and How to Play
Bondage Play
Head bondage is the restriction and control of a lover’s head, and is part of bondage for some people, either as something they specifically enjoy, or as part of BDSM in general, as bondage can apply to any part of the body.
Many BDSM hoods come with attachment loops for restraint.
Read: Bondage Restraints: 15 Types of Bondage Gear
Total Enclosure Fetish
A bondage hood can be important for those with a total enclosure fetish. This is when someone enjoys the sensory deprivation, depersonalization, or bondage attributes of being completely enclosed and covered.
Read: Encasement Bondage and Total Enclosure Kinks
BDSM Aesthetic
A BDSM hood can complete a picture. Aesthetics are important to sexuality and to BDSM and latex, leather, corsets, high heels, and many other garments contribute to our BDSM look.
Read: Dominatrix Outfit and Femdom Clothing Ideas
11 Types of BDSM Hoods
1. Rubber and Latex Hoods
Latex and rubber are fetish fabrics, and many bondage hoods are made of these materials.
Read: Latex BDSM: 10 Ways BDSM Lovers Play with Latex
2. Spandex Hood
Spandex can be a fetish material and is a common kink. Spandex also has flexibility and stretch appeal, making it form fitting over any body part including the head.
A zentai hood is Spandex, too. Zentai is a head to toe form fitting body sleeve used in marketing, dance, performance arts, and in kink, since some people found the sight or feeling of wearing them intensely erotic. Zentai suits and zentai hoods come in electric colors of every kind.
Read: Spandex Fetish: From Swimsuits to Superheroes
3. Open-Face Hood
The open-face bondage hood or fetish hood fits tight around the head but reveals the face, a provocative aesthetic that is reminiscent of nuns as well as futuristic.
There are different kinds of open-faced hoods. Some have a round opening for the face, and some are open for the eyes and chin.
4. Leather Bondage Hoods
Leather is an important fetish material in the history of BDSM and many people find it to be quintessentially kinky and arousing. Leather bondage hoods come in a huge variety to suit every need and desire.
Read: Leather Fetish Explained
5. Hood with Mouth Zipper
Bondage hoods sometimes come with a mouth zipper for easy access to communication, commands, and performing oral sex.
Read: Cunnilingus Fetish? 9 Kinks You Might Enjoy
6. Hood with Ball Gag
Some BDSM hoods come with a ball gag attached. Make sure the nose air holes are adequate for safety when choosing this bondage hood.
Read: Ball Gags for Beginners: 6 Types of BDSM Gags
7. Inflatable Hood
An inflatable BDSM hood is a specialized fetish for inflation, or for role play in science fiction or dystopian erotica.
Read: Alien Sex: Exophilia Kinks that are Out of This World
8. Sensory Deprivation Hood
A sensory deprivation bondage hood is often thickly padded to more thoroughly block out sound and sight.
9. Breath Play Hood
A breath play bondage hood comes with a medical mask to control breathing, or has vacuum controls included.
Read: BDSM Breath Play Basics
10. Pup Hood
Pup hoods are BDSM hoods that look like a dog for puppy play. They range aesthetically from extreme bondage look to cute puppy.
Read: Puppy Play and the Human Pup Kink
11. Hood with Ponytail Hole
Quite a range of BDSM hoods is available with holes designed for pony tails. They can be complete head coverings or have open eyes and mouth holes. The pony tail can be at the very top for that strict mistress look, or more naturally fixed to the back of the head.
Do you use hoods in your BDSM play and scenes? Dare to share!
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