Condoms go on in that exciting moment right before penetration or oral sex begins. You may already have an idea of how to put a condom on, but a refresher will make sure you can really get off knowing that you, or your partner, has done everything right. Condoms are great to put on penises, dildos or strap-ons, and the technique is the same!

Steps of putting on a condom:
If you are putting on a condom on a penis you need to make sure the penis is hard first, foreplay can be great for getting you ready! Then, open the wrapper with your fingers and take out the condom. The tip should be coming up through the ring. Pinch the tip and hold the whole thing right over the head of your or your partner’s penis. Roll your fingers over the ring and down the hard shaft until it’s all the way down. Then, stroke the penis lightly to make sure it’s on, you can use this as a moment to get your partner excited for what’s about to happen. When you feel confident that it is on properly you are all set to go.

When you’ve practised this a few times (or lots, and lots of times!) you won’t have to think about it too much. That doesn’t mean it can’t still be fun to make a show of putting on the condom as a part of the action.

Check out the following diagram for a visual depiction of how to put an external condom on a penis or phallic-shaped sex toy (dildo, strap-on, some vibrators)

Here are a few things to think about when using condoms:

• Keep condoms in a drawer, a cabinet, anywhere cool and dry so they don’t get damaged.
• Check the expiry date before opening the wrapper – don’t use expired condoms! They smell, they’re sticky, and they don’t work. The date should be printed on the wrapper. Even if a condom isn’t expired, but the condom or wrapper appears damaged or defective, toss it and grab a new one.
• If you are going to be wearing a condom, make sure you have the condom on before it touches your partner’s mouth or holes. It should stay on until you’re all done being inside them, and until your skin’s done touching theirs.
• You can put a few drops of lube inside the condom to get it on easier, and to increase sensation.
• Condoms have a little nubby tip at the end. Pinch the air out of that while you roll the condom down over your penis. If you try to roll it on and it’s inside out, use a new condom.
• If you have a surgically altered penis, the condom should cover your pee-hole to reduce the likelihood of HIV transmission, and cover your skin to reduce the chance of getting or passing along STIs that are transmitted from skin to skin.
• Condoms can break. Using water or silicone-based lubes on latex condoms can help in preventing this from happening.
• Good sex gets slippery sometimes! Grab the bottom of the condom when you’re pulling out so it doesn’t come off before you’re ready. Pulling out while you’re still hard can help with this. Check that the condom hasn’t broken when you pull out.
• Don’t unroll the condom before you get it on. They’re made to wrap right over a hard penis or toy.
• Do not use oil-based lubes on latex condoms. Oil breaks down latex very quickly and will compromise the condoms’ protective value.
• Be careful not to rip or tear the condom when you open it — it can happen if you use your teeth, scissors, or anything sharp to open the package. If possible, use your fingers to open condom packages. .
• Don’t reuse a condom, ever. Once the condom comes off, throw it out. If you’re going back for more, put a new one on.
• Same goes for group sex— if you use a condom for one person, don’t use it for another.
• Don’t use two condoms at once. If they rub on each other they can rip or slip off. That goes for external condoms and insertive ones.
• If you’ve had MPOX, it’s possible that the virus can still be in semen even after symptoms clear, but it’s not known yet if that’s enough to pass it on. It’s a good idea to consider wearing a condom when you have sex for at least 12 weeks after other M POX symptoms have cleared up. Learn more about MPOX here.

This section was adapted, with permission, from The Sex You Want Website.
*disclaimer: we do not necessarily endorse all of the information, content, or language used in these references.