Hello all first I want say pretty much new here and it’s great to finally be on the fourm wooo , with likeminded and cool people :) Anyway just thought I’d like to share my thoughts about this topic (this is gonna be a long one lol) with you all. After reading many threads I've noticed that alot of people on this fourm when they hear duct tape and bondage being mentioned together in the same sentence people seem to think it’s an absolute no, no, no. The thing is that’s just not really the case, now I'm not saying duct tape is specifically made for bondage and that we should all be using it, no I’d just like to inform people about some misconceptions they may have. allow me to explain: I’ve been working as a professional rigger on bdsm shoots for the past 8+ years now (along with all the shoots falling under 2257 Regulations & safety guidelines for standard industry practise) and have extensive knowledge about scene safety, release procedures, tie points, restraint management as well as having worked with duck tape and models in scenes on numerous occasions. Let’s break everything down by category shall we:
Concern No. 1:
Now I've noticed that people seem to think duct tape is toxic to their skin or someone else’s skin/ the adhesive used on the sticky part is bad for use near the mucous membrane or mucosa.
To break this down first let’s talk about what duct tape actually is: duct tape is a cloth backed with a coating of polyethylene, followed by a cloth mesh then by a pressure sensitive adhesive. There is a wide selection of tape constructions using different backings and adhesives. One variation is black gaffer tape, which is designed to be cleanly removed.
Now let’s take a closer look at the chemistry of the adhesive itself: Pressure sensitive adhesives are made up of polymers with their rheology tuned to the desired bonding and de-bonding characteristic. Common adhesives include acrylate polymers such as 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, rubber, natural rubber or silicone rubber along with others. So is it toxic to your skin the short answer: no as the polymer chains within the adhesive only chain to themselves to create staple bonds. However most brands of tape for the past few years have been using Bio-Based adhesive that eliminates petrochemicals and replaces them with natural soy oil (The same soy we consume from soya based foods and drinks) which is non toxic to the skin.
Concern No. 2:
The adhesive when placed on sensitive areas of the skin (mouth, eyes, buttocks, anywhere there’s hair) can cause irritation and leave red marks?
Yes, duct applied directly to the skin can be irritating if left for long periods of time, however there are and should be safety procedures in place to prevent this from happening. For shoots if the shoot requires any part of a models body to be wrapped/covered or just in general have duct tape applied onto the skin there should be what’s known as a safety barrier put between the models skin and the adhesive of the tape. Tape is never to be applied to the bare skin, especially sensitive areas such as the eyes, mouth, ears and skin around and on the genitals. The most commonly used barrier is cling film, the cling film is first wrapped/placed onto the area then the duct tape is applied onto the cling film. Another form of a barrier is the use of stockings, these are quite versatile as they allow more breathability of the skin and conform better to the natural curves of the body (We’ll talk more about breathability and overheating in the next section)
Concern No. 3
Duct tape is non breathable and should never be used to cover large areas of the skin as overheating can occur and can potentially lead to life threatening situations.
Again unless the proper safety procedures are followed potentially dangerous situations can happen. In the extreme uses where duct tape is used over a large area of the body i.e mummification and suspension bondage being the two most common, safety procedures are put in place to ensure the subject being wrapped stays at an safe body temperature. This is achieved via what’s called a ‘vent hole’ or ‘breathability patch’. For mummification scenes one or two small holes are cut at either the manubrium or/and the base of the sternum, if the model will be rolling about then a third hole or vent is cut at the base of the lower back. During a scene the models temperature is monitored at all times by a qualified paramedic to ensure that they don't overheat.
Concern No. 4
Duct tape has no flexibility and can cut off your circulation and blood supply. It can also lead to suffocation when wrapped around the neck/ mouth due to there being no ‘give’ to the tape when it is wrapped onto itself.
Again getting back to safety, noticing the reoccurring theme here folks? While it’s true duct tape by the very nature of its intended use does not have much if any stretch it can still very safely be used to restrain limbs and body parts. When wrapping a limp after cling film has been applied (as was the case with all the examples previously given) the tape should be unspooled from the roll by hand before wrapping around a limb or limbs when we say by hand it means unspooling a length you can work with and then unspooling more as needed NEVER just pull the roll itself and start wrapping as the force required to unspool the tape straight off the roll can cause the tape to bind very tightly around your subject, there should always be a slight gap between the skin and the tape when wrapping around the lower extremities; legs and feet, and at least finger width gap when wrapping around where the chest, axillary and brachial arteries are concerned. Never wrap a full 360 around the neck! If a shoot/ your play session partner absolutely requires you tape around their neck do so using strips, take a small section of tape a tear it off the roll then apply it to the neck leaving a three finger gap all the way around! Now when it comes to airways always have one open and unobstructed - common sense really. If you’re taping over the mouth leave the nose open and vise versa for the nose. Now for safety concerning circulation a pinch test at the toes and tip of the fingers is always preformed before, during and after a model is wrapped/ immobilized with tape to ensure proper circulation of blood around the body.
Concern No. 5
Someone cannot be released quickly from duct tape if an emergency happens and you have cut them free in a hurry.
This is in all honestly just not true... And while yes I can attest that bondage tape is less troublesome to release someone from, duct tape is in no way hard to release a person from. A good pair of safety scissors can easily cut through three layers of duct tape along with its cling film barrier. Now in a scene if something goes wrong and someone needs to come out of their binds we use what’s called natural release points: this is where we use the natural crevices of the body where a pair of scissors can get into and release the model these can be found under the knees, the bend at the inside of the elbow, under the Achilles tendon, base of the lower back, the gaps between your legs and between your arms and body. Also remember those vent holes we talked about earlier on? They can also be used in the event the sub needs to get out of her/his binds quickly.
So in summery what does all this mean? Is duct tape specifically designed for use in bondage/bdsm? No it’s not. Should you toss all your rolls of specifically made bondage tape in the bin and pop on down to the local hardware and buy rolls of duct tape so you can wrap your S.O from head to toe in its shinny slivery goodness? Lol certainly not, and should you take this as a crash course in how to immobilize your lover with duct tape and only use this type of tape from here on out? Good heavens no. Am I saying it’s perfectly okay to use duct tape to tie bf/gf up with? Not necessarily. I just thought it’d be nice to inform people that yes while duct tape wasn’t designed/made with its primary use being for bdsm/bondage if used in a safe environment with proper redundancies in place it is indeed a viable option for use in bdsm. But for the sake of play sessions at home. As no one else ever said in the whole wide world leave this one to the pro’s ;) Anyways apologies for the lengthy post guys and gals and if you have any questions about this please feel free to hit me up [on this thread]. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions people may have.