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Sex pillows have exploded on TikTok, and with good reason. As sex educator Tatyannah King wrote for Mashable, using pillows as props can increase both pleasure and comfort in bed.
You can use typical sleep pillows, but you might find better support with firmer material and a different shape. This is partially why the children’s couch Nugget became an online craze for “after dark” use; not only is the material more supportive, but they come in innovative designs perfect for getting it on.
Unlike the Nugget, there are options out there made specifically for sex. For a sleek yet sturdy option, I tried out Pillo by Dame, a sex toy brand expanding into other sensual products. Pillo is soft yet firm and built to support you and your partner in different angles.
Pillo costs nearly $100, and it’s more than worth it.
Not pillow soft, but that’s okay
Though you can use it to nap according to Dame, Pillo doesn’t feel like a moldable down pillow. It’s firmer and actually made of the same material as the Nugget: polyurethane foam. Further, it’s slanted like a ramp. It’s 18 inches wide, 15 inches long, and 7 inches at its tallest height. My partner and I can lie on the widest part of Pillo no problem.
A nylon water-resistant inner liner and a 100 percent cotton outer shell surround the foam. Both these layers are machine washable. Pillo also has handles on either side for easy maneuvering. As of publication, the pillow comes in only an indigo blue.
Credit: Dame
Pillo talk
The Pillo has quickly become one of my favorite sex accessories — yes, even over some of my vibrators.
King explained how sex pillows can help with a variety of positions, including missionary, from behind, and rider-on-top. During the former two, the pillow props up the receiving partner’s hips and pelvis to more easily achieve deep penetration. For the latter, a pillow can help the rider bounce more comfortably.
You don’t have to be in a heterosexual relationship or have penetrative sex to enjoy Pillo, either. I’m a cis woman in a relationship with another cis woman, and Pillo has changed the game for us.
There may be infinite ways to find uses for Pillo. In Dame’s own marketing, for example, they include an image of someone performing oral sex on their receiving partner propped up by Pillo. The caption reads, “Avoid a stiff neck with a better lift.” My partner and I tried this with each other and sure enough, oral sex was more enjoyable — for both partners! — with Pillo.
Pillo is also immensely helpful for tribbing, the sexual act of rubbing vulvas together or rubbing the vulva on another body part, like a thigh. We’ve used it for a missionary-style position, and also for a scissoring-style tribbing (arranging ourselves like, well, colliding scissors).
The pillow has made using a vibrator as a couple more comfy, as well. One partner lies on her back, propped up by Pillo, while the other goes on top and presses the vibrator against both crotches.
With Pillo, we spend less time getting into position, and more time having fun in said position. I have no doubt that the more my partner and I use Pillo, the more variety we’ll discover.
After our first time using Pillo together, I asked my partner what she thought. “I love it,” she said. “It’s perfect.”
Credit: Dame
Is Dame’s Pillo worth it?
My partner and I use Pillo every time we’re at my place. It’s just as mind-blowing an addition to bedroom activities as a sex toy, in my opinion, and there’s no motor to be found.
I have few gripes about the product, though none would stop me from recommending it. For one, I found Pillo a bit too firm to rest my head for napping. You may find Pillo a good fit for taking a snooze but for me, I’ll stick with my usual fluffy pillow.
Another downside is that Pillo only comes in one color, indigo. It happens to clash with just about everything in my cream and mauve decor. While Dame touts Pillo as a “master of disguise” that “blends right into your bedroom,” I don’t find that to be the case for me. That’s not a total loss — I’ll live, and continue to use Pillo as it’s so much fun — but I’ll be holding out for more neutral colors.
Thankfully, I don’t need to hide the fact that I have a sex pillow in my day-to-day life, but if Pillo sticks out in your home, you can tuck it under the covers.
Finally, I’ve also found that the Pillo cover tends to catch stray hairs and needs lint-rolling in between washes and uses. This isn’t a big deal and only takes a few seconds, but it’s something I need to remember before a session with my partner. It’s probably due to the nature of cotton, as I have cotton clothes that need lint-rolling as well.
Beyond those small snags, Pillo is about as perfect as a sex pillow could be in my opinion. It’s the right size for both usage and storage on my bed, and it’s versatile no matter what kind of sex you have. Plus, it’s in the normal price range for quality sex pillows.
I believe any couple can find at least one use for Pillo. It’s an easy, low-tech way to have more pleasurable sex and to get that much closer to your partner.
Pillo is the first sex pillow I’ve tried, so I don’t have much else to compare it to, but I don’t envision venturing away from it. It has quickly become a ride-or-die in the bedroom. Those pillow TikTokkers know what they were talking about.
