UPDATE: The owner of The Butters was found to have been making incredibly vile misogynistic comments on his personal twitter accounts. While I’m leaving my reviews up, I am removing all links I make to The Butters’ products, as well as adding this disclaimer to the top of all of them.
When The Butters reached out to me to see if I was interested in reviewing another product for them, I was super excited. I adore The Butters’ Palm Grease to the point where I think it might have take the top spot in my favourite lubes ranking (and even if not it’s definitely top three). On top of my great experience with The Butters’ products before, I really love that they offer vegan and non-gendered products- “bullshit free” as they say!
The Bruise Soother is a kind of product I’ve never really tried before. Available in 2 or 4 ounce jars, it basically does what it says on the tin- helps to soothe bruising. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean bruises sustained through kink play- The Butters’ listing also mentions post-surgical and clumsy bruising- but it’s a product that might be especially interesting to those who do impact play. While I used Bruise Soother as aftercare on the impact play bottoms I partner or play with, I’ve mostly used it on myself following exercise injuries- which serves me right for only having ever played full-contact sports tbh- as well as an incident involving a tube train.
The Butters gives an excellent overview of the ingredients that the Bruise Soother contains, as well as an explanation of what ingredients cause it to work and how. The Bruise Soother is oil based, with the two main ingredients being calendula and arnica. Calendula is anti-inflammatory that speeds healing, while arnica is a pain reliever, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory. I was actually recommended arnica by my top surgeon to aid in post-op recovery.
As I’ve gotten into more heavy impact play, soothing aftercare has become more of a thing I think about and include when planning scenes. I have one implement in particular that the partner who bottoms most for me when it comes to impact play has simply nicknamed ‘the mean stick’, because it leaves nasty welts and tends to bruise with very little force applied behind it. Before the Bruise Soother, my aftercare regiment mostly consisted of ice, aloe vera, and possibly epsom salts, so bear that in mind for where I’m coming from during this review.
The Bruise Soother applies very smoothly and easily, and melts into the skin very quickly. I am very sensitive to smells, so I did think that it had quite a noticeably earthy/herby smell. That said, while I found the smell noticeable, this was only really when I had the jar open, and it wasn’t an unpleasant smell at all.
As I said, it’s not just kinky bruises that the Bruise Soother is useful for! A few weeks ago, I had an incident where I somehow slid my foot under the body of a tube train as I missed the doors. It was relatively minor and nothing got broken, but I had a pretty big bruise on my shin as a result. While I obviously don’t have an injury sustained the same way that I didn’t treat with the Bruise Soother than I can use as a control, I’m super grateful I had it on hand. It was excellent at soothing the immediate pain, and while I can’t say for sure it’s due to the Bruise Soother, the bruise faded within a few days.
I’ve also used the Bruise Soother for massage- while it doesn’t have the kind of smell I’d normally associated with massage products, it’s by no means an unpleasant smell, and it applies smoothly to the hands. If you’re only looking for a massage product, I’d point you towards the Body Work and Massage Oil instead, but if you already want the Bruise Soother for its healing nature, then it’s an added bonus!
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Bruise Soother is the right aftercare product for all situations. Arnica products may cause allergic reactions in some people, so definitely take care if you’re aware you’re sensitive to plants like ragweed, marigolds, sunflowers, or daisies. Additionally, arnica can cause a rash when applied to broken skin and should not applied topically to open wounds. While that’s not a problem for a lot of impact play aftercare, I do really like using vampire implements and a lot of the more intense bruising I give my partners is as a result of that. If you play with skin breaking a lot, the Bruise Soother probably isn’t the right aftercare product for you.
But if you don’t play with skin breaking? I can’t recommend the Bruise Soother enough! Hell, even if you’re not into impact play and just tend to bruise easily I’d recommend it- I found it super helpful in pain relief after my train incident. With a 2 ounce jar only being $8, it’s a super affordable product to add to your aftercare kit or medicine cabinet.
This product was sent to me by The Butters in return for a fair and impartial review. No affiliate links were used in this post.
