Want a more pristine peach for bottoming? Try anal bleaching

What is anal bleaching?

Anal bleaching is an umbrella term for a niche cosmetic service that aims to lighten the skin around the anus and get rid of hyperpigmentation by using medical-grade topical chemicals and can also include laser and chemical peels.

“It typically involves using a prescription-strength brightening cream that suppresses melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing pigment,” says Chris Bustamante, an aesthetic nurse practitioner who provides this service at his practice Lushful Aesthetics. “The goal isn't to make the area an unnatural color, it's to create a more even, balanced skin tone.”

Registered Nurse Michael Aronwits, who provides anal bleaching services as an aesthetic specialist at Bespoke Surgical, says he uses a “professional depigmenting peel made from a mixture of acids and skin-lightening agents” that works to reduce excess pigmentation “around the anus, between the buttocks, or other intimate areas.”

Anal sex and talking about intimate areas is still seen as taboo, which means that there are a lot of misconceptions about anal bleaching, including that the smelly stuff you use to whiten your clothing isn’t the same as the chemicals used for this cosmetic procedure and that while the process starts in the office, part of the treatment happens at home.

“There’s no actual bleach involved,” Aronwits says. “It’s also not just an in-office treatment. Patients follow a prescription-strength skincare protocol at home before and after the peel to help prime the skin, support the treatment, and maintain their results.”

What results can you expect from anal bleaching?

Your results will vary depending on “each person's baseline pigmentation, skin type, and consistency with the treatment protocol,” Bustamante says, but you should see a more even skin tone and lightening of excess pigmentation.

Once you’ve completed any in-office treatments and used the prescription lightening cream, the results should last years, but likely won’t be permanent. “Patients who lighten several shades often don't return to their original pigmentation level, although some gradual darkening can occur over time,” Bustamante says. “Those who only lighten one or two shades may return closer to baseline over one to two years.”

You can also help to prolong your results by coupling anal bleaching with laser hair removal, which reduces “friction-related pigmentation over time,” he says.

But friction isn’t the only thing that can undermine results. Aronwits says that he would “never call the results permanent” because so much depends on how consistent you are with the at-home protocol, and a whole host of problems that are out of your control.

"Melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing pigment, are constantly responding to things we can’t completely control: hormones, friction, inflammation, age, and even stress,” he says. “I usually explain it to patients like this: it took years for that area to gradually become the color it is now, so if pigmentation starts to return, it isn’t going to happen overnight either. It’s gradual.”

Aronwits also stresses that the way your butt looks before treatment is completely normal. “Darker pigmentation around the anus and other intimate areas is completely normal,” he says. “It doesn’t mean you’re dirty or unhealthy, and bleaching is purely an elective cosmetic treatment.”

Why is anal bleaching popular? And are gay and bi men more likely to get it done?

People mostly seek out anal bleaching because they believe evening out and lightening the skin in that area will make it look better and more appealing to sexual partners.

“The primary reason is aesthetic,” Bustamante says. “Many people naturally have darker pigmentation around the anus due to genetics, hormones, friction, or hair removal. Some patients simply want a more uniform skin tone because it makes them feel more confident and comfortable with their bodies.”

Bustamante says he provides the service to many gay and bisexual men, since they are his clinic’s main customers, but they aren’t the only ones getting it done. “It's certainly not exclusive to that population,” he says. “We've also treated heterosexual women, and transgender patients who simply want to address pigmentation concerns and feel more confident in their appearance.”

“I definitely treat a lot of gay and bisexual men, but this is by no means limited to one group. I treat men, women, and trans patients for pigmentation concerns around the anus and other intimate areas.”

Aronwitz mostly treats queer men in his practice as well, but says that he too provides anal bleaching services to “men, women, and trans patients for pigmentation concerns,” because the service is so popular.

“I always tell my patients: you’d be shocked how many people are doing this,” he says. “There are celebrities, executives, and people from every walk of life going about their day with a bleaching peel on, and you would literally never know. It’s a really popular treatment, but people just don’t talk about it.”

Will anal bleaching improve your sex life?

Anal bleaching won’t make bottoming easier or more pleasurable, but it can work as a confidence booster, especially for people who worry about what their butthole looks like when it’s front and center during sex.

“When people feel more comfortable in their own bodies, they're often able to be more present and enjoy sexual experiences with greater confidence,” Bustamante says. “For improved comfort during penetrative sex, I find that many of my anal bleaching patients also seek treatments like laser hair removal to reduce hair in the anal region that causes irritation and HoleTox to relax the anal sphincter for easier penetration.”

Professionally lightening the skin around your anus may also help your dating life and future hookups. “It may even allow people to get out there more often,” Aronwits says. “And that boost in confidence can positively influence sex. But it’s important to call out that, as with everything we do at Bespoke Surgical, we’re just here to offer people safe options to address things that might be affecting their sex lives. Everyone’s likes and dislikes vary, and we’re just here to help however we can.”

How much does anal bleaching cost?

At Bespoke Surgical, you can expect to pay $950 for a consultation, your prescription pre-treatment skincare, the at-home products used throughout the process, and two in-office bleaching treatments.

“It’s not really priced as a single peel; you’re paying for the entire treatment protocol from prep through post-care,” Aronwits says.

At Lushful Aesthetics, Bustamante charges $500 for an anal bleaching consultation, which includes an evaluation to help them tailor each treatment plan to the patient’s goals and baseline skin tone, the medical-grade bleaching cream, and one refill. The prescription cream also costs around $75 from a specialty compounding pharmacy.

What are the risks?

Patients who follow the anal bleaching protocol from a reputable provider are unlikely to experience side effects beyond dryness and mild irritation that can be managed by moisturizing the area.

“It's also important to avoid applying the cream immediately after shaving, waxing, or laser hair removal, and patients should wash the cream off before anal play,” Bustamante says, recommending that you hold off on bottoming or rimming until you’ve removed the cream. He also warns against using over-the-counter bleaching products because “many aren't strong enough to be effective, while others may contain ingredients that are unnecessarily harsh or irritating.”

According to Aronwits, picking an aesthetic nurse with a lot of experience is important because before he ever starts anal bleaching, he goes “through a comprehensive medical history, screening questions, and a consent process to make sure you’re actually an appropriate candidate” so that your risk of “complications like post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation” can be avoided.

“I basically tell patients to give me a week of being boring,” he says. "Avoid sex or significant friction in the area, swimming or submerging in water, saunas, steam rooms, excessive heat and sweating, and don’t start putting random products on the skin while it’s healing.”Patients who follow the anal bleaching protocol from a reputable provider are unlikely to experience side effects beyond dryness and mild irritation that can be managed by moisturizing the area.

Sources cited:

Chris Bustamante is an aesthetic nurse practitioner and owner of Lushful Aesthetics.

Registered Nurse Michael Aronwits is a registered nurse and aesthetic specialist at Bespoke Surgical.