By Valerie Zwiers
Last updated: September 15, 2026
To use the Opening Act, charge it completely first — the pin goes into the circular indentation on the back of the toy, between the CE and DC markings, and the light flashes while it charges and turns off when it is full. Hold it by the curved handle, press POWER to bring it into standby, then press FUNCTION to step through its 30 speeds and pulsing patterns until you find one you would happily stay on. Add a water-based lubricant, rest the tip against the outside of the clitoris rather than directly on it, and let the handle do the reaching so your wrist does not have to. Wash it with a dedicated adult toy cleaner before and after every use.
The question I get about this one is never about the vibration. It is always some version of "why does it have a handle?" Most people have owned a plain bullet before, and a plain bullet is a small slippery thing you pinch between two fingers until your hand cramps. The handle is not a styling choice. It is the whole reason this toy is easier to use, and once you have felt the difference, the pinch-and-hold bullet starts to feel like a compromise you did not know you were making.
Who this guide is for. You just bought the Opening Act, or you are deciding whether a handle is worth it over the bullet you already own. I will cover charging, working through 30 speeds without losing the mood, bath use, and taking it past the clitoris.
What should you do before first use?
Three things, and the first is the one people skip.
- Charge it completely. It may arrive partially charged — exactly enough power to convince you it is ready and then quit. Put the charging pin into the circular indentation on the back of the toy, between the CE and DC markings. A full charge takes about an hour and a half.
- Know what "done" looks like. The light illuminates and flashes while it is charging, and it turns off when the battery is full. That is backwards from what most people expect, since everyone waits for a light to go solid. A dark toy is the good news, not a dead outlet.
- Wash it. Use a dedicated adult toy cleaner before the first use and after every use after that. More on that below — this is the part people get wrong in a way that matters.
A full charge runs about an hour and fifteen minutes on high and an hour and a half on low, so one charge covers far more than one session. Keep it switched off between uses to protect the battery.
How do you use the Opening Act?
Two buttons. POWER turns it on — the light comes up and it sits in standby. FUNCTION cycles the speeds and pulsing patterns. POWER again turns it off.
Now the part that makes it different. At 6.5 inches long and 1.4 inches wide, this is a bullet-sized tip on a curved, contoured handle, and that changes your grip from a pinch to a hold.
- Solo, on your back. A handle-less bullet has to be held by the vibrating part itself, so your hand takes the buzz and your fingers go numb before you are finished. Here your hand sits on the handle, away from the tip, so you can hold a steady position as long as you want.
- Solo, on your stomach or side. This is the one people write to me about. The curve lets you come at yourself from an angle instead of straight on, so you are not folding your wrist under your own body weight. Positions that were technically possible with a small bullet become comfortable enough to stay in.
- With a partner. A partner holding a plain bullet has to reach over your body and twist their wrist to keep contact, and that is the position they abandon first. A handle gives them something to hold from a normal angle, so they can keep it there while the rest of them is busy elsewhere.
- Start off-center. Rest the tip beside or above the clitoris, through the hood, rather than flat on the head, and move onto it as you warm up. Straight-on contact at full strength is how a session ends early in the wrong way.
- Use lubricant. A water-based lubricant on the tip removes the drag and makes the lightest settings feel like something instead of nothing.
How do you find your setting when there are 30 of them?
Thirty is genuinely a lot. My honest opinion is that nobody should click through all thirty in the moment — by the time you reach the twenties you have lost the thread and you settle for whatever you stopped on. Here is the method I give people instead.
- Find the floor first. Step up from the lowest setting until you hit the first one that clearly registers against your body. Not the first one you love — the first one you can feel with intent. Everything below it is noise you can ignore for the rest of the session.
- Move up in threes. From your floor, click three at a time rather than one — big enough that each jump feels different, small enough that you are not skipping past your range.
- Stop at the first one you would stay on. Not the best one — the first one you would be content to leave alone for two full minutes. Stop clicking and stay there. The urge to keep exploring is the most common reason people never finish with a multi-speed toy.
- Save the patterns for later. Steady speeds are for building. The pulsing patterns are for warming up before you have settled, or for resetting your sensitivity when steady vibration starts to feel numb. Treat them as a different tool, not as thirty variations of one.
Do it once, and every session after that is three clicks instead of thirty.
Can you use it in the bath — and where else on the body?
Yes, and this is the thing most bullets cannot do. The Opening Act can be submerged in up to 1 meter (3.28 feet) of water for up to 30 minutes. That is real submersion, which makes shower and bath play an actual use case rather than a risk you take with a toy that was never meant for it.
- Plan around the lubricant. Water washes water-based lubricant straight off, which is the practical consequence nobody mentions. Under a running shower you will reapply constantly, so a bath where you can lift out of the water for a second works better.
- Use the tub edge. The handle braces against a surface, which is how you hold an angle in a slippery environment where bracing is otherwise the whole problem.
- Nipples. The best use for the lowest settings on the dial. The handle keeps gentle, consistent contact on one side while your other hand stays free — very hard with a toy you have to pinch.
- The perineum. The stretch of skin between the genitals and the anus is dense with nerve endings and almost always skipped. The reach the handle gives you makes it accessible solo without contorting, and that is the most underrated thing this toy does.
- Testicles and broad external use. It is designed to work down the body, not only at the clitoris, and that includes testicles and anywhere else you like pressure.
- As a body massager. It is sold as a body massager too, and that is not a throwaway line. Ten minutes on tense shoulders, a tight lower back or the tops of the thighs is a legitimate warm-up — a body still braced from the day is not going to respond to much. Start there on a mid setting and work inward.
How should you clean and store it?
Wash it before and after every single use. Here is the full routine, and the parts of it that people are most surprised by.
- Lubricant: water-based only. This is a silicone toy, and silicone lubricant degrades silicone, leaving the surface tacky and permanently damaged. Use a water-based formula like Aqua and nothing else. My lube and sex toy compatibility chart lays out every combination.
- Cleaning: a dedicated adult toy cleaner only. Not hand soap, not dish soap, not antibacterial cleansers. Soap is not an option here — it degrades toy material and any residue left behind can disrupt vaginal pH. I use Cleansing Foam, which is made for this and rinses clean. My full hygiene guide has the routine.
- Breathable storage, one toy per bag. A Toy Tote is lined with Bioshield 75 and lets the toy breathe instead of sweating in a plastic bag. One toy per tote, always — silicone toys stored touching each other can react and discolor, and that does not undo.
- Locked storage if the house is busy. The Locking Toy Chest comes in gold or black with a 3-digit combination lock. The Lockable Adult Toy Chest is faux leather, velvet-lined, two compartments, carry handle, combination lock.
- Dry it, then switch it off. After a bath session especially, let it dry fully before it goes into a tote, and keep it powered off between uses to preserve the battery.
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Get 10% off →What are the most common questions?
Is it the same thing as Home Alone? Yes — the Opening Act was formerly known as Home Alone. Same toy, new name.
How long does a charge last? About 1.25 hours on high and 1.5 hours on low, from a 1.5-hour charge.
The light went off while charging — is something wrong? No. Flashing means charging; the light going out means finished. It is the opposite of what most people expect.
Can I use it for internal play? This one is built for external use — clitoris, nipples, perineum and broad body contact. If you want an internal arm, look at a rabbit-style toy instead.
What if the lowest setting is already too much? Use it through fabric — underwear or a thin sheet — or keep it beside the clitoris rather than on it. Sensitivity is not a flaw, it is information.
Shop this guide
Where can I learn more?
- My full Opening Act review — my honest verdict on it.
- Bullet wand vibrators: a beginner's guide — how this whole category works.
- Pinpoint clitoral vibrators — when precise beats broad.
- Erogenous zones, head to toe — including the perineum.
- Solo play 101 — self-pleasure as self-care.
- Shop all vibrators — the full range.
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