How to Use Estelle: The All-Body Point Massager

Estelle is a point massager, and point is the word that matters. Instead of spreading vibration across a broad head it concentrates it into one small firm tip, so the sensation lands where you put it and nowhere else. That is why it works on a jaw muscle, a knot beside the shoulder blade, the arch of a foot and the clitoris, all with the same technique: find the exact spot, rest the tip on it, hold, move on.

Before your first session

Charge it to full. A motor at half battery delivers noticeably less through a small tip. Sit the magnetic connector square on the contacts.

Wash it before first use. Warm water, a mild unscented soap, a finger around the seam where the tip meets the body. Estelle is medical-grade platinum-cured liquid silicone and fully waterproof, so the tap, the shower and the bath are all fine.

The pressure rule matters more than the setting: the weight of the device plus a little, enough to indent the tissue slightly, not enough that you are bracing your arm. Pressing hard does not push the vibration deeper, it damps the tip.

Have water-based lubricant nearby if the session will include intimate use, water-based only, because silicone lubricant slowly degrades a silicone surface. You do not need it for muscle work.

The all-body map

Work down the body. The rule throughout is thirty to sixty seconds on a point, breathing out as you settle in, then move on, two or three passes over an area rather than one long stay. Ten to fifteen minutes covers a full upper body.

Jaw and temples. Clench your teeth and feel the pad of muscle that bulges just in front of and below the earlobe. That is the masseter, and for anyone who grinds their teeth it is often the most rewarding point on this list. Lowest setting, small slow circles on the muscle belly, thirty seconds each side. Stay on the muscle rather than the joint.

Neck and upper trapezius. The ridge running from the base of the neck out to the shoulder. Sit down, let the shoulder drop, tilt your head away from the side you are working, and run the tip slowly along the ridge until you find the spot that answers back. Work the back and top of the shoulder, and leave the throat alone.

Between the shoulder blade and the spine. Awkward to reach and worth the trouble. The trick is to stop reaching: put Estelle between your back and a wall, lean in, and move your body rather than your arm. Work the muscle either side of the spine, not the bony line down the middle.

Forearms and hands. The section anyone who types for a living should read twice. The muscle belly a few centimetres below the elbow crease on the outside of the forearm takes the load from a keyboard, and the fleshy pad at the base of the thumb takes the rest. Thirty seconds each, both arms.

Lower back and glutes. Again the muscle either side of the spine rather than the spine. Then the glutes, which most people neglect and most people sit on all day. Lying on your side with Estelle under the upper outer curve of the buttock, your own weight setting the pressure, reaches a spot that is hard to get to any other way.

Thighs. Longer sweeps rather than single points, because the muscles are big. Sixty to ninety seconds along the front, the back, and the outer seam down the side of the leg, moving the tip continuously rather than parking it.

Calves and shins. The calf belly, mid-way between knee and ankle, for anyone who walks or runs or wears heels. Then the strip of muscle immediately outside the shinbone, where a lot of running discomfort lives and which almost nobody thinks to massage.

Feet. Cross one ankle over the opposite knee, run the tip along the arch from heel to the ball of the foot, then hold thirty seconds on the heel. This is the point on the map that converts people to the whole idea.

Knees and elbows. Work above and below the joint rather than on it. Vibration does its useful work in soft tissue, and there is little of that directly over a kneecap, so a few centimetres either side gives you far more.

There is real evidence behind this. Vibration applied to muscle has been studied for its effect on range of motion and on delayed onset muscle soreness, with reviews reporting improved flexibility and less reported soreness after exercise (Cheatham et al, International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2015; Veqar and Imtiyaz, Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 2014). A handheld device is not a physiotherapist, and it is a good deal better than a tennis ball against a doorframe.

Now the rest of the map, same technique throughout. The clitoris, approached first through the labia or a layer of underwear on the lowest setting, then directly once you know what the tip feels like. The perineum, on either body. Nipples, on either body. The frenulum and the underside of the head of the penis, where a narrow tip is far more precise than a broad one, and the base of the shaft. The inner thighs on the way to anywhere.

The muscle work and the intimate work are not two products sharing one shell. They are one principle applied to different tissue: find the point, rest the tip, let the sensation concentrate. What changes is the speed you work at and whether you reach for lubricant.

Your first session, step by step

One. Charge to full and wash it. Decide first whether this is a muscle session or a pleasure session, because they run at different speeds.

Two. Find the point with your fingers before you switch anything on, pressing around with a thumb until you find the spot that answers back.

Three. Switch on at level one and rest the tip on the point. Let the weight of the device do most of the work.

Four. Breathe out as you settle in, because muscle under a held breath is muscle that is bracing.

Five. Hold thirty to sixty seconds, then move on. Come back for a second pass rather than staying for two minutes.

Six. Climb one step at a time and be willing to drop back down. On a small tip, level two often does more than level five, because a lighter setting lets you keep contact.

Seven. For intimate use add water-based lubricant, keep the tip moving in small circles, and come down through the lower settings rather than switching off at full.

Passing Estelle between partners

Estelle is the easiest device in the range to hand to somebody else, and that is not an accident of the shape. No insertable part, it reads as a massager to anyone who picks it up, and it works on any body. For a lot of couples it is the first one bought jointly rather than by one person.

Start with the shoulders. Genuinely. Ten minutes of one person working the other's neck, trapezius and forearms is the least self-conscious possible introduction, and it teaches both of you the pressure rule on tissue where the feedback is easy to read. Nobody has to perform anything, and the move from a shoulder to an inner thigh happens on its own if you let it.

When you swap over, swap properly. The person holding the device should be told where to go and how hard, out loud rather than by wincing. Two phrases do most of the work: a little lighter, and stay there. Say them early and neither person spends the session guessing.

Because Estelle suits anyone, the handover works in both directions in any pairing. The frenulum and the underside of the head respond to a narrow tip much the way the clitoris does, the perineum is on the map for both, and nipples are nipples. This is the device where nobody is the audience and nobody is the operator.

On hygiene, keep it simple. Wash it in warm water with a mild unscented soap between people, or roll a condom over the tip and change it when you swap. Our guide to using toys as a couple covers the wider conversation.

Modes, patterns and the app

Estelle runs perfectly well with no phone near it. Steady modes give continuous vibration at a set strength, which is what you want for muscle work, where a constant frequency is easier for tissue to settle under. Patterned modes give pulses, waves and escalations, better suited to the intimate half of the map, because rhythm extends arousal where a constant setting flattens it.

The Velvet Vibes app, on iOS and Android, adds custom patterns you build and save, sound and music reactive modes, and control handed to a partner in the room or on the other side of the world. Our guide to vibration modes and patterns goes further.

Together, and across distance

In the room, hand over the phone rather than the device and the person holding Estelle keeps their attention on placement while the other runs intensity. That division of labour works better than it sounds, because placement and intensity are genuinely two jobs.

Across distance, a partner can run intensity, patterns and builds in real time over any internet connection while you hold the tip where you want it. Two things make it work: a stable connection at both ends, and a short conversation first about the highest setting either of you will go to and the word that means stop now. Our guide to long-distance intimacy covers the rest.

For the app side of that, creating a room, inviting someone and passing control back and forth, see Love Bridge and long-distance sessions.

Cleaning, drying and storing

Wash it after every session, including the ones that were only ever about a shoulder. Warm water, a mild unscented soap, and a soft brush around the seam where the tip joins the body, the one place residue collects.

Pat it dry with a lint-free cloth, then leave it in open air until it is genuinely dry rather than dry to the touch. In a humid Indian summer give it ten extra minutes on the counter rather than sealing damp silicone into a pouch.

Store it dry, cool and dark in its own pouch, away from other silicone items. In a shared home a fabric pouch inside a closed box is more discreet than a drawer, and think about where you charge it, since a glowing indicator gives more away than the device does. Our guide to cleaning and storing goes further.

When it is not working

It feels weaker than expected. Almost always pressure: ease off until the device is resting rather than being pushed, then check the battery.

Nothing is happening on a muscle. You are probably not on the muscle, and the spot that answers back is often a couple of centimetres from where you assumed.

Too intense on the clitoris. Work through a layer of underwear for the first minute, approach through the labia rather than directly, or switch to a patterned mode.

My hand gets tired. Change the geometry rather than gripping harder: trap the device between your body and a wall, floor or chair back and move your body instead.

It will not charge. Almost always residue on the magnetic contacts, so wipe both sides with a dry cloth and lay the device flat while it charges.

It will not turn on. Check the travel lock first.

It will not pair. Power the device off for five seconds, force-close the app, toggle Bluetooth, and stay within a couple of metres.

It sounds louder than it did. Usually a low battery, so recharge first.

Questions we get asked

Is it genuinely useful on muscles? Yes. A concentrated vibrating tip is close kin to what a physiotherapist reaches for, and vibration on muscle has been studied for range of motion and post-exercise soreness. Estelle is small, so it suits precise points such as the jaw, the forearm and the arch of the foot better than a whole back.

How long on one spot? Thirty to sixty seconds, then move on, with two or three passes over an area rather than one long stay. Ten to fifteen minutes covers a full upper body.

Can I use it on a knee or an elbow? Work the muscle above and below the joint rather than the joint itself. Vibration does its useful work in soft tissue, and there is little of that over a kneecap.

Do I need lubricant? Not for muscle work. Yes for intimate use, and water-based only, because silicone lubricant slowly degrades a silicone surface.

Can two people share one? Yes, and the easiest in the range to share, since there is no insertable part. Wash it between users, or roll a condom over the tip if you would rather not stop.