\n<\/p>\n
Hi Ugly,<\/strong><\/p>\n I have been noticing a barrage of ads for \u201cvaginal wellness\u201d products: suppositories, balms and serums, and even a \u201cvagi facial\u201d at a local spa. What\u2019s up with this? I was always taught that my vagina was self-cleaning and beautiful. Suddenly I am not so sure, and even find myself wondering if my labia are \u201cnormal\u201d or in fact gross. Is this really happening?<\/strong><\/p>\n – Concerned Vagina<\/strong><\/p>\n Call it the \u201cbox boom\u201d.<\/p>\n In the past year, Kiehl\u2019s has rolled out a 96-hour vulva \u201cfreshener\u201d and Dove launched an \u201cintimate\u201d deodorant advertised to the tune of Khia\u2019s 2001 hit My Neck, My Back (Lick It). There are muff-specific moisturizers now, as well as crotch-brightening creams, sprays to make your various \u201cnooks\u201d smell like bergamot and supplements to make your vagina taste sweeter. (Thanks, Kourtney Kardashian.) Even the old guard is stepping it up: Vagisil just announced a \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d partnership with WNBA champions the New York Liberty.<\/p>\n The \u201cfeminine intimate care\u201d market was valued at $7.8bn globally in 2024, and that figure is expected to nearly double over the next decade.<\/p>\n Then there are the procedures: you\u2019ve noticed that vagi facials exist, but what about \u201cOzempic vulva\u201d fat grafting, labial \u201clip filler\u201d and \u201cboxtox\u201d to keep your snatch looking, well, snatched? Global rates of labiaplasty \u2013 the surgical snipping of the labia, sometimes called \u201cdesigner vagina\u201d surgery or the \u201cBarbie Procedure\u201d, although some ethicists prefer to refer to it as \u201cfemale genital mutilation\u201d \u2013 have also increased nearly 37% since 2016.<\/p>\n So yes, Concerned, this is really happening. The question is: why?<\/p>\n I have a theory! Maybe we\u2019re increasingly obsessed with our genitals because the government<\/em> is increasingly obsessed with our genitals. See: abortion bans, birth control debates, anti-trans laws, Britain\u2019s recent ruling defining \u201cwoman\u201d as \u201cbiologically female\u201d, the rise of pro-natalist rhetoric, and Donald Trump\u2019s renewed focus on rigid gender roles. These policies reduce people to bodies \u2013 to parts with prescribed uses. This causes a sort of general genital anxiety, which companies can leverage to sell us products.<\/p>\n According to the logic of vaginal cosmetics, when the state is policing your body, policing it yourself can restore some sense of control. Or if your future is determined by your vagina, you might as well optimize it.<\/p>\n Lest this theory sound a little conspiracy-minded, let me remind you that legislation has long had its hand in our pants.<\/p>\n In 1873, the federal Comstock Law in the US banned doctors and advertisers from promoting \u201cbirth control information and devices\u201d, according to a 2010 paper by Michelle Ferranti. Douching was considered a form of contraception back then, and advertisers sidestepped the law with a new euphemism: \u201cfeminine hygiene\u201d. Companies that sold vaginal douches dropped explicit contraceptive claims from their ads and instead \u201cfocused on the purported hygienic and therapeutic aspects of douching\u201d.<\/p>\n By the time the FDA approved the pill in 1960, douching was widely known to be an ineffective birth control method, and advertisers had to invent new reasons to douche and new products to sell. They turned to \u201cdemand creation\u201d, or the art of selling so-called solutions to problems consumers didn\u2019t know they had. Deodorization quickly became the dominant pitch, alongside improved tone, elasticity, youthfulness, plumpness, purity and the feeling of freshness \u2013 anything to suggest \u201cwomen\u2019s bodies were aesthetically defective and in need of cosmetic improvement\u201d, Ferranti writes.<\/p>\n Sound familiar?<\/p>\n We know today that douching isn\u2019t an advisable \u201chygiene\u201d practice \u2013 it can cause bacterial vaginosis and may be linked to infertility and STDs. But the industry\u2019s propaganda is more prominent than ever, and new intimate care products come with their own potential problems.<\/p>\n The genital area is \u201cvery sensitive\u201d, Dr Angela Wilson, a board-certified OB\/GYN at Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care, tells me, and using these products \u201cmay cause irritation or infection\u201d.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Practical advice, expert insights and answers to your questions about how to live a good life<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n You were taught right: the vagina is<\/em> self-cleaning. \u201cThere is a normal vaginal discharge, made up of water and normal bacteria, in most women,\u201d Wilson says. \u201cIt naturally keeps the vagina clean by continuously removing the dead cells from the vaginal lining.\u201d That takes care of that! She does not recommend using any products inside the vagina.<\/p>\n In fact, like \u201cfeminine hygiene\u201d, the term \u201cvaginal wellness\u201d is a marketing misnomer. Most products in this category are intended for the vulva<\/em> \u2013 the labia, clitoris and mons pubis. And still they\u2019re unnecessary. \u201cLess is best\u201d when it comes to keeping your vulva clean and healthy, Wilson says. \u201cWipe from front to back after using the restroom.\u201d When you shower, \u201cwash externally with soap and water.\u201d<\/p>\n Even soap has its limits, though. \u201cHarsh soaps or wipes\u201d, according to Wilson, can throw off the pH of the area, leading to chronic inflammation, burning and\/or itching. Dr Jen Gunter, author of The Vagina Bible, has recommended washing with \u201ca gentle facial cleanser\u201d for this reason. Bonus: you won\u2019t be supporting a brand that profits off genital shame!<\/p>\n More from Jessica DeFino:<\/strong><\/p>\n Whatever you use, avoid perfumes, dyes and alcohol, Wilson adds. If you notice a strong and unusual odor, it could be a sign of infection, so don\u2019t grab a fig-scented freshening spray \u2013 go to the doctor.<\/p>\n Cosmetically speaking, I can guarantee your labia are not \u201cgross\u201d. If they cause you pain or discomfort, see an OB-GYN. Otherwise, scroll through The Labia Library \u2013 a non-profit women\u2019s health resource \u2013 and delight in the diverse range of totally normal-looking labia on display: Long! Short! Pink! Brown! Hairy! Waxed! Pierced! Whatever!<\/p>\n The next time a \u201cvagi facial\u201d ad pops up, remember that progress toward women\u2019s liberation has always been met with escalating pressure on our bodies. The idea that your vagina should smell as fresh as a daisy or look like a doll\u2019s is an attack on your autonomy, an insult to your humanity and a hazard to your health.<\/p>\n Share your experience<\/p>\n Do you have a beauty question for Ask Ugly? Submit it anonymously here \u2014 and be as detailed as possible, please!<\/p>\n Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For true anonymity please use our SecureDrop service instead.<\/p>\n What is your question for Ask Ugly? <\/p>\n Please be as detailed as possible<\/p>\n By submitting your response, you are agreeing to share your details with us for this feature.<\/p>\n Submit<\/p>\n <\/span>Show more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi Ugly, I have been noticing a barrage of ads for \u201cvaginal wellness\u201d products: suppositories, balms and serums, and even a \u201cvagi facial\u201d at a local spa. What\u2019s up with this? I was always taught that my vagina was self-cleaning and beautiful. Suddenly I am not so sure, and even find myself wondering if my<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[3574,12687],"class_list":{"0":"post-20628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-facial","9":"tag-vagina"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Ask us a question<\/h4>\n