Everyone wants to age gracefully. After the age of 40, your skin can start to show the signs of aging, with wrinkles, dryness and age spots. The skin inside your vagina is no exception. Vaginal health is not an often talked about topic, but vaginal dryness, itching and discomfort is an uncomfortable problem for a lot of women.
Although vaginal dryness occurs in women of all ages, it is more common with aging. As estrogen levels drop during perimenopause and after menopause, so too do moisture levels in the skin.
Vaginal dryness affects more than 50% of postmenopausal women[1] and can also affect women who are in perimenopause, women who have undergone breast cancer treatment, and women who have conditions such as endometriosis or Sjogren’s syndrome.
Your vaginal health is important. It’s not just awkward and uncomfortable. It can affect your daily functioning, your mood and your sexual relationship with a partner[2].
A good skin care regime can provide relief for vaginal dryness
Moisturizers for your vagina help hydrate your vaginal skin to keep it moist and healthy, just like moisturizers hydrate dry skin on other areas of your body. Vaginal moisturizers stick to the vaginal lining and are actually absorbed into the skin, thereby hydrating it[3].
By maintaining the health of delicate vaginal skin, you can help prevent other problems associated with vaginal dryness, such as pain, bleeding and increased risk of infections.
But with so many products on the market, it can be hard to know what vaginal skincare regime to choose. It’s important to make sure that your vaginal moisturizer is not just effective, but safe too. After all, we’re talking your most sensitive, intimate area— not just moisturizer for cracked heels!
Finding “natural”, “safe” or “clean” vaginal skincare
As part of a healthy lifestyle, many women are looking for “safe” or “clean” skincare products. So how do you know if your vaginal skincare is safe?
When considering a product’s safety, it’s important to avoid irritants and potential sources of infection from your vaginal skin area. That’s why you should wash your vulva (the skin on the outer part of your vagina) with clean water only, since soap can be irritating. So can lotions, detergents, body wash, and bubble baths, because these can have fragrances and dyes that may irritate your vaginal skin.
It’s important to consider not just what irritants might be in it, but how the product is produced, whether it has contaminants and what its shelf life is.
Oils can help moisturise your body
There are a lot of options for treating vaginal dryness on the market, mostly oils. These are great natural moisturizers to give you dry skin relief for your body, and are generally safe to use on skin. But your vaginal skin is super delicate and sensitive.
Many “natural” oils, such as CBD Oil, Hemp oil and Coconut Oil may lack adequate safety information. Do you know how pure the oil is? How and where it was produced? Whether it has contaminants?
And do you know if the oil has preservatives to prevent microbial contamination? Do you know how long its shelf life is for, and do you stick to that? If the oil doesn’t have this information, you can risk getting an infection.
Do you know if the oil is still good to use? You may not know if an oil is rancid until you happen to notice that it smells bad. Oils become rancid, which is caused by oxidation due to heat, light and oxygen, so you’ll need to know its date of production and track its freshness and quality each time you use it.
Choosing a safe moisturizer for your vagina
A proven safe and effective moisturizer is the best option for delicate vaginal skin. FemmePharma’s water-based vulvar moisturizer Mia Vita™ Gel and vaginal moisturizer Mia Vita™ Personal Lubricant & Moisturizer provide relief from vaginal dryness, itching, burning, and other discomfort, with naturally-occurring and proven safe hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic acid is an ultra-effective skin care ingredient that hydrates and soothes, especially for dry and wrinkled skin. It has proven to be a powerful skin care ingredient that is safe for use on your vaginal skin[4].
Despite its hard to pronounce name, hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in our bodies, and the highest concentrations are in our eyes and joints[5].
It is used in a wide variety of skin care products, from serums to moisturizers to help maintain and lock in moisture. This results in hydrated and plumped up skin. It’s great for any skin type, particularly wrinkle-prone skin, and it’s safe to use daily, or in multiple products, as part of your regular skincare regime.
Mia Vita™ Gel Intimate Skin Moisturizer and Mia Vita™ Personal Lubricant & Moisturizer are exclusively made in GMP-certified facilities in the United States. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is a system for ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards. This means they are of the highest quality and are completely safe to use in intimate areas.
Mia Vita products for vaginal health don’t contain perfume or dyes or any other irritants or contaminants.
With regular use, Mia Vita™ Gel Intimate Skin Moisturizer and Mia Vita™ Personal Lubricant & Moisturizer can make a big difference to your vagina. When it comes to looking for natural products for your most sensitive, intimate parts, you don’t have to compromise on safety.
[1] Kagan, R., Kellogg-Spadt, S. & Parish, S.J. Practical Treatment Considerations in the Management of Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause. Drugs Aging 36, 897–908 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-019-00700-w
[2] Naumova I, Castelo-Branco C. Current treatment options for postmenopausal vaginal atrophy. Int J Womens Health. 2018;10:387-395. Published 2018 Jul 31. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S158913
[3] Kagan, R., Kellogg-Spadt, S. & Parish, S.J. Practical Treatment Considerations in the Management of Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause. Drugs Aging 36, 897–908 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-019-00700-w
[4] Jokar A, Davari T, Asadi N, Ahmadi F, Foruhari S. Comparison of the Hyaluronic Acid Vaginal Cream and Conjugated Estrogen Used in Treatment of Vaginal Atrophy of Menopause Women: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. 2016;4(1):69-78.
[5] Bayer IS. Hyaluronic Acid and Controlled Release: A Review. Molecules. 2020;25(11):2649. Published 2020 Jun 6. doi:10.3390/molecules25112649
Photo: Dean Mitchell