Kim Kardashian and other notable individuals like Jada Pinkett Smith, and Brandi Glanville have been enthusiastically talking about their personal experiences with vaginal rejuvenation touting the benefits on social media, and many women are following their lead.
In fact, the demand for vaginal rejuvenation has increased substantially and is projected to double in value over the next few years reaching $12 billion by 2026. But what is it exactly?
What Is Vaginal Rejuvenation?
Vaginal rejuvenation is a very broad term that encompasses anything that alters the internal and external vaginal anatomy. Treatments include vaginoplasty (surgery to repair or construct a vagina), labiaplasty (surgery to change the size and shape of the labia minora, which are the inner lips of the vagina), vulvoplasty (surgery to change the size and shape of the labia majora, which are the outer lips of the vagina), and clitoral hood reduction (surgery to reduce the amount of skin around the clitoris).
“Women seeking vaginal rejuvenation surgeries typically fall into three camps,” said Dr. Lauri Romanzi, board certified physician in obstetrics and gynecology and a member of the Women's Health Advisory Council. “In one camp are women who want procedures like clitoral hood reduction that they believe will enhance sexual response. The second camp consists of women whose motivation is purely cosmetic; they don’t like the way their external genitalia look and want surgery to change it. This camp sometimes overlaps with the third one, which is made up of women — usually those who have given birth — with pelvic floor problems who want surgery to ‘tighten’ or ‘revirginize’ their vaginas.”
Romanzi goes on to explain that these medical procedures have been performed for many years. However, many people are learning about them through the lens of “vaginal rejuvenation” rather than as standardized medical procedures because of the way they’ve been covered in the media and talked about on social channels.
Technology around vaginal rejuvenation has advanced to include energy-based treatments that use heat instead of surgery to treat symptoms such as vaginal laxity including two main types: radiofrequency and C02.
Radiofrequency vaginal rejuvenation treatments use heated electromagnetic waves to tighten and firm up tissue, while CO2 laser treatments heat the upper layers of tissue to stimulate skin-plumping collagen production in the lower layers.
Energy-based vaginal rejuvenation treatments are non-invasive and require little to no downtime. Most women who receive this treatment resume their normal activities after the procedure and can resume sexual activity a few days afterward. While these procedures are less involved than surgical vaginal rejuvenation, they’re not without risk. Complications can include bleeding, infection, and scarring.
Non-Invasive Technologies For Vaginal Rejuvenation
There are two types of non-invasive vaginal rejuvenation technologies including radiofrequency (RF) and CO2 Laser. While they are both used to treat bladder leaks and tighten the vagina, the technologies are different.
Vaginal rejuvenation with the use of lasers have been used slightly longer than radiofrequency technologies. The CO2 laser uses ablation to create microscopic incisions in the vaginal wall that initiates the body’s natural healing response that stimulates elastin and collagen production that thickens the vaginal skin over time—as well as increases lubrication. On the other hand, radiofrequency vaginal rejuvenation uses deep penetrating heat to stimulate collagen and elastin production, while also improving muscle tone, blood flow, and sensation to the region.
With so many brands entering the market, it can be hard to keep them straight. Below is a breakdown:
Radiofrequency Vaginal Rejuvenation Brands: Geneveve (Viveve), ThermiVa (Thermi or ThermiGen), Morpheus8V
Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Brands: DiVa, MonaLisa Touch, FemiLift
Treatment time with RF vaginal rejuvenation is roughly 20-30 minutes while laser treatments take only 3-5 minutes. However, RF treatments can deliver results in a single treatment while all laser treatments currently require 3 treatments spaced out between four and six weeks apart.
Takeaway
We can thank celebrities and social media for propelling vaginal rejuvenation, what was once considered a taboo subject not to be spoken about in public, into the spotlight and out of the darkness. Regardless of if one suffers from a medical condition or has a cosmetic concern, non-invasive, energy-based vaginal rejuvenation offers a simple, yet effective means to help address many of the common conditions that plague our most delicate body parts—our vagina.
