What the HECK is vaginal steaming? And should we do it?
We’ve heard of a steaming carrots, we’ve heard of steaming broccoli, but for the life of us we hadn’t heard of steaming our vaginas – until now.
So vaginal steaming, or v-steam – sitting over a bath of boiling water filled with herbs – has come to the media’s attention recently through Gwyneth Paltrow’s oft-derided lifestyle blog GOOP. And now the trend is starting to sweep spas all over LA (where else?) who promise to improve everything ‘down there’ from hormone imbalance to vaginal pain to increased fertility.
And while we can put the surge of popularity down to Gwyneth, we can’t attribute its provenance – it’s actually based on an ancient Korean practice of chai-yok, a herb-infused vaginal steam bath lauded as a cure-all for the nether region.
However, in an article in The Guardian, Dr Ann Robinson insists the practice is a bad idea, and actually does more harm than good. She says that heating the vagina isn’t good for it, as it needs to stay at body temperature, and the water from the steam can wash away the vagina’s natural lubrication, leading to the dreaded thrush.
And as well as this, according to Dr Robinson it’s simply unnecessary:
“All of our orifices, including ears, nose, anus and vagina, are essentially self- cleaning,” she says in the piece. “The pH of the vagina, natural mix of bacteria that live in it, mucus plug that sits at the top of the vagina and lining of the womb all work harmoniously and effectively together to ensure that bugs from the outside world generally don’t invade upwards from the vagina to the fallopian tubes. Infection can happen from sexually transmitted infections, contraceptive coils or other surgical procedures. But mostly it’s a very well-run system.”
And as for clearing up any hormone imbalance? Nonsense, she says.
“The claim that the steam clean could balance hormones is irrational, she wrote. “Hormones are produced by organs such as the brain and ovaries, travel in the bloodstream and have specific effects on their target organs.”
But hey, don't knock it 'til you try it right? If you fancy trying the v-steam at home, just Google it – countless websites are offering instruction on how to carry it out, DIY-style.
Us? We think we'll leave it to Gwyneth!