No, You Don't Need a 'Vagina Stick'
Have you ever heard of a Jamu stick?
Every so often, gynecologists are forced to denounce a new fad treatment online, for fear that people will shove bags of herbs, crushed hornet’s nests, fragrant steam and any number of damaging ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ products in their vaginas. (No, we aren't kidding.) This is one of those times.
Four or five inches long, the Jamu stick, also known as a Madura or Serre stick, is a ‘natural’ product made of herbs and minerals in a 'secret recipe' that promises to exfoliate, tighten the muscles, and balance the microflora in your vagina, curing everything from odor, discharge, looseness, dryness and more. If that’s not enough, it even promises to improve your sex life.
First of all...you do not need to exfoliate your vagina. Louder for the people in the back—the vagina is self-cleaning, and sheds its own epithelium (i.e. dead skin cells) without help, every four days or so. Whether it’s a douche or a vagina stick, introducing a foreign substance or object into the vagina will only mess with its real natural cleaning process. Contrary to its claims, the Jamu Stick is more likely to disrupt your vagina’s pH, making infection and irritation more (not less) likely. Scraping off a layer of cells before they’re ready to be shed is no good.
No! No! NO!
The marketing around these products is also harmful, suggesting that unless your vagina is squeaky clean, odorless and tight as a drum, you’re gross and less than. Seriously, you do not need to detox your vagina, especially not to prove your worth! The vagina’s natural odors and secretions are not ‘ailments’, but healthy signs that everything is working the way it should be. Of course, if you notice a really unpleasant odor or your discharge is thicker or more copious than usual, it never hurts to see your doctor.
If you feel that muscle strength is an issue (like if you pee when you laugh or sneeze) we recommend Kegels with a Yoni Egg or Wand, used regularly with a little lube. Like stainless steel, glass and silicone, the crystals used by Chakrubs are non-porous and polished smooth for your comfort and safety. (And pretty gorgeous, too.) Kegel exercises are proven to help tighten the vaginal muscles, and outside its normal, self-cleaning process, are pretty much the only thing we recommend you do to take care of your vagina.