Benefits of Moisturizing Everywhere – Including the Vagina
Moisturizer on your legs and arms keeps skin feeling baby soft, moisturizer on your hands and feet keeps cracking skin at bay and moisturizer on your face scares away those dreaded wrinkles. There are many benefits to moisturizing, but I’ll bet there’s a part of your body that’s in serious need of a little extra moisture that you’re neglecting—your vagina.
Thin, dry vaginal and vulvar tissues affect 40% of postmenopausal women. But it’s not just midlife or older women that suffer from vaginal dryness. There are a number of other circumstances that can reduce natural lubrication in any age woman such as having a baby, nursing, taking hormonal contraception, being treated for cancer with chemotherapy or radiation, and medications such as anti-histamines or decongestants.
For starters, you know that the right vaginal lubricant is an essential ingredient for turning “sandpaper sex” into slippery sex. When choosing a lube, keep in mind that most water-based versions are gloppy, sticky and contain a propylene glycol preservative, which can be irritating. To enhance intimacy I recommend premium silicone lubricants, which are more slippery, last much longer and are non-irritating.
But lubricants are just to be used at the time of intercourse to reduce friction—and they don’t address the cause of vaginal dryness; they just make things more slippery. To replenish the everyday moisture your vagina needs, try a long acting moisturizer to change the water content of the tissue (hence “moisturize”) resulting in tissues that are more elastic, thicker, and with enhanced ability to produce fluid, that will in turn reduce friction. Replens Long-Lasting Vaginal Moisturizer is the leading long acting moisturizer that has been shown in clinical studies to help replenish vaginal moisture and decrease painful intercourse.
Sometimes the ravages of menopause make the vaginal walls so thin and dry that the only way to reverse the vaginal clock and make intercourse comfortable is estrogen. But for most, adding a vaginal moisturizer to your regular moisturizing routine one to two times a week is just the solution you need to slip back into everyday comfort—plus a more satisfying sex life.
Dr. Lauren Streicher is an Associate Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University’s medical school, The Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. Considered a thought leader in her field, Dr. Streicher has appeared in numerous national and local media outlets discussing all aspects of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
She's an expert contributor to The Oz Blog, and her “What’s Up Down There” segments were seen weekly on NBC’s
In The Loop With iVillage.
Her book,
The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy, remains the #1 book on hysterectomy on Amazon.com.
She is currently working on a book about sexual health after menopause.
For more information on Dr. Streicher, visit
Drstreicher.com. Follow her on Twitter
@DrStreicher or visit her on
Facebook.