As women age, more and more will complain of vaginal laxity.
“The causes of vaginal laxity are usually age related,” shares Dr. Courtenay Poucher, OB/GYN and labiaplasty surgeon. “As a woman grows older, vaginal laxity happens when natural collagen production slows in alignment with a decrease in hormones like estrogen. That makes skin and muscle all over the body lose thickness and tone - and that includes the vagina,” says the specialist.
When a woman complains of vaginal laxity, it’s often through the lens of dryness, discomfort during sex and less pleasurable intimacy.
“While the treatments for vaginal laxity are generally clinical - and those include hormone replacement therapy (HRT), menopausal hormone therapy, perimenopausal hormone therapy, collagen-boosting treatments like Thermiva and more - there are also feminine hygiene products that can ease discomfort,” shares the vaginal surgeon.
Some of the intimate care products in your bathroom right now might be making your vaginal laxity symptoms even more uncomfortable.
“Because vaginal laxity is so often also associated with vaginal dryness, I strongly encourage my patients to take a hard look at their intimate care products,” says the doctor. “Are they using harsh soaps or feminine hygiene wipes that are not pH balanced? Are they choosing intimate care products with parabens and vagina-drying preservatives? Are their feminine dryness products just covering up the symptoms of dryness and making it worse in the long run - or are those feminine dryness products actually addressing the underlying issues and replacing the lack of natural lubrication with moisturizing ingredients that are vagina friendly? I start by asking them what feminine hygiene wipes they use, because those are often the worst culprits for vaginal dryness.”
Dr. Poucher’s patients are switched to the byDr.Poucher Wonderful Wipes and/or the On the Go Wipes. “The ingredients in these two products are pH balanced for the vagina’s sensitive skin; they’re deeply nourishing and moisturizing to the vagina; they clean beautifully without stripping the vagina of its natural moisture and they can be used for each trip to the bathroom without any irritation,” explains the specialist.
So - what’s the difference between the two feminine hygiene wipes? The biggest difference - the size! The Wonderful Wipe is sized for vaginal and rectal use while the On the Go Wipes are large enough for cleaning head to toe.