Body

7 Reasons Your New Vaginal Care Regimen Is Dangerously Nuts

Further proof you should never detox your vagina (No. 4 will make you shudder)

by Katie McCarthy | COMMENT

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No. 3: Putting Rocks in Your Vagina? Also Bad The internet was all atwitter when the wellness brand Goop published this Q&A with actress/blogger Shiva Rose. Rose endorses the use of jade "yoni eggs," stones that are inserted into the vagina for hours or days at a time. She claims these stones have "incredible clearing, cleansing powers" and "intensify feminine energy." Rose also adds that the eggs "cultivate sexual energy, increase orgasm, balance the cycle" and "tighten and tone."

Goop echoes these sentiments, writing "Jade eggs' power to cleanse and clear make them ideal for detox." Simultaneously, Goop began selling jade and rose quartz yoni eggs on its website for $66 and $55 apiece, respectively. The story sparked an ongoing feud between Goop and Dr. Jen Gunter, an OB/GYN and blogger who insists that leaving the porous yoni egg in the vagina could cause toxic shock syndrome. Goop's official response: "There is no case/study/report which links the two."

DePree agrees with Goop's editors that there are no clinical studies about jade's effect on the vagina, as far as she knows -- which is exactly why you shouldn't be putting rocks in your special place.

"I have seen no clinical trials on the safety of placing a jade object in the vagina, nor have I seen evidence of its benefits or outcomes in detoxing or improving sex," says DePree. "So I'd say the absence of studies linking jade eggs to TSS is the same issue I have with saying the jade eggs benefit with detoxing and improving sex: Show me the data."

"There is also the risk of ulceration," she continues. "An object pressing on the walls of the vagina over a long period of time may erode or break down the vaginal lining... Think about sticking a marble in the corner of your mouth for days. It is likely to ulcerate the area it is in contact with over time."

"There is no reason to believe that placing any crystals in the vagina should be helpful," Minkin agrees. "If these are abrasive, they could cut the tissue. And if they are smooth and inert, I have no scientific reason to believe they are doing anything therapeutic."

There is a kernel of truth to the jade-egg idea: Many doctors recommend vaginal devices or weights to tone pelvic floor muscles. But these products are supposed to be inserted in the vagina for short periods of time, Minkin says. And they aren't made of jade, quartz or other so-called energy-imparting stones.

Image via Getty

SEE NEXT PAGE: No. 4: Steaming Your Vagina May Result in a "Nightmare" Scenario

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