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. 4: Steaming Your Vagina May Result in a "Nightmare" Scenario Jade eggs aren't the only vaginal care phenomenon popularized on Goop; its editors also wax poetic about the V-Steam, available at Tikkun Spa in Santa Monica, California, among other places. Tikkun's treatment involves squatting over a boiling herbal tea of mugwort and flower buds for 30 to 45 minutes, letting the steam mingle with one's nether regions.

"A combination of infrared and mugwort steam cleanses your uterus, et al," Goop's website reads. "It is an energetic release -- not just a steam douche -- that balances female hormone levels."

Minkin says she is "very concerned" by the prospect of vaginal steams, "which can lead to burns." "The most delicate tissues women have are the vulva and vaginal tissues," she explains. "The less toxicity to this delicate tissue, the better... There is no biological reason to steam anything."

DePree didn't mince words about vaginal steaming. "If you burn the vaginal walls, the superficial layers of the vagina will slough," she says. "In the healing process, the walls of the vagina may adhere together and create a very difficult situation, essentially obliterating the vaginal canal."

To paraphrase: YOU CAN BURN YOUR VAGINA SHUT.

If burning your vaginal canal closed sounds like a real-life horror show, DePree agrees with you. "I have seen this happen when women have used irritating products," she reports. "It's a nightmare to treat."

Image via Getty

SEE NEXT PAGE: No. 5: You Probably Need Just One Product To Keep Your Vagina Clean. (Your First Guess Is Most Likely Correct.)

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