Does my vagina really need a facial'?

"Call it the box boom. In the past year, Kiehl's has rolled out a 96-hour vulva freshener and Dove launched an intimate deodorant advertised to the tune of Khia's 2001 hit My Neck, My Back (Lick It). There are muff-specific moisturizers now, as well as crotch-brightening creams, sprays to make your various nooks smell like bergamot and supplements to make your vagina taste sweeter. (Thanks, Kourtney Kardashian.)"

"Then there are the procedures: you've noticed that vagi facials exist, but what about Ozempic vulva fat grafting, labial lip filler and boxtox to keep your snatch looking, well, snatched? Global rates of labiaplasty the surgical snipping of the labia, sometimes called designer vagina surgery or the Barbie Procedure, although some ethicists prefer to refer to it as female genital mutilation have also increased nearly 37% since 2016."

A surge in intimate-care products and cosmetic genital procedures has emerged, including deodorants, moisturizers, sprays, supplements, and vulva-targeted treatments. Major brands and celebrities have normalized these offerings, and the feminine intimate care market reached $7.8 billion globally in 2024 with expectations to nearly double over the next decade. Non-surgical and surgical genital alterations—vagi facials, Ozempic vulva fat grafting, labial lip filler, boxtox, and labiaplasty—have become more common. Global labiaplasty rates increased nearly 37% since 2016. Political pressures on reproductive and gender autonomy coincide with intensified commodification and scrutiny of genital appearance and function.

Read at www.theguardian.com