LET’S face it. A lot of women have a complicated relationship with their private parts. We think they’re smelly and that they look ugly. When it comes to sex and penetration, we often want it to be small and tight, and wonder if it is too big. When we judge it to be too big, it starts influencing how we feel about that important part of our body and relate to it with shame, complaining that it can’t hold him in, that it slips and slides and that it is, if not already, the cause of all our sexual frustrations.
Worrying about size is understandable after all ‘am I too big or too small’ is one of the frequently asked questions about our sex organs. But we’re not just secretly wondering if we are too big down there. We are taking steps that confirm that we think we are big and big is not sexually attractive – at least if the popularity of vaginoplasty (an operation to tighten the vagina) is anything to by. Vaginoplasty is the collective name of cosmetic vagina procedures that include the reconstruction, rejuvenation, and tightening of the vagina. Another point to consider is the popularity of muthi that claims to tighten a so-called loose vagina.
There is a long-standing perception that if your vagina is loose, then you are a busy body who has slept with a lot of men. But this is not the case. A vagina can become big for various reasons. Chief among them is childbirth. When giving birth the vagina stretches to allow the baby to come out. This can lead to the tearing of the skin between the vagina and the anus. According to Dr. Suzy Elneil, a consultant in urogynaecology, “The vagina can feel loose, softer and more ‘open’. It may also look and feel bruised or swollen. This is normal, and the swelling and openness should start to reduce a few days after your baby is born.”
natural options:
- The
first and foremost step would be to follow a proper good diet that
will improve inner muscle strength and thus contribute to better vaginal
health. Eating a healthy diet that is high in fibre can help maintain a
healthy body weight and also reduces the chances of frequent constipation
that can cause weakening of pelvic muscles. Pelvic floor can be
strengthened with a strict diet that include oestrogen rich foods like
pomegranates, soybeans, carrots, apples, berries etc….
- Pelvic
floor can be kept stronger by controlling stress and
limiting unnecessary strain by avoiding lifting heavy weights and to adopt
a squatting position during bowel movements specially if constipated.
- The
pelvic floor is part of a larger group of muscles called “core.” Keeping
all the core muscles toned, along with thighs and glutes, might be the
best option for pelvic floor health. Exercises that can strengthen
the pelvic floor are:
- Kegel
exercises are one of the most recommended and popular ways of
tightening the vagina. The clench and release exercise is what constitutes
the Kegel exercise. Kegel’s exercise is the action of engaging the pelvic
floor muscles, holding for 5–10 seconds and releasing. This is done about
5–10 times in a row, a few times a day. The pelvic floor muscles become
stronger because of this and thus help in tightening the vagina.
- Having
great sex is fantastic for strengthening pelvic floor muscles and
is as effective as Kegel’s exercises. There is no right or wrong of
enjoying sex. The contractions a woman has while reaching orgasm are the
ideal strengthening for vaginal muscles. Vaginal walls contract at
approximately 0.8-second intervals and then relax as the climax subsides.
- squats are
good for pelvic floor toning and vaginal tightening. Standing with legs
spread and the hips turned out, have to go down like sitting on a bench.
Then, go up, stand for some time and then again squat and sit down.
- Pelvic
stretch can be done to strengthen the pelvic muscles.
Easiest way to do the pelvic stretch is to sit on the edge of a chair and
keeping the legs spread, bend towards the ankles and spread the arms out.
Pelvis area has to be folded inside. This exercise is one of the
most effective ways of strengthening vaginal muscles and tightening the
vagina.
- Glute
bridges are great for tightening the vagina, while lying down.
Positioning the knees up and parted slightly apart with feet touching the
floor, slowly but surely raising the hips up off the floor and tensing the
glutes, form a bridge from the shoulders touching the floor and hold at
the top, before slowly bringing the hips back down.
- Leg
ups are great exercises for tightening the vagina, helping to
build pelvic muscle strength. Lying flat with back on the floor, tense the
abdominal muscles and slowly lift the legs without bending the knees, one
after the other up towards the ceiling. This will really help to work
pelvic floor muscles and keep them right and tight.
- Medicine
ball sit ups is a more advanced method of vaginal tightening and
it’s great for helping the abdominal packs as well. Sitting with knees
bent and feet on the floor, go to lying down with back on the floor.
Holding a medicine ball in outstretched hands, slowly sit up, tensing
abdominal muscles gradually.
- Pelvic
tilt exercises can strengthen vaginal muscles.
Standing with shoulders and back against a wall and keeping both the knees
soft, pull the bellybutton in towards the spine, While the back should
flatten against the wall. Tighten the bellybutton for 4 seconds, then
release. A set of 10 repetitions is ideal to work the pelvic muscles.
- Vaginal
cones strengthen pelvic floor muscles by using resistance. Also
known as vaginal weights, this is weighted, tampon-sized bulbus shaped
object that when inserted in to the vagina, muscles squeeze to hold it in
place through passive contraction. Weights can be paired with active
contractions or other exercise at the same time. The weight of the cone
can be increased to hold the cone in place, thus increasing the work for
vaginal muscles.
Vaginal weights are worn for short periods of time up to
several times a day. Duration of use will depend on how heavy they are and on
independent goals.
- Herbal
Remedies – Soaking in baths of vinegar dissolved in water is a
popular and easy home remedies for a tight vagina. Aloe vera gel can be
diluted in a bowl of water and used as a wash for the vaginal area. The
astringent property of Aloe vera is known to help tighten the tissues.
These remedies followed over a period of time can help restore vaginal
tightness.
- Yoga’s potential
sexual benefits may result from its relaxing effects, the way it focuses
attention on sensation, the pelvis-strengthening effects of many yoga
poses, improved self-image from engaging in exercise, or a mix of these.
While many of the above-discussed natural methods are safe
and appropriate for women of various fitness levels, elderly women and those
with mobility issues or osteoporosis should check with their healthcare
provider. Guidance from a urogynaecologist
and a pelvic floor physical therapist can help achieve desired vaginal
tightness naturally.
Here are 3 popular vagina tightening home remedies that
you should avoid at all costs:
- Food
of Any Kind
Food goes in your mouth. Nowhere else. Do not put any food
items inside your vagina, period. Your doctor would never recommend this and
any online resource or friend who does is sharing bad information.
People have long touted various food items as miracle cures
for various vaginal maladies. Apple cider vinegar and lemon have been said to
reset the acidity levels in your vagina and possibly tighten the vaginal walls.
Because of their high acidity, both of these can cause major pain and
irritation inside and around the vagina, vulva, and labia, and can even worsen
incontinence. Lemon and lime juice also do not prevent the spread of HIV or
other STIs, as some people claim.
Some people also use yogurt because of its low acidity,
hoping to balance pH levels, tighten the vaginal canal, or replenish the good
bacteria inside their vaginas. This is also nonsense. Yogurt does not carry the
same strains of bacteria as those that make up your vaginal microbiome. In fact,
most yogurts contain sugars that, when introduced, could cause or worsen yeast
infections.
While eating well can have an overall effect on your vaginal
health, there are no foods that can be eaten or inserted that can tighten your
vaginal canal. Moreover, your vagina is a self-cleaning organ and does not need
outside cleaning help. If you have an infection, your doctor can prescribe
antibiotics.
- Herbs
and Spices
Your vagina is an organ, not a soup, so do not insert herbs
and spices into it! Turmeric, a spice frequently touted as a miracle cure for
everything from arthritis to cancer does have some health benefits but has not
been shown to tighten the vagina when ingested or inserted. Inserting turmeric
could lead to irritation.
A related plant, Curcuma comosa, shows up frequently in
vagina-tightening marketing ploys as a proven tightening agent. However, these
effects are far from proven! Curcuma comosa did lead to some tightening in
rats’ uteruses in one decades-old study but has not been tested on, let alone
proven to help human women.
Witch hazel and aloe vera are also often used as remedies
for a wide range of ills. Some women prefer aloe as a natural lubricant, and
while it may not be as harmful as some of the other items on this list, it does
not offer any tightening effects and should not be applied internally without
first consulting your doctor, especially if it contains anything other than
100% pure aloe, straight from the plant.
Similarly, plants like boiled gooseberries should not be
inserted. At best, they will have no effect. At worst, they can cause damage
like burns and tears if they’re too hot when inserted! In fact, you should
always avoid using hot water near your vagina, including inserting or spraying
hot water inside or squatting over steam baths. Hot water can scald the inside
and outside of your vagina and vulva area and may introduce harmful bacteria.
- Tightening
products, pills, gels, and creams
It is also worth pointing out that there are plenty of
products available that supposedly help you tighten your vagina, but they are
simply scams that monetize your insecurities and feed you a placebo effect.
There are no pills you can take orally that will help with the tightness of
your vaginal walls or pelvic floor.
Similarly marketed tightening creams and gels are made of
glycerin, just like some lubes — so not only do they have no effect on
tightness or firmness, but glycerin has also been known to lead to yeast or
bacterial infections. No thank you!
These products cannot help you with your genuine health
concerns and, even worse, they prey on your insecurities to convince you that
something is wrong with your body even when that’s not true.