{"id":929738,"date":"2024-11-11T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=929738"},"modified":"2024-11-11T22:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T19:00:00","slug":"why-are-women-getting-their-labiapuffed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=929738","title":{"rendered":"Why Are Women Getting Their Labia\u2026Puffed?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
LIP SERVICE<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Why Are Women Getting Their Labia\u2026Puffed?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Many have become more intimately aware of their intimate parts\u2014but not everyone is happy with what they see.<\/div>\n
\n
\n
By <\/span>Jennifer G. Sullivan<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

You never know what\u2019s going on between the legs of other women. So, I\u2019m going to ask you to withhold judgment while I explain a newish cosmetic procedure called the labia puff. And, yes, I realize that confusing name alone deserves judgment. Perhaps a definition will help: The labia puff (which should more accurately be called the labia majora<\/em> puff) is a cosmetic procedure to plump and\/or smooth the outer labia, typically using cosmetic filler (yep, the same stuff that goes in the lips on your face) or fat transfer. Doctors have been treating labia majora atrophy with filler since at least 2010, but board-certified urologist Fenwa Milhouse, MD, thinks the term labia puff came a bit later. She first heard it about 10 years ago and says the procedure has gotten more popular every year. \u201cOne day it\u2019s going to be a household type of thing, where we talk about it the way we talk about breast implants,\u201d she says. That remains to be seen, but board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, says that patients in her Connecticut practice do ask her about it regularly: \u201cProbably once every couple of weeks. It’s not infrequent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of you will react to this information with disbelief. Why would anybody want a fuller labia majora?<\/em> But there are others who will understand right away. Vulvas change. And there are many parts of them that can change. A quick anatomy refresher: The vulva is the external female genitalia, which includes the labia minora (the hairless inner lips on either side of the vaginal opening) and the labia majora, or outer lips, that are composed of fatty tissue and covered with hair-growing skin. Once puberty hits, the vulva\u2019s appearance is constantly in flux. The inner and outer labia can lengthen, swell, darken, lighten, and shrink\u2014not necessarily in that order or proportionately or symmetrically. Vulvas change temporarily throughout your menstrual cycle and during sexual arousal, and permanently due to childbirth, hormonal shifts, and however many years you\u2019ve been on Earth. It\u2019s not a black hole down there; gravity still operates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

And so does estrogen depletion. Most of the patients in Dr. Gohara’s dermatology practice who inquire about treating their labia are over 45, some are well into their 60s. \u201cJust like every part of our skin, the labia can sag and they can become less full,\u201d says Dr. Gohara. \u201cAlthough this is one area where we really can’t blame sun exposure. But our estrogen levels dip and so does collagen, so does elastin.\u201d<\/p>\n

These changes make some women self-conscious, which brings us back to the labia majora<\/em> puff. One 36-year-old from New Jersey, who asked to be called Melissa, told me she had the procedure done by a plastic surgeon as part of a more extensive vaginal rejuvenation surgery. \u201cAfter giving birth, my minoras got longer and thicker, and my majoras deflated, so I wanted to restore volume and feel sexier,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Another woman, Anna (also a pseudonym), 42, says she takes a medication that lowers her estrogen levels, and her gynecologist told her she\u2019s likely experiencing perimenopause because of it. \u201cMy vagina was looking like a very old, worn-out gym sock,\u201d she says. \u201cNot to be too graphic, but it also seems like the labia majora do a lot of the work of holding the labia minora in position.\u201d Ultimately though, this is not a procedure to change the structure of the vulva; it\u2019s purely cosmetic.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
In this story:<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
    \n
  • What is a labia puff?<\/li>\n
  • What are the risks of getting a labia puff?<\/li>\n
  • Why are labia puffs becoming more popular?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    What is a labia puff?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

    There are surgeries that can tighten the vagina or labia majora or alter the size and shape of the labia minora, but the labia puff is a nonsurgical treatment. \u201cIt\u2019s to look a little more plump and youthful,\u201d Dr. Milhouse says. \u201cI\u2019ve had women in their 20s get this procedure because they feel their labia majora are very underwhelming, and certainly peri- and postmenopausal women get it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The technique a doctor uses depends on the patient\u2019s concerns and goals, as well as their anatomy and medical history. Board-certified plastic surgeon Usha Rajagopal, MD, says for some of her patients who want more youthful plumpness and who don\u2019t have significant issues with loose skin or sagging, she may do the puff by injecting a hyaluronic acid (HA) filler such as Juvederm Voluma, Restylane Contour or Restylane Lift, or RHA 4. Yes, these are off-label uses, but Dr. Gohara says, \u201cIt’s not uncommon to put filler in places in the body that aren\u2019t FDA-approved. People put filler everywhere: their temples, their knees, their backs. This is just another area of the body.\u201d (Small studies\u2014like this one and this one\u2014have found no reported complications in people who received filler in their labia majora.)<\/p>\n