DIY Fennel Vaginal Pessaries: A Step-by-Step Guide

Fennel has proved itself invaluable in the vagina, particularly the menopausal, atrophic or low-oestrogen vagina^1,2. These pessaries are easy to make at home, nothing fancy required.

The fennel seed oil maceration takes two weeks to make, so you can’t make your pessaries until the fennel oil is ready. Start the oil now – you might even have everything you need in the kitchen – and then you can worry about your other ingredients.

Making fennel oil

What you’ll need

20 grams of dried fennel seed
A mortar and pestle to grind the fennel (or any other crushing device – hammer, spice grinder, sheer grit and determination)
100ml of extra virgin olive oil
A jar with a lid
A paper bag (or dark coloured jar) to block light entering the jar
Two weeks of your life and three shakes a day

How to make fennel oil

Put the 20 grams of fennel seed into the mortar and grind up roughly with the pestle to increase its surface area. This allows more of the good stuff from inside the seed to leach into the oil. It is not meant to be a powder, but more like a coarse grind.
Put the ground fennel seeds and the 100ml of olive oil into the jar. Shake gently to combine the oil and fennel seeds.
Put lid on the jar and if the jar is not dark-coloured, put the jar into a paper bag or something similar. Put the jar in a place away from direct sunlight and cold.
Shake the jar three times per day for two weeks.
Once the two weeks is up, strain the oil through a muslin or cheese cloth and squish the fennel seeds to get all the oil out of the seeds.
Throw the seeds away.
Store your beautiful fennel seed oil in a dark amber jar with a lid. Label with the date and contents.

Turning your fennel oil into fennel vaginal pessaries/suppositories

What you’ll need

10ml fennel oil
20g coconut oil or cocoa butter (or extra virgin olive oil in a pinch – needs freezing)
Optional extra – 2-5ml sea buckthorn oil
A water bath (pot or bowl of hot water with bowl floating in it to gently melt oil but not cook or boil it)
Pessary moulds or aluminium foil or ice cube trays – you want pessaries to end up looking like a bullet, can be cut up once solid

How to make fennel oil suppositories/pessaries

Gently warm the coconut or cocoa butter oil in the water bath. Do not boil, fry or microwave. Just melt the oil so it is liquid and then remove from heat.
After removing from heat, stir in the 10ml of fennel oil (and sea buckthorn if using) to combine.
Depending on your moulds, pour liquid oil into moulds and put into fridge or freezer to solidify. If using olive oil, freeze. If using aluminium foil, wait until oil is a little thicker before pouring – can get messy and wasteful.
You want each pessary to be about 2g, or about the size of half a lipstick. It doesn’t matter how much it weighs, but divide up your mixture into about 14.
Chill pessaries until you’re ready to use them, then insert deep vaginally before bed or as needed, dressing accordingly. The oil will come out as it melts.

Tips and tricks for making fennel pessaries

Be gentle, don’t overheat oil and don’t heat your fennel oil – you just want the oils to mix
Prepare your moulds beforehand so they are stable – hot oil spills very easily
Lay tissue paper or paper towels down on your work area
Be hygienic – wash your hands and use clean equipment
Cocoa butter goes harder quicker than coconut oil
Olive oil requires freezing to go solid
Careful when propping moulds up in the fridge

References

1.
Ghazanfarpour M, Shokrollahi P, Khadivzadeh T, et al. Effect of Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) on vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Post Reprod Health. Published online October 8, 2017:171-176. doi:10.1177/2053369117733629
2.
Yaralizadeh M, Abedi P, Najar S, Namjoyan F, Saki A. Effect of Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) vaginal cream on vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. Maturitas. Published online February 2016:75-80. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2015.11.005