Revolutionary Vaginal Rejuvenation: Beyond Surgery

‘Vaginal rejuvenation’ is a term used to describe a series of surgical and non-surgical procedures to tighten, ‘tidy’, or revitalise vaginal or vulvar tissue. New non-surgical treatments have appeared on the market that can stimulate your vaginal cells to be stronger, tighter, and better functioning without knives or blood or pain.

The effect is temporary, lasting between six months and a year. Repeat treatments are usually necessary.

Vaginal rejuvenation is an umbrella term used by cosmetic surgeons and clinics to market their procedures, so you need to break this down to get to the guts of it. The devices performing this vaginal rejuvenation are radiofrequency and lasers. They stimulate vaginal, vulvar, bladder/urinary, and pelvic tissue to various degrees.

This is where ‘vaginal rejuvenation’ gets interesting. Labiaplasties aside, let’s talk vaginal tightening, alleviating menopausal or low-oestrogen-related dryness and irritation and effective treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

Vaginal tightening lasers and radiofrequency (RF) devices

There is a new wave of devices that are designed to tighten, revitalise, and promote optimal function of vaginal cells. Every woman who has suffered any vaginal laxity problem or has stress urinary incontinence should at least look into these treatments. They can, in some cases, completely resolve the issue.

They’re expensive, but as more of us start getting it done, competition will rise and prices will go down. These devices do not replace pelvic floor exercises.

Post-baby vagina problems – loose vagina, stretched vagina, scarred vagina, stress urinary incontinence

If you have squeezed a baby out of your vagina, you may have found it hasn’t bounced back, or worse, it is simply non-functional as a vagina in many or all ways.

Not everyone can be helped with noninvasive, surgery-free radiofrequency or laser treatments – true. But, your tissue may benefit from a boost if a collagen, elastin or cellular dysfunction is part of your problem. Talk to your doctor.

How does a laser or radiofrequency device work on the vagina?

The devices are wave-based, so they are designed to target specific levels of tissue. The vagina-specific handpieces of the lasers and RF devices are specially formulated to treat the vaginal mucosa (the layer of tissue in your vagina that you can feel when you put your finger inside), and sometimes deeper pelvic tissue.

These devices cannot reach your pelvic floor muscles – those will be up to you to strengthen.

The vulva (clitoris, labia, perineum, anything on the outside), vagina and urethra (as far as the device can reach) can be treated.

The wave of the laser or RF machine penetrate and stimulate cells so that it does whatever it normally does, but better. In this situation, this is typically producing collagen and elastin, forcing the tissue to become stronger. It also means the cells produce moisture naturally and function better overall.

Vaginal tightening may or may not occur, or be noticable – these treatments are an inconsistent treatment for vaginal laxity. This doesn’t mean it can’t work, but individual results do vary.

If you have the money to try it, then go for it, but these devices really come into their own when treating stress urinary incontinence and genitourinary symptoms of menopause (GSM).

There aren’t generally any side-effects. You walk in and walk out of the clinic for these treatments, with a bit of discharge for a few days and maybe a bit of warmth in the area.

The tightening effect occurs immediately and over the coming months. As the cells regenerate, the treatment takes full effect.

You may need more than one treatment at a time, with some programs using a series of both machines to get the full beaming effects of both the laser and the RF device, since both work in different ways and to different depths.

This may improve your sex life, orgasms, and desire

Having lax or poorly performing vaginal tissue can be a real issue when it comes to sex. We need friction and properly-functioning cells for sex to feel good. Having stretched collagen means the vaginal walls don’t fully cling to whatever we have inside of us, or respond adequately to stimulation.

The science is cautiously optimistic, but remember: these devices are still limited by depth. Your pelvic floor muscles are your own problem to manage.

What devices am I looking for?

There are many of these devices on the market, and they all work basically the same way. You want to do your homework, since the latest and greatest will change all the time.

These machines cost a few hundred thousand dollars for a doctor or practitioner to buy, so each set of marketers likes to say theirs is the best! Be aware of marketing hype, and find a doctor who is very experienced in these procedures, has a great device, and gets great results.

Often a combination of devices will get the best results, due to the depths achieved by the beam.

Some examples of RF devices on the market:

ThermiVA

Some examples of vaginal lasers on the market

Juliet
Mona Lisa

Laugh without peeing your pants – stress urinary incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence was one of the studied issues that responded incredibly well to these treatments, in some cases being completely resolved in one treatment.

RF and lasers for the vagina – what they can do:

Tighten the vagina
Resolve dry, irritated vaginas (possibly due to atrophic vaginitis/menopausal symptoms)
Improve lubrication naturally
Resolve stress urinary incontinence
Pain-free no-downtime treatments
Improve sexual response
Improve orgasms/likelihood of an orgasm
Improve sexual confidence
Get your sex life back
Increase friction
Improve pelvic tissue strength and function
Tone and tighten all pelvic tissue