Home Tags Posts tagged with "vaginal rejuvenation"

vaginal rejuvenation

Indian pharmaceutical company Ultratech has launched what it claims is the country’s first vagina tightening cream, saying it will make women feel “like a virgin” again.

The company says it is about empowering women, but critics say it is doing the opposite.

It is certainly a bold claim. As the music starts playing on the advertisement for the 18 Again cream, a sari-clad woman is singing and dancing.

It is an unusual take on Bollywood.

“I feel like a virgin,” she croons, although the advert makes it clear she is not.

Her shocked in-laws look on, before her husband joins her for some salsa-style dancing.

“Feels like the very first time,” she continues, as she is twirled around.

Cut away to her mother-in-law who begins by responding with a disgusted look on her face, but by the end of the advert even she has been won over, and is seen buying the product online.

This video is designed to market a vaginal “rejuvenation and tightening” product, which was launched this month in India.

The makers of 18 Again, the Mumbai-based Ultratech, say it is the first of its kind in India (similar creams are already available in other parts of the world such as the USA), and fills a gap in the market.

Ultratech’s owner, Rishi Bhatia, says the cream, which is selling for around $44, contains natural ingredients including gold dust, aloe vera, almond and pomegranate, and has been clinically tested.

“It’s a unique and revolutionary product which also works towards building inner confidence in a woman and boosting her self esteem,” says Rishi Bhatia, adding that the goal of the product is to “empower women”.

Ultratech has launched 18 Again, India's first vagina tightening cream

Ultratech has launched 18 Again, India's first vagina tightening cream

Rishi Bhatia says the product is not claiming to restore a woman’s virginity, but to restore the emotions of being a virgin.

“We are only saying, <<feel like a virgin>> – it’s a metaphor. It tries to bring back that feeling when a person is 18.”

But the company’s advertising strategy has attracted criticism from some doctors, women’s groups and social media users, who say the product reinforces the widely held view in India that pre-marital sex is something to be frowned upon, a taboo which is even seen as sinful by some.

“This kind of cream is utter nonsense, and could give some women an inferiority complex,” argues Annie Raja from the National Federation of Indian Women, which fights for women’s rights in the country.

Annie Raja says that rather than empower women, the cream will do the opposite, by reaffirming a patriarchal view that is held by many here – the notion that men want all women to be virgins until their wedding night.

“Why should women remain a virgin until marriage? It is a woman’s right to have sexual relations with a man, but society here still says they should not until they are brides.”

“Being a virgin is still prized, and I don’t think attitudes will change in this century,” says Dr. Mahinda Watsa, a gynaecologist who writes a popular sexual advice column in the Mumbai Mirror and Bangalore Mirror newspaper.

Dr. Mahinda Watsa has answered more than 30,000 questions from Indians wanting sexual advice, and says a common question from men is how to find out whether their wife is a virgin, or from women who are keen their husband doesn’t know they are not.

“Men still hope they’re marrying a virgin, but more girls in India, at least in the towns and cities, are having sex before.

“Women write to me – and say, what do I do? I’ve had sex with other people but how do I convince people that I’m a virgin?”

Dr. Mahinda Watsa says that in major cities and towns more people are sexually active before marriage – more women working and having independence has led to women having more confidence and interactions with men.

“There is definitely more casual sex and sex before marriage happening in India nowadays,” says Dr. Nisreen Nakhoda, a GP who advises on sexual health for the medical website MDhil.

Dr. Nisreen Nakhoda is sceptical about how a cream such as 18 Again can work.

“Tightening the vagina is done by the vaginal muscles so I don’t know how a local cream can do the job,” she says, but believes it has the potential to do well in India because even if practices are changing, attitudes are not catching up as fast, so some people would try anything to cover up any hint of their actions.

“It’s all very under wraps and discreet, no-one really discusses their sex lives with their friends or boyfriends,” says Dr. Nisreen Nakhoda.

She says she has even heard stories of companies which work at night, such as call centres, finding their toilets full of condoms which they cannot flush down, as some couples find it hard to find a place to be alone.

A survey by India Today magazine last year showed that fewer than 1 in 5 (19%) of respondents were open to the idea of pre-marital sex, or live-in relationships, with a quarter of people saying they did not object to sex before marriage, as long as it was not happening in their family.

“We’re brought up being told that having sex with someone is a bit vulgar,” says one 26-year-old virgin.

“When you’re younger it’s hard to have a boyfriend, and most of my friends who did had to go to great lengths to lie to their parents,” adds the girl, who says she hopes to lose her virginity to her husband.

Another 27-year-old girl, who first had sex at the age of 20 and has had three sexual partners, believes a lot of the stigma comes from the idea that a man wants to feel like he owns a woman, adding that the idea that a women who sleeps with multiple partners might be called a “slut” is something all societies have to contend with.

“The Indian mindset is in a state of turmoil,” says Dr. Nisreen Nahkoda,

“The young generation wants to be hip and cool and try out sex before marriage, but they’re still brought up in the traditional set up where it’s taboo to have sex before marriage. This leads to a lot of confusion in many teenagers.

“On one hand you’re supposed to be the traditional demure Indian bride, but on the other hand, you don’t want to have to wait for sex because people are marrying later. Temptations are coming their way and people are no longer resisting,” says Dr. Nisreen Nakhoda.

The introduction of a vagina tightening cream, follows a recent controversy over a vagina skin lightening cream. Both are examples of how traditional values are clashing with newer ones in today’s India.

Annie Raja says these kind of products are all about giving men control over how a woman should behave or look, and that this is outdated and dangerous.

But Ultratech’s Rishi Bhatia says the fuss is unwarranted.

“Men have so many products they can buy to enhance their sexual pleasure, this is just putting sexual enhancement in the hands of women.”

 [youtube rgqiO4sd848]

Labiaplasty – plastic surgery for female genitalia – has been called the “final frontier” of cosmetic surgery.

Shannon, a 23-year-old woman has openly shared her experiences of labiaplasty on CBS’s show “The Doctors”.

The Doctors, aired yesterday on CBS, featured Shannon, who wanted nothing more than to correct her “painfully long labia”. The segment was part of the worryingly-named “Gross Anatomy” episode of the series.

Shannon, a trainee nurse, said that that her “deformed” genitals are not only a daily discomfort but that they discouraged her from having sex – and were a factor in her relationship breakup.

The young woman said: “I’m self conscious. I don’t really want to have sex – I try to avoid it, so it’s kind of a big strain on a relationship.”

Shannon described how she avoids swimming or any activity in her swimsuit and how she first felt different other girls in middle school.

The woman’s surgeon, Dr. Grant Stevens, of Marina Plastic Surgery in Marina del Rey, California, removed a finger length’s strip from her labia.

Dr. Grant Stevens said that while “no one would be cruel enough to suggest a woman should live like [Shanon]”, he admitted that many of his clients may not need surgery.

“If I hear the word pain or chafing or tenderness, it’s an entirely different consult than if I get the <<I’m embarrassed, I think it looks funny>>. But <<I’m embarrassed>> doesn’t automatically disqualify somebody,” the doctor said, reports the ABC.

Shannon, a trainee nurse, said that that her "deformed" genitals are not only a daily discomfort but that they discouraged her from having sex - and were a factor in her relationship breakup

Shannon, a trainee nurse, said that that her "deformed" genitals are not only a daily discomfort but that they discouraged her from having sex - and were a factor in her relationship breakup

“Vaginal rejuvenation” is the umbrella term for a set of procedures that include labia reduction, labia augmentation and vaginal tightening.

Some women – such as those who have suffered vaginal prolapses during childbirth – find rejuvenation surgery absolutely necessary.

However, for many women, the problem may be more contemporary.

As Dr. Travis Stork, The Doctors show’s host, put it: “Let’s be real… Looks do matter, whether it’s your face your hair or even down there.”

Massachusetts General Hospital obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr. Erin Tracy, seconds Dr. Grant Stevens’ findings – and Dr Stork’s beliefs. According to the news site, she said: “Most of the patients I have coming in asking about this are teenagers that look entirely normal.

“The majority of them, after some probing, seem to have some underlying body dysmorphic disorder or problems in their relationship that make them think they’re abnormal.”

Dr. Erin Tracy findings are echoed by Dr. Hilda Hutcherson, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at New York’s Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. She sees men as being partly to blame for the rise in labiaplasty.

“For every single thing that’s normal about a woman’s body there’s a man trying to change it… The last frontier was the vagina,” Dr. Hilda Hutcherson said, reports ABC.

“They’re taking this beautiful, fluffy vulva and making it look like newborn baby’s,” she says of the blood-vessel-rich area around the vagina.

Dr. Hilda Hutcherson is unswerving in her criticism of society’s treatment of the female form: “They’ve taken every part of a woman’s body and convinced us it’s somehow abnormal.”

Shannon is thrilled with the results of her surgery: “I’m so excited…they look amazing… I couldn’t be more happy,” she said on the programme.

But not every woman is so lucky.

Risks involved with the surgery include infection, bleeding, pain and discomfort. Misguided women may be causing more problems than they began with in the first place, especially as there is no one standard size or shape of labias and vaginas – or indeed for any part of the body.

“I think women should have options, but I think it’s up to doctors to educate them about what’s normal,” says Dr. Hilda Hutcherson.