POPSUGAR UK

Would You Detox Your Ex With Vaginal Steaming?

10/10/2022 - 03:00 PM
@pelvicsteamtherapy [1]

I have no words. #breakup [2] #breakupadvice [3] #heartbreak [4] #heartache [5] #soulties [6] #detoxhim [7] #detoxyourex [8] #yonisteam [9] #pelvicsteam [10]

♬ original sound - pelvicsteamtherapy [11]

Going through a breakup isn't always easy and there's no right way to process it. While some might take to journalling, others might want to get back on the dating scene right way. Either way, the time after a breakup is often a time for growth, with many people on TikTok calling this period their "healing era [12]".

A perhaps more divisive way of getting over an ex as part of this healing period is also making waves on TikTok: vaginal steaming. There's over 120 million views for the hashtag #yonisteam on the social media platform while a recent video posted by Kyleigh James, a pelvic steaming expert, uses the spa-like treatment to "detox an ex". In the video, she can be seen boiling a kettle and filling a bowl with a number of petals and herbs, that soon become covered with the boiling water. Taking off her trousers and underwear, she ties a towel around her waist before kneeling over the bowl to allow the perfumed steam to essentially cleanse her vagina from her ex of four years.

"When my relationship ended a few months ago, I began steaming a couple times a week to help my body process, cleanse and chill out. The grief was intense. When I would steam, it helped the tension in my muscles let go," James tells POPSUGAR. "We hold emotions in our hips — as a massage therapist, I've worked with trauma and hip tension for years and I see this daily. When it comes to the inner pelvic bowl, however, it's so intimate and yet so important." She does, however, encourage everyone to learn about their own body and seek advice from professionals. " I strongly encourage doing research yourself, learning anatomy and making every decision personally, because only you know what's best for your body."

It's not the first time we've seen vaginal steaming come to the forefront, either. After having her second baby, a son named Miles, Chrissy Teigen indulged in a home spa day, posting on Instagram that she was having a face mask, heating pad, and vagina steam. It turns out it's a very real thing that people do [13] — sometimes at fancy spas — after having a baby.

Thinking a vaginal steam might be right up your hoo-ha alley? Are you going through a breakup and think your undercarriage could do with a detox before a retox? Read ahead to find out more about the treatment.

What is vaginal steaming?

Vaginal steaming is like a sauna session for your undercarriage — it's a natural remedy that seeks to clean the vagina and uterus through the use of herb-infused steam that you squat over.

What are the benefits of vaginal steaming?

Although all claims to benefits are just that, there are several alleged positives to vaginal steaming. In addition to cleansing the vagina and reproductive tract, it's said to regulate periods and hormones, ease menstrual cramps, and aid in pelvic floor issues. Some who support the practice also claim it relieves stress, depression, hemorrhoids, infections, infertility, headaches, fatigue, digestive issues, and generalised pain.

"One benefit may be that the moist heat from the steam increases blood flow to the vaginal area, though this isn't well-studied," says Dr. Deborah Weatherspoon, PhD, RN, CRNA.

Is vaginal steaming safe?

Although vaginal steaming could be done at home using a basin of steaming hot water infused with herbs, most doctors don't recommend it. According to Healthline: "There's no scientific research to prove whether vaginal steaming is safe. But your vagina isn't meant to be steam-cleaned. An overheated vagina may provide the perfect environment for bacteria that cause yeast infections and other vaginal infections to thrive. Vaginal skin is delicate, sensitive, and easily traumatised. Using it as target practice for a plume of warm steam may cause vaginal burns or scalding." Additionally, some herbs, when used topically, can cause an allergic reaction.

Because there aren't any medical guidelines for steaming your vagina at home — and the internet is a seriously contradictory place — it's recommended you consult with a doctor before giving it a whirl. Vaginal, or pelvic, steaming should never be tried if you're pregnant. If choosing steaming postpartum, please ensure you seek out a steaming practitioner as the area will be more tender and could be unsafe if conducted at the wrong time or with the wrong herbs.

Does vaginal steaming actually work?

According to Healthline: "It's possible vaginal steaming may make you relax and ease cramping like a heating pad does, but evidence it cleanses your vagina or uterus, improves fertility, and balances hormones is purely anecdotal." Dr. Manny Alvarez, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Hackensack University Medical Centre in New Jersey, backs that up, saying, "vaginal steaming may help you relax, but little else."

Is vaginal steaming necessary?

As with all things involving your own body, it's completely up to you whether you deem vaginal steaming a necessary practice, but you should definitely consult your physician before doing so, just to be safe.


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.co.uk/parenting/What-Vaginal-Steaming-44960286