What’s going on?

Vaginal steaming--also known as v-steam, yoni steam, or chai-yok--is a treatment in which a person with a pussy* sits over a pot of boiling water and herbs.1 While the treatment has supposed ancient roots, vaginal steaming only recently emerged in spas as a cleansing procedure.1 It grew in popularity after Gwyneth Paltrow posted about her experience at the Tikkun Spa in Los Angeles on her lifestyle blog, Goop, in 2015.2 Since then, bloggers, journalists, and vaginal steam providers (including spas) have framed the treatment as a self-improvement treatment.2

Tikkun Spa states that vaginal steaming “stimulates the production of hormones to maintain uterine health, aids regular menstrual cycles, clears up hormonal acne, promotes circulation, and helps correct digestive disorders.”3 Vaginal steaming practitioners preach the antifungal and antibacterial properties of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), the most common herb used during the treatment.3

But medical researchers haven’t studied vaginal steaming in depth yet. It has not been proven effective, safe, or dangerous. There is suspicion from many experts that heat and vapor could mess up the pussy*’s balanced microbial ecosystem.

Dr. Jen Gunter, gynecologist and pain specialist at the Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco office, states, “We don’t know the effect of steam on the lower reproductive tract, but the lactobacilli strains that keep vaginas healthy are very finicky about their environment and raising the temperature with steam...is likely not beneficial and is potentially harmful...”4

Left alone, the bacteria that lives on the vulva acts as a bouncer, keeping out infection-causing bacteria that’s better off outside your body.5 That said, research about the microbial composition of the vulva is still “in its infancy.” Science just doesn’t know that much about it yet.

Claims that vaginal steaming can balance hormones are unsubstantiated, according to Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Yale School of Medicine.6 She states that while some people have issues with their hormone levels, most people with pussies* do not need to control their hormones.

How can I take care of my pussy*?

One spa writes, “The combination of steam and essential oils from the plants penetrate deeply into the cervix and uterus to dislodge indurated menstrual fluids and pathological accumulations that have not properly sloughed off with each monthly cycle.”2 This type of language regarding menstruation and the natural state of the pussy* as unclean and toxic is not scientifically supported. They are culturally inherited myths that frame the pussy* as inherently dirty.2 It’s not.

Experts can’t say for sure if vaginal steaming works or not. But they can say it seems to reinforce the false narrative that you need to do something to your pussy* to make it healthier or cleaner. In reality, if nothing seems wrong, leaving your pussy* alone to do what it’s designed to do is probably better.

Definitely do not try this while pregnant, since the effects have not been studied and even Tikkun Spa states on their website that people who are pregnant should not undergo this treatment.3

Author's Dedication: To my beloved sis, Rebecca Harris!