By Melissa Waine

Everyone wants to age gracefully. As you age, your skin can start to show the effects with the appearance of wrinkles, dryness and age spots. The skin of your vulva and inside your vagina is no exception.

It's not a topic that's often talked about, but vulvar and vaginal dryness, itching and discomfort is an uncomfortable problem for many women.

Vulvar and vaginal dryness occurs in one in three women of all ages and is more common with aging. As estrogen levels drop during perimenopause and after menopause, so too do moisture levels in the skin.

Vulvar and vaginal dryness affects more than 50% of postmenopausal women¹ and also can affect women who are in perimenopause, women who have undergone breast cancer treatment and women who have conditions such as endometriosis or Sjogren's syndrome.

Dryness can affect daily functioning, mood and sexual relationships with a partner².

A Good Skincare Regime Can Provide Relief for Vaginal Dryness

Vulvar and vaginal moisturizers help hydrate vaginal skin to keep it moist and healthy, just like moisturizers hydrate dry skin on other areas of your body. The vagina has 28 layers, and the top layer is shed about every four hours, requiring daily moisturization. Vaginal moisturizers adhere to the vaginal lining and are absorbed into the skin, thereby hydrating it³.

By maintaining the health of delicate vulvar and vaginal skin, you can help prevent other problems associated with vulvar and vaginal dryness, such as pain, bleeding and increased risk of infections.

But with so many products on the market, it can be hard to know what vulvar and vaginal skin care regime to choose. It's important to make sure that your vulvar and vaginal moisturizers are not just effective, but also safe.

Finding "Natural," "Safe" or "Clean" Vaginal Skincare

With female genital procedures on the rise, it is important to find natural, safe and clean post-procedure care. The global market for intimate skin moisturizers is estimated at $1.67 billion and growing by 8% compound annual growth rate.

The expansion of cosmetic procedures will only increase the demand for access to safe, elegant and properly manufactured intimate skin care companion products.

Choosing a Safe Moisturizer for Your Vagina

A proven safe and effective moisturizer is the best option for delicate vaginal skin for post-procedure and continued daily use. FemmePharma's water-based vulvar moisturizer Satisfem and vaginal moisturizer Satisfaite, for example, provide relief from vaginal dryness, itching, burning and other discomforts, with naturally occurring, safe hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid is an ultra-effective skin care ingredient that hydrates and soothes, especially for dry and wrinkled skin. Despite its hard-to-pronounce name, hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in our bodies. It has proven to be a powerful skin care ingredient that is safe for use on your vulvar and vaginal skin⁴.

It is used in a wide variety of skin care products, from serums to moisturizers to help maintain and lock in moisture. This results in hydrated and plumped-up skin. It is suitable for any skin type, particularly wrinkle-prone skin, and it's safe to use daily, or in multiple products, as part of your regular skincare regime.

FemmePharma will present a free live webinar, Enhancing the Client Experience: Combining Intimate Procedures with Intimate Skin Care Products, with Maria Sophocles, MD, and Gerianne DiPiano, CEO of FemmePharma, on July 15 at 1 PM CDT. You can register for the webinar here.

FemmePharma is the first and only company dedicated to women's menopausal health. Its mission is to bring innovative products to market designed to safely and effectively alleviate the symptoms of menopause. Its pharmaceutical-grade research and development process, strict product manufacturing standards and commitment to great customer service provide women with the symptomatic relief and peace of mind that they have been seeking.

¹ Kagan, R., Kellogg-Spadt, S. & Parish, S.J. Practical Treatment Considerations in the Management of Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause. Drugs Aging 36, 897–908 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-019-00700-w
² Naumova I, Castelo-Branco C. Current treatment options for postmenopausal vaginal atrophy. Int J Womens Health. 2018;10:387-395. Published 2018 Jul 31. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S158913
³ Kagan, R., Kellogg-Spadt, S. & Parish, S.J. Practical Treatment Considerations in the Management of Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause. Drugs Aging 36, 897–908 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40266-019-00700-w
⁴ Jokar A, Davari T, Asadi N, Ahmadi F, Foruhari S. Comparison of the Hyaluronic Acid Vaginal Cream and Conjugated Estrogen Used in Treatment of Vaginal Atrophy of Menopause Women: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. 2016;4(1):69-78.