Vaginal Tightening – what are the options and does it work?
Private Clinic in Kent – Easy access from London, Maidstone, Gravesend and Dartford
At Elite Aesthetics, we work with some of the country’s most informed and expert aestheticians who will guide you through the decision and procedures involved. Private consultations are held at our multi-award winning clinic in Greenhithe, Kent. We’re easy to get to and are located close to both Dartford and Gravesend stations (just 10 minutes away), Maidstone (just 15 minutes) and London (20 minutes).
What is vaginal tightening?
Vaginal tightening refers to any method used to strengthen the vaginal muscles and increase vaginal tone, which can become weak after childbirth or the menopause or due to age.
For most women, vaginal changes that occur after childbirth or with aging do not affect sexual performance. However, for some women, problems such as sexual dysfunction, vaginal atrophy (thinning of the vaginal tissue), vaginal laxity (looseness of the vagina), painful intercourse and stress incontinence (leakage of urine) can have a negative impact on their quality of life.
In an attempt to address this issue, there are a variety of vaginal rejuvenation treatments currently available. These treatments range from creams and pills to laser or radiofrequency treatment to surgery. However, not all of them deliver on their promises, so we’ve researched the options available and gathered information about the benefits and drawbacks of each treatment.
What are the benefits of vaginal tightening?
Vaginal rejuvenation has many benefits, it can help with:
- increase pleasure during intercourse
- give you more confidence and reduce your anxiety in daily life
- tightening the vagina
- reduce vaginal dryness and therefore improve lubrication
- improve symptoms of vaginal atrophy (when the vaginal walls become thinner, drier or inflamed)
- improve vaginal laxity
- improve stress urinary incontinence (SUI)
- reduce the number of recurrent infections such as bacterial vaginosis (BV)
Some women may benefit from vaginal rejuvenation at different stages in their lives. For example, some women find that having a baby or multiple births can mean a loss of elasticity and tightness in the vagina. Others may experience stress incontinence due to weak pelvic floor muscles.
You can read more about the symptoms of causes of a weak pelvic floor and how to treat them.
Genitourinary syndrome of menopause, a common disorder affecting women going through the menopause, can have a negative impact on quality of life. Symptoms of genitourinary syndrome of menopause include:
- urinary problems
- pain with intercourse
- vaginal dryness
- vaginal irritation
Certain vaginal tightening techniques, such as radio frequency or the O Shot, can actually make intercourse more pleasurable by increasing the vagina’s natural lubrication.
How to tighten the vagina: treatment options
Treatment options for vaginal tightening include the following:
- seeing your GP and being referred to a NHS specialist in Women’s Health.
- radio frequency treatments such as the Ultra Femme 360
- Emsella Chair to tighten your pelvic floor
- The O Shot to regenerate your vagina using your own Growth Factors.
- Surgery—recovery can take over 6 weeks.
O Shot
The O–Shot is a drug-free, non-surgical solution that uses the patient’s own platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to stimulate the natural healing process. You may have seen Dr Shirin perform this on Embarrassing Bodies or one of our patient stories that has been in the press.
PRP treatments have most often been used to treat injuries in athletes for over 20 years and has been popular in treating hair loss and other regenerative issues.
Emsella Chair
The Emsella chair, created by award-winning medical and aesthetics manufacturer BTL, aims to help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles again and give patients back control of their bladder. It is a completely painless, non-invasive and non-surgical treatment used to improve the symptoms of incontinence and can be carried out in less than half an hour per session. Unlike many non-surgical incontinence treatments, it is completely non-invasive and can be carried out fully clothed.
Ultrafemme 360
Ultra Femme 360 by BTL is a revolutionary vaginal tightening treatment available at Elite Aesthetics in Greenhithe, Kent. Ultra Femme 360 is a completely safe, non-surgical alternative to traditional surgical vaginoplasty and labiaplasty. Ultra Femme is able to provide complete vaginal rejuvenation both internally and externally, including labial remodelling and vaginal tightening, using a single FDA approved device. It works by using radiofrequency waves to help stimulate your body’s natural collagen production and enhance blood flow to the area.
Jenna’s Story and Her Ultra Femme 360 Treatment
Dr Shirin Appearing on ITV Demonstrating the Ultra Femme Treatment
Vaginal Surgery (Vaginoplasty)
Sometimes used to repair trauma to the vagina as a result of childbirth—for example, to repair a badly torn perineal muscle. For some women, reconstructive surgery is an option for tightening the vaginal canal. This surgery, known as an elective vaginoplasty (or ‘designer vagina’ surgery) restores the vagina’s tightness and sensation.
Vaginal Tightening Surgery Risks
There are a number of risks associated with vaginoplasty, which requires you to be under a general anaesthetic. Some of the risks include:
- infection
- bleeding
- scarring
- loss of sensation
Home remedies for Vaginal Tightening
When it comes to tightening the vaginal walls, you should be careful about using natural or home remedies. Cider vinegar, witch hazel and turmeric aren’t proven treatments for vaginal tightening. In fact, they could cause further problems by upsetting the delicate balance of bacteria in the vagina.
Exercise You Pelvic Floor
Pelvic floor muscles—a sling-shaped muscle that supports the pelvic organs, including the vagina—are strengthened with kegel exercises. Strong pelvic floor muscles can help prevent problems such as stress urinary incontinence and can even enhance sexual pleasure through increased sensitivity during intercourse. Pregnant women should perform kegel exercises to help tighten their pelvic floor muscles; they may also choose to do them after childbirth to regain tone in the area. People of any age can perform these exercises to tone their pelvic floor muscles.
There’s a problem with Kegal exercises, not many people know how to do them, it’s quite an art. The Emsella Chair helps you do you pelvic floor workout at 11,000 kegals in less than 30 minutes. Imagine trying to do that yourself, it would take a very long time.
What’s the best option?
The exact type of treatment you need depends on your needs. However, it’s generally wise to avoid treatments such as home remedies or creams and gels, as they’re unlikely to have any benefits and could even cause irritation, an infection, or an allergic reaction.
Surgery is usually only necessary for extreme cases where the vagina has been damaged—for example, due to complications in childbirth.
For most women looking for vaginal rejuvenation, the O Shot, Emsella Chair, Ultra Femme 360, or exercise are the best options.
Does vaginal tightening work?
We’ve had high levels of patient satisfaction from women who’ve had Ultra Femme 360, Emsella Chair and the O Shot treatment at our clinic.
Some cosmetic products, such as tightening gels, creams, pills and natural remedies, are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. These have not been proven to work and should not be used.
The only treatment that will have drastic and long-term results is a vaginoplasty procedure. However, this is expensive and can take up to six weeks to recover from.
