This jade egg vagina trend is dangerous, according to doctors
There have been some pretty wild suggestions coming out of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop camp in the last couple years: letting bees sting your face, buying a $395 banana box, steaming your vagina, the list goes on. Goop is back with yet another questionable wellness claim. Apparently, they’re big fans of shoving a jade egg up your vagina — or, actually, excuse us, your yoni — to improve the environment down below.
Go ahead, have a laugh. We’ll be here when you’re ready to resume.
Done? Cool, okay, let’s continue. Goop claims that jade eggs are “strictly guarded secret of Chinese royalty in antiquity” that “harness the power of energy work, crystal healing, and a Kegel-like physical practice.” When you insert one into your hoo-ha every day, it’s meant to upgrade your sex life and increase your overall femininity. This hasn’t been scientifically proven, to say the least. Goop interviewed Shiva Rose, natural beauty line founder and actress, about the “sacred” jade egg practice, and it became such a hit that the eggs are currently sold out. She writes,
"Jade eggs can help cultivate sexual energy, increase orgasm, balance the cycle, stimulate key reflexology around vaginal walls, tighten and tone, prevent uterine prolapse, increase control of the whole perineum and bladder, develop and clear chi pathways in the body, intensify feminine energy, and invigorate our life force. To name a few! The jade creates kidney strength—it’s known as jing in Chinese energy, and it’s all about sexual potency, and even beauty—if your hormones are balanced, your skin will look better. It’s a holistic combination of things, where one benefit builds to another. Jade also takes away negativity and cleanses—it’s a very heavy material, very powerful."
While we, too, encourage women to celebrate their vaginas, is this particular method safe? Doctors have weighed in, and they don’t want you to go anywhere near these eggs, which cost about $66 each.
Lauren Streicher, MD, associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University, tells People that putting this jade egg into your vagina could actually be quite bad for you, no matter how ancient (or trusted) Rose says the practice is. “Many people have this idea that if it’s natural it must be good, useful, and not harmful,” Dr. Streicher said. But the truth is, it could get stuck up there, and when you reach in to try to retrieve it, you could end up scratching your vaginal wall. And there’s nothing magical about that.
Jen Gunter, MD, an OBGYN in San Francisco agrees that there’s more harm than good to be done here. “The stones are really porous, so I’m not sure how it could be cleaned or sterilized between uses,” she told People. That means all the bad bacteria that’s responsible for bacterial vaginosis and toxic shock syndrome could get stuck in the jade egg, and it will be absorbed back into the body the next time you put it back in your yoni.
Rose does add that, "If you’re on your cycle, don’t use it. If you’re pregnant or use an IUD, it’s super-important to check with your doctor before you use one. Some people say it can be useful in preparing for childbirth, but again, definitely consult a doctor in that situation."
Besides, you don’t need a jade egg to strengthen your vaginal wall and improve your sex life. You can still do your Kegel exercises whenever and wherever (think Samantha from Sex and the City), without a green stone that can trap bacteria. If you have any specific questions or want more, let’s say, personal information about the use of a jade egg, speak with your own doctor. But something tells us they won’t be encouraging you to purchase your own anytime soon.
