With a few exceptions, it’s just generally a good rule of thumb not to put random stuff in your vagina. In the latest cautionary tale, a predatory company has been pushing a sold out product called “Passion Dust” that doctors warn you should definitely not put in your vagina.
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Pretty Women Inc. is the manufacturer of Passion Dust, a product that it touts on its website as a capsule that adds “sparkle and flavour to your natural vaginal fluids to make the experience of lovemaking that much more fun and enjoyable for you and your partner”. Using a lot of gross euphemisms, the company is basically saying your vagina is repulsive so throw in these glitter capsules and it will be less repulsive. It promises consumers a product that is “just enough to make your lover feel that your Yara (water-lady or little butterfly) is what all vaginas are supposed to look, feel and taste like; soft, sweet and magical!”
Made from gelatin, starch-based edible glitter, acacia (gum arabic) powder, Zea Mays starch and vegetable stearate, Passion Dust is not as safe as it claims, according to gynaecologists. “The vagina contains a delicate balance of good bacteria, which are there to protect it,” Dr Vanessa Mackay, spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) tells The Independent. “If women place foreign objects inside their vagina, they risk disturbing this balance which may lead to infection, such as bacterial vaginosis or thrush, and inflammation.”
Dr Jen Gunter is a Canadian gynaecologist who is known for writing critical blog posts about Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand GOOP. She authored a takedown of Passion Dust that should give any potential buyers second thoughts. Here are some selections from her post:
Just because something is safe for your lips, for example glitter lip gloss, doesn’t mean it is safe for the vagina…
If [the glitter] isn’t plastic and it’s sugar, well, depositing sugar in the vagina lets the bad bacteria go wild. Studies looking at treating bacterial vaginosis with vaginally administered probiotics were halted because the glucose keeping the probiotics alive made the bad bacteria go wild.
Dr Gunter also takes issue with the sexist overtones of the product and her thoughts are well-worth reading in full.
Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Shazia Malik also tells The Independent that Passion Dust users could run the risk of inflammatory discharge and tiny scratches that might lead to sex not being fun at all.
Pretty Women Inc’s website literally warns people not to listen to doctors. “Any gynaecologist would tell you that NOTHING should go in your vagina!” But “if you’ve ever had vaginal issues you had them before you used Passion Dust anyway.” Any rational human being would tell you that you should not listen to some garbage company over a doctor.
The site also has a “Passion Dust in the news” section. We’re guessing that won’t be getting updated any time soon.