Look, we're all for trying out new beauty treatments here at ELLE, whether that's a couple of scented temporary tattoos, fruit slice face masks or rainbow hair, but one thing you won't hear us doing any time soon is sticking a wasp nest up our vaginas to give it a little spruce?
Why?
Oh, you know, because we haven't lost our marbles, our vajayjays are pretty fine and dandy as they are and, funnily enough, we don't need an insect crawling around inside our bodies, leading to a very awkward discussion in A&E on a Friday night.
However, according to the Sun, several online retailers on Etsy are selling oak galls, otherwise known as the nests that house wasp eggs before they hatch, and advertising them as a natural way of cleaning female genitalia, improving a woman's sex life, ridding urinary tract infections and 'bad odours', when the galls are ground into a paste.
*Crosses legs*
As a result, Canadian gynaecologist Jen Gunter is warning women that using this 'rejuvenation method' – sold by retailers on Etsy such as Heritage Health Shop and Indojuara – can have serious long-term implications.
In a blog titled, 'Don't put ground up wasp nest in your vagina' (just in case you didn't know she was agains the practice), Gunter says the method will cause pain during sex and increase the risk of HIV transmission.
'Drying the vaginal mucosa increases the risk of abrasions during sex (not good) and destroys the protective mucous layer (not good).
'This is a dangerous practice with real potential to harm. Here's a pro-tip, if something burns when you apply it to the vagina it is generally bad for the vagina,' she says.
I mean, you can't argue with that.
'While many women won't buy this product it's just one more bullsh*t message about vaginal health. It's no wonder there are so many useless and/or harmful products on drugstore shelves designed to dry and clean vulvas and vaginas,' adds Gunter.
Heritage Health Shop has since removed their listings, however oak galls are still available to buy on Indojarra.
From puberty, girls are made to feel self-conscious about their vaginas, often leading to insecurities in later life when it comes to forming sexual relationships, visiting a GP and booking a wax appointment. We don't need yet another pointless and, from the sounds of it dangerous, method from our consumerist society attempting to brainwash us into thinking we need products to 'improve' or 'rejuvenate' our genitalia.
Look, let's just go by the general rule of not sticking any animal up our vaginas and everything will be okay.
