Your Vagina Is Going Through Some Things
Just like the rest of your body, your vagina ages. Once you get close to menopause, its parts don’t look or function the same as they did when you were younger.
Dryness, drooping, and a lack of lubrication are all issues at this stage of life. These changes are natural, though their effects on your bathroom habits and sex life may not be welcome.
It’s Pretty Dry
The hormone estrogen keeps the tissues of your vagina healthily plump and moist. When estrogen levels drop around the time of menopause, those sensitive tissues are left high and dry.
Dryness is one of the more distressing symptoms of menopause. It can make sex uncomfortable or even painful. Use a lubricant to reduce friction. And have sex regularly to keep up the moisture you still have.
There’s Less Hair Down There
Your hair goes through natural cycles where it grows for a period of time and then falls out. As your hair gets older, its growth cycle shortens. At the same time, a drop in estrogen makes testosterone your body’s dominant hormone.
Testosterone fuels hair loss. When more hair falls out than your body can replace, you’ll start to see areas of thinning. It happens on your scalp, and it happens down there, too.
Your Labia Is Looser
Skin tone gets worse because of the age-related loss of elastin and collagen – proteins that once kept it taut. That’s true for the skin on your face as well as your labia – the folds on either side of your vagina.
Sagging is less obvious when it’s inside your pants, but if it bothers you, there are surgical procedures to plump and firm up your labia.
There’s Drooping
The muscles of your pelvic floor act like a sling that supports your uterus, bladder, rectum, and the top of your vagina.
Childbirth and menopause weaken these muscles …
