Adventures in At-Home Vaginal Rejuvenation

There are plenty of things I don’t need in my life but could potentially benefit from. More vitamin D. Louis Vuitton’s $55,000 handbag. The MAC lipstick all the dancers in Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” video wore.

But like most consumers, I’m not immune to marketers telling me what I should and should not be doing for my own general well-being. And that is why I recently found myself trying to figure out what exactly to do with a large, white “vaginal-rejuvenation device” sitting on my desk at work.

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The brand-new FDA-listed product, called vSculpt, claims to be the “number one at-home vaginal-rejuvenation therapy” device, and it purports to help with any number of lady problems “down there” from poor bladder control to decreased sensation and even painful sex. Basically, this little white wand that glows with infrared light technology is supposed to help you passively exercise your pelvic floor muscles. It’s Kegels for the 21st-century woman.

But as its creator, Colette Courtion, who has a background in beauty, tells me, the device really is about prophylactically getting that part of your body in shape now so you don’t have issues later (or require some fairly scary vaginal-rejuvenation surgery).

“It’s essentially a passive treatment,” she tells me. “But there is a pleasure element for compliance.” Ah, so that’s what the vibration setting was for!

The vSculpt is programmed to run for six, eight, or 10 minutes. During that time, it uses a combination of infrared light, heat, and (if you so choose) vibrations. There’s even a mobile app to help you monitor your time with this little-talked-about muscle group. And it comes in a sleek white package, complete with a satin carrying case for discreet portability.

It all sounded pretty cool—lie back in the comfort and privacy of your own home, dim the lights, and get a workout for your lady parts in under 10 minutes. So after charging the device in a USB port (iVibe?), I decided to try it out for myself.

My first time was, admittedly, kind of awkward. There are more buttons and gadgets on this thing than a Swiss Army knife, with three light-treatment modes, six vibration modes, a temperature sensor, and three timers.

While I did feel a little silly, the overall experience was fairly enjoyable. The warmth from vSculpt was soothing, which was particularly nice after a rather aggressive SoulCycle class. But afterward, I was a little disappointed. Nothing felt different, though I’m not sure what I was expecting. Wasn’t I supposed to have a pelvic floor of steel?

Sadly, like most things involving the body, this takes actual work and perseverance. Most women said they felt a difference after three weeks, and I’ve been using it for only two. And beyond that, as a (fairly) healthy twentysomething, taking a prophylactic approach has the distinct disadvantage of meaning I’m not able to see tons of improvement because the idea is that I’m preventing that problem from ever becoming a, well, problem.

And while it was—dare I say—pretty fun to try the vSculpt for two weeks, I’m not sure I’d remember to be diligent about it over time, as much as I’d like to be (urinary incontinence sounds downright frightening, and, according to Courtion, one in three women over 35 will experience it). But I could definitely see where this device would be super helpful to a new mom hoping to get some toning down there.

That’s not to say I won’t try to use the device occasionally. Weak pelvic muscles are no joke, and, just like getting more vitamin D, using the vSculpt before I actually need to is probably a good idea.

The vSculpt is slated to launch early next year for $345 at vsculpt.com; those who want to pledge $175 0n Indiegogo can save $170 on the cost.