Should I use a Jade Egg?
Read about the author Samantha Evans
Surging in popularity after Gwyneth Paltrow touted their benefits, Jade eggs, also known as yoni eggs, are egg shaped gemstones, can be made from rose quartz and are designed for vaginal insertion, supposedly offering a range of health benefits. These include balancing your hormones, regulating menstrual cycles, preventing uterine prolapse, exercising your pelvic floor muscles, restoring your energy, boosting your sex life and increasing bladder control.
Many people tout that they have been used for over 5000 years within Chinese culture yet according to a report published in Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery (2019). a team of researchers reviewed more than 5,000 jade objects from Chinese art and archaeology collections to explore the merits behind this claim and did not find one single vaginal egg to support their use in ancient Chinese culture. They concluded that it was a modern marketing myth!
A Jade Egg is “natural” so it must be good for your health?
There is a pervading myth that products deemed to be “natural” are good for you, can be helpful and cannot harm your health in any way, yet this simply is not true.
Arsenic, mercury and foxglove (digitalis), all found in nature, are all highly toxic, even deadly.
The problem with jade is that it is porous so it absorbs bacteria, making it impossible to clean, therefore leading to infection such as thrush and bacterial vaginosis.
Some people promote wearing your jade egg at night but this is not recommended, we do not recommend wearing tampons or menstrual cups (both either disposable or easy to clean non porous silicone) for more than 12 hours and the same goes for a jade egg. It may also get stuck inside your vagina, making it difficult to retrieve leading to scratches or abrasions on the walls of the vagina.
Eggs on strings also pose another infection risk, especially if the string material is not easy to clean or porous such as leather or cord.
It will not make your pelvic floor muscles stronger
Using a jade egg will not strengthen your pelvic floor muscles (PC muscles). In fact, it could lead to pelvic floor dysfunction, making the muscles tighten and penetration painful.
When you do pelvic floor exercises, you contract and release your PC muscles, not just contract them, something you have to do wearing a jade egg. Constantly contracting your PC muscles is akin to doing half a bicep curl and not finishing it.
If you want to strengthen your pelvic floor, learn how to exercise your PC muscles correctly, we recommend seeing a pelvic health physiotherapist who can teach you how to do the exercises properly.
Knowing how to correctly exercise your pelvic floor muscles can help urinary incontinence, prolapse and even make your orgasms feel stronger.
You can also use pelvic floor exercisers such as Lelo Luna Balls, OhMiBod Flex, Fun Factory FunBalls or Lelo Luna Smart Bead.
The Mystim range of products not only work as vibrators but also offer a pelvic floor training programme too.
All these products will not do the exercises for you but prompt you to exercise your pelvic floor, something that many people find helpful. All these products are made from skin safe silicone which is non porous, really easy to clean and very unlikely to cause infection or irritation.
The Placebo Effect
Balancing your hormones, regulating your cycle and restoring energy have no scientific background, any short term benefits that some women feel is as a result of the placebo effect. This is potentially harmful due to the risk of infection and the recommended uses. If you think your hormone or menstrual cycle are impacting upon your health or you just feel tired all the time, seek medical advice. A simple blood test may identify the problem which might require medication or dietary changes. Sticking a porous egg inside your vagina will not.
A Jade Egg Won’t Give you Better Orgasms
If you are struggling to orgasm, it is taking longer or feels less pleasurable, take time to get to know your body through masturbation, explore your clitoris with a mirror, use a good pH balanced sexual lubricant and gently touch yourself, experiment with different touch techniques, try a simple bullet vibrator or clitoral stimulator which offers different sexual stimulation and talk to your partner, show them what works for you and how you like to be touched.
There may be a health reason why you are struggling to orgasm such as side effects to medication, medical conditions, hormonal changes, stress, anxiety or medical/surgical interventions which is why seeking medical advice is important.
Don’t rely upon the mystical powers of a Jade Egg
Jade eggs or yoni eggs are a modern marketing myth, designed to relieve you of money, not any of the health issues above. So if you want stronger pelvic floor muscles, see a pelvic health physio, if you want to restore your energy, balance your hormones or menstrual cycle, see a medical professional and if you want better orgasms, invest in a high quality skin safe sex toy!