Pluck the brows, shave the pits, wax the legs, gloss the lips, dye the hair, lighten the vagina. What? As if there weren’t already enough painful and humiliating procedures women are expected to endure to fulfill their roles as flawless, hairless, creatures, but now we’re told that the colour of our labia could be causing offense and needs to be lightened toot suit. Give me a break!
Last week, Huda Beauty, the popular makeup brand founded by former beauty blogger, Huda Kattan, baffled and outraged the internet with a blog post advising women how to lighten the colour of their “lady parts”.
In the blog post titled “Why Your Vagina Gets Dark And How To Lighten It” dermatologist, Dr Doris Day provided tips on how to naturally lighten your skin downstairs.
Image source: Huda beauty
The post doesn’t specify that having “darker” coloured labia is a health concern, instead it suggests that wanting to lighten your vagina is purely an aesthetic choice.
“We’re busting myths as to why lightning your lady parts with natural ingredients may not be working, and how you can actually improve it (if that’s what you want!)” the blog reads.
Ways to ‘improve’ the colour of your vagina, according to Huda Beauty, include losing weight: “excess weight can lead to friction, which can cause darkening”; mositurising your bits: “a good moisturiser will help keep the skin healthy and optimised”; and if those don’t work, see your dermatologist for a “chemical peel”. Ouch!
Huda Beauty founder Huda Kattan.
Commenters didn’t hesitate to call the blogger out on the post, leaving responses like “Gigantic FAIL – Shame on you Huda,” and “So a ‘lighter’ everything is preferred to ‘dark’ …. ?? Even in 2018.”
One even corrected the “trusted expert” and post writer for not knowing the difference between the words ‘vagina’ (the internal part of the female genitalia) and ‘vulva’.
“Very disappointed with the fact that the writer or blogger doesn’t know the difference between vagina and vulva. The external part of female genitalia is known as vulva.”
Following the backlash and uproar Huda Beauty’s article caused, the brand has taken to the post again to defend their decision to publish it.
“We appreciate and respect everyone’s opinions on this subject and want to express that we do not feel lightening your vulva (vagina/ lady parts/ VJJ,) is necessary,” the post read.
“Our goal is to give details for those who may wish to, by sharing expert advice from a leading dermatologist. We’ve seen a lot of harmful DIYs on the internet, so we hope this post provides the best information on the topic and offers safe ways for people to do this, should they wish to.”
While Huda Beauty claimed women actually want to know how to lighten their nether regions, one commenter put it perfectly: “If your partner is concerned about the Pantone of your genitalia you’ve got a much bigger problem than the colour of your vulva.”
And I could not agree more.
