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Women are glitter bombing their private parts, and some experts are warning against it

Glitter-bombing your genitals is actually a thing. But is it safe? [Photo: Getty]
Glitter-bombing your genitals is actually a thing. But is it safe? [Photo: Getty]

Here’s proof that the unicorn trend has officially peaked: women are using sex pills to turn their bodily fluids colourful, glittery, and “magically delicious.”

An online company called Pretty Woman Inc. sells a product called Passion Dust, described on its website as a “sparkalized capsule that is inserted into the vagina at least one hour prior to having sexual intercourse. As the capsule becomes increasingly warmed and moistened by the natural vaginal fluids, it will begin to dissolve, releasing the sparkling candy-flavoured passion dust inside of the capsule.”

The product is promoted on Instagram by Madame.Butterflie and is currently out of stock due to high demand. As a “bedroom novelty”, Passion Dust doesn’t claim to be a sexual lubricant or gel that enhances sexual sensations. It does, however, guarantee safety.

People on Twitter are skeptical.

Per the website, the ingredients are gelatin capsules, starch based edible glitter, acacia (gum arabic) powder, Zea Mays starch, and vegetable stearate. The company also promises that “if you’ve ever had vaginal issues, you had them before you used Passion Dust anyway. If you’ve ever had a yeast infection, I’m sure it wasn’t caused by glitter; it just happens sometimes (Oh, the joys of being a girl!).”

On Saturday, Jen Gunter, an ob-gyn and pain-medicine physician known for her takedowns of Gwyneth Paltrow’s controversial health claims on her website Goop, penned a blog post on the dangers of the product, which she likened to “unicorn ejaculate.”

In the piece titled “Don’t Glitter Bomb Your Vagina,” Gunter breaks down her safety concerns about Passion Dust’s “cosmetic-grade glitter,” which she surmises are small pieces of plastic or sugar-based “edible glitter,” citing possible consequences such as inflammatory vaginal discharge, vaginitis, and increased risk of sexually transmitted infections.

Gunter also addresses the cultural implications of a product like Passion Dust. “The point of the vaginal glitter appears to be ‘for him,’ you know because a vagina au naturel just isn’t enough. I hate, hate, hate the messaging behind this (and all other vaginal “enhancement” products). Why do we have to shame women inside and out?” she writes in the post.

Yahoo Beauty could not reach Gunter or a representative for Passion Dust for comment; however, according to Tami Rowen, MD, a San Francisco gynaecologist and obstetrician, it’s unlikely that the ingredients in Passion Dust have been scientifically tested. She tells Yahoo Beauty: “Since the vagina is self-cleaning, the products are not likely dangerous, but I would never recommend this product since it lacks purpose.”

What’s more, according to Lauren Streicher, MD, author of Sex Rx: Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever, products that claim to enhance the way a woman tastes, feed into a false narrative that women’s bodies are offensive in their natural state. “The idea that a woman needs to dress up her genitals to make them more appealing fuels an industry that preys upon these types of insecurities,” Streicher tells Yahoo Beauty. “A woman’s natural secretions and genitals are not offensive, and there is no reason to dress them up like candy.”

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