Moisturizers are Not Just for Your Face

Most women are very familiar with the concept of a moisturizer since they have been conditioned to constantly apply one to their face and neck to avoid dire consequences like wrinkles and fine lines While the tissue that lines the vagina is not the same as the skin on the rest of your body, when estrogen declines, both the skin on your face and the “skin” that lines the vagina, become dry and thin. Over-the-counter long-lasting vaginal moisturizers are intended to be used regularly in anticipation of sexual activity. Moisturizers hydrate and thicken vaginal tissue to restore natural lubrication. In addition, regular use of vaginal moisturizers may also help with non-sexual symptoms like burning, irritation and dryness.

· The difference between vaginal lubricants and long-acting moisturizers

· Why products are often labeled as moisturizers when they are lubricants

· The two categories of vaginal moisturizers that have been shown in clinical trials to change tissue

o Polycarbophil (Replens™ Long-lasting Vaginal Moisturizer)

o Hyaluronic Acid (Reveree™, Hayalo Gyn™)

· HOW these products work

· How well these products work compared to other products

· Why maintaining a healthy vaginal pH is important.

· How to best use a long-acting vaginal moisturizer.

· Liv-Ring™- a new vaginal ring that states it is both a lubricant and moisturizer.


Lauren Streicher, MD is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, the founding medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, and a Senior Research Fellow of The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. She is a certified menopause practitioner of The Menopause Society. She is the Medical Director of Community Education and Outreach for Midi Health.

Dr. Streicher is the medical correspondent for Chicago’s top-rated news program, the WGN Morning News, and has been seen on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, NPR, Dr. Radio, Nightline, Fox and Friends, The Steve Harvey Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News Now, NBCNightlyNews,20/20, and World News Tonight. She is an expert source for many magazines and serves on the medical advisory board of The Kinsey Institute, Self Magazine, and Prevention Magazine. She writes a regular column for The Ethel by AARP and Prevention Magazine.

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Books by Lauren Streicher, MD

•  Slip Sliding Away: Turning Back the Clock on Your Vagina-A gynecologist’s guide to eliminating post-menopause dryness and pain
   
• Hot Flash Hell: A Gynecologist's Guide to Turning Down the Heat
  
  
• Sex Rx- Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever
  
  
• The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy
  
  

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