There has been much hysteria of late regarding the safety of putting a Jade Egg in your Vagina. As a seller it’s been rather entertaining sitting back and watching it all unfold. I was even a week late even noticing the fear mongering blog about the safety of Yoni Eggs which was written by one Ob Gyn Dr Jen Gunter who has publicly shamed actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The website Goop have started selling Yoni Eggs and because Gwyneth Paltrow is somebody who is into alternative lifestyle choices the mainstream have gone a bit bonkers. Dr Gunther had her first pop at Gwyneth when she tried vaginal streaming a couple of years ago and recommended it. (I tried it at home with a bucket and my facial steamer and some herbs and absolutely loved it worked wonders for my PMS and lower back pain). Dr Gunther was also recently on a news channel speculating about the health of Donald Trump who apparently according to some sources takes a mind altering medication that prevents hair from falling out. My personal experience of mainstream Dr’s in general has not always been plain sailing or resulted in healing. In 2003 a year after the birth of my first child I was diagnosed FINALLY with Hashimotos thyroiditis by my own Uncle who has his own surgery and is based in Germany and who suspected I had an underlying health condition due to my puffy face, weak muscle strength and brittle hair. Previous to my diagnosis I was constantly in and out of my local Dr’s Surgery in the UK and asking for more tests as I suspected it was thyroid related but my personal Dr was adamant that I had post natal depression and instead put me on hardcore anti-depressants which made me feel much worse and were not treating the underlying problem which was basically an auto-immune condition making my thyroid inactive. I was also treated in my earlier years by a holistic practitioner called Dr Shyam Singha who used a holistic approach to healthcare rather than using pharmaceuticals, and used to gain more benefit from that approach than stuffing my face with pills and big pharma. For instance at the age of 19 I had epstein bar virus which caused chronic fatigue, and he put me on a fast of grapes and hot water and lemon for a week to help my system clean out from all the beer and cider I had been drinking previously causing a breakdown in my system. I’m allergic to alcohol and don’t drink it now. Back to Dr Gunter, after a breather I decided to comment on her blog with my own personal experience of using Jade Eggs since 2011 after the birth of my third child at 42 but it was not approved. I also noticed that some of the people commenting with valid information and some with many years of experience were either being edited or blocked out therefore at times the thread read out of context and seemed a bit one sided.
Example: I responded to this earlier but since my comment has disappeared, let me reiterate. There is NO difference between the materials of the cheaper version of the egg and a dildo. And since Maneewan Chia and other teachers of the Healing Tao sytem had all students remove their eggs once their routine was completed the only difference between using an egg or your favourite sex toy would be purpose. And since you haven’t explored any variations of purpose here, you obviously have written your article simply to take a swipe at Gwyneth Paltrow. You speak in absolutes with no studies to back you up, and your attacks are absurd. Ms Paltrow has simply stated an opinion which you disagree with, but you respond as if she’s practising medicine without a licence while forgetting there are other cultures who have made use of these same practises for centuries. Your article is simply your opinion versus hers. What a waste. (Charles Souphos)
Dr Jen Gunter: Dunno, I looked up jade on multiple sites and it was called porous. If you use that thing called Google you can find information as well.
Women don’t have special energy, I find that insulting. And no thanks on the self experimentation, the fact that a rock in your vagina for periods of time can be harmful to the pelvic floor muscles is pretty much a guarantee if you know how they work. People are free to do what they want, but claiming this can change hormones or aura or the like means you believe in magic. I don’t
Charles Souphos: Just leave it at “Dunno”.
As a seller since 2011 i’ve done my fair share of pacing up and down this past week, because lots of tabloid press and fake news channels have jumped on the bandwagon – lets face it anything to do with Vaginas normally grabs attention of some sort or other. If I had one of those bluetooth heart monitor thingy’s that measure stress levels like a watch or app, it would have told me to sit down and watch a film or meditate. I cannot deny that this news has made me want to react passionately with bells and whistles, especially when I see pelvic floor silicon bluetooth devices being advertised on some of those negative fake news feeds. Thing is I don’t plug myself in 24/7 or use an app to manage my health, pelvic floors, heart rate etc, so instead I asked for guidance from my intuition which told me that this news of late is actually a very positive thing, and it’s actually raising awareness, and that it’s now time for all sellers and users over the world to join together and start doing the clinical trials which to date have not been done so that we can firstly prove to the ney slayers that actually it is a safe alternative if used correctly and hygienically, and that they do work with amazing results – I know because it’s worked wonders for me and that is why I decided to start selling them in 2011 till now and onwards.
Instead of reacting angrily I decided to connect to other sellers and pro Yoni Egg practitioners and was firstly very happy to receive a nice reply from Leyla Martin who has her own story to tell and who has been teaching yoni egg practise and who recently posted a short youtube video in response to Dr Gunters speculation with Saida Desilets. It was great seeing too shining vibrant women sharing openly their voice. The only thing that I disagreed with Saida was that with Jadeite you cannot control the source (33:36 / 39:34 into the video link above) At Jade Eggs Global we sell very high grade Jadeite yoni eggs which have been certified by GIA and are not artificially dyed or manufactured with harmful chemicals, but again Jadeite is slowly on the rise in popularity and Nephrite is the buzz word right now and Jadeite is more expensive so if you do want Jadeite please buy from it from me because mine is authentic high grade and 100% real Jade, and indeed it is a great investment that will rise in price as the years go by. Also relating to the wax comment. When they do the drilling process the eggs are covered in wax to prevent scratching, this is a food grade wax to protect the egg drill site from scratching or slipping during the process ;), the eggs are after all made by hand. I ask for photos from the factories where the eggs are made as i’m a bit of a snooper and like to know everything in great detail and they are ALL covered in wax before the drilling process and then washed and smoothly polished using tumblestones. It’s like a spinning machine mixed with the eggs and tumblestones moving fast until they are polished.
Eggs being polished using tumblestones and water.
Jadeite compared to fake jade.
I also have met many wholesalers and in my early days as a seller I was ripped off by a wholesaler with fake jade which scratched easily and it took me quite a while to find the two trusted sources I now have who didn’t have hidden agendas to take over the yoni egg community who would source me the finest yoni eggs. People like that are actually very hard to find especially in an ever expanding market place. I would now consider my suppliers as friends.
Here in the UK where my business is based I am also going to do some trials and will keep you updated with the results, it’s much harder in the UK to even mention vaginas as us brits are a bit prudish, but we have our own approach to it and slowly awareness is spreading. The first trial I am going to do is take vaginal swabs before and after using a yoni egg for 24 hours. Though this is not advised generally to wear them for that long, I am doing it to prove to you my customers that they are indeed safe to use. There is a difference between porous and absorbent, if you put anything under a microscope you will find it porous in some way, the danger is if something is absorbent – and some fake stones out there such as helu which is a made up name is definitely a fake stone, and anything that scratches easily could harbour bacteria, however your more likely to catch something nasty from an unwashed penis or a plastic dildo or a tampon, menstrual cup left in too long etc… There is also much speculation about Xiuyan Jade, which is from the serpentine family, this is one of our biggest sellers as it’s more abundant and cost effective – i’ve never had any issues with Xiuyan personally and it’s actually one of of my favourite yoni eggs and so I continue to sell them. There is a nephrite wholesaler who goes out of his way to slam Xiuyan because he wants all jade egg sellers to wholesale his branded nephrite eggs and I personally have a healthy british cynicism in that when somebody slags off another brand to gain dominance over the market place, and they don’t have a vagina then it’s sorry but no thanks I will think for myself. We now source our Nephrite from one of our trusted wholesalers which are equal in quality Hetian Nephrite.
As Dr Jen Gunther is moderating her comments on her blog, including mine, I thought I would instead share some of the responses through my own channel and here are some of the pro Jade Egg opinions that stood out to me.
Here was the comment that never got approved. Out of politeness I decided not to plug my own shop in the comment section and instead commented as a Jade Egg user.
With respect.
I’ve read your article.
I’ve been using a jade egg for 6 years now (Nephrite, Jadeite and Xiuyan which is from the serpentine family). I have never had an infection as a result of using them, nor have I seen any cases by doing extensive searches where a woman has had toxic shock syndrome as a result of using the jade egg, and all i’m seeing here is speculation – out of concern and after seeing your post I just had to investigate further but have seen nothing proving this.
Personally since using my jade eggs my sexual health and confidence has really improved (I have 3 beautiful children for which i’m grateful and each weighted in a around 8.10lb when they were born so my pelvic floor was significantly weakened as a result. I am a 48 year old woman and my sex life with my husband is important to us both for obvious reasons and my husband really enjoys all the techniques i’ve mastered as a result of learning how to use them properly with Tatyana Kozhevnikova who has over 25 years experience using eggs and weights (I did a weekend workshop with her). I do agree that it’s important to learn how to use the eggs correctly and if a woman has had any serious issues or intimate surgery or is not healed post birth should not use them unless assisted by a professional such as yourself. During the workshop we did womb meditations, breathing exercises, and used gentle exercise engaging the core and PC muscles using the eggs with weights attached. By the end of the workshop I was glowing and felt a deep connection to my whole being and had a very happy and connected vagina. Tatyana Kozhevnikova is also like yourself qualified.
You said: This post on jade eggs can’t possibly “highlight alternative studies” as no studies were provided. I have read many so-called health practices on GOOP and rarely, if ever, found even a quasi-scientific study in a predatory journal to back them up. It may shock you, Dear Reader, but there are no studies on jade egg wearing. To hide behind the word “studies” is nothing more than chicanery. How many people will check? A more correct, but perhaps less lucrative, term would be “alternative therapies.”
A jade eggthusiast is a “medical practitioner” in the way a magician is a “medical practitioner.” Interviewing an eggthusiast about the pelvic floor is no different from putting up Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. There are actual experts in things, you know? But then again at GOOP it’s all about Brand.
I have to agree with some of this, and it’s a shame that no studies have been done so thats a very good idea to actually maybe do some extensive research with jade eggs and find a reliable scientist to do extensive testing on them. GOOP is about brand identity but so what, I don’t have a problem with that side of it. I even tried vaginal steaming at home using a bucket, some herbs (rosemary) and a facial steamer with a towel and I have to say it worked wonders for my aching lower back and menstrual cramps. Going back to Tatyana, I chose her to help me because she walks the talk and is qualified and again has over 25 years experience in this field of intimate fitness, and again from experience with her it worked a treat for me and continues to do so.
At the end of the day it’s a personal choice as to wether one uses natural stone, or silicone gimmicky bluetooth ’gadgets’ (which btw I have noticed are connected to your article and I do wonder if this is a scam to destroy all the jade egg businesses out there and then endorse these expensive products which actually cost more than a jade egg?) You say that $66 is a scam, well I think £149 is extortionate! Some of these artificial gadgets which now use blutooth devices connect to your mobile phone, or silly looking pads that you have to attach to your muscles – what a faff! they are designed again to put the fear into women thinking they need an app to have intimate wellness! Personally I cannot bear the idea of using a blutooth device up my vagina giving off data to a mobile app or kegel game. I’ve also tried regular kegels and they didn’t work plus they were boring and I kept forgetting to do them. With the Jade Egg skills I’ve learned not only is it fun, I actually remember to do them, and when I add light weights I can really feel a difference. Products that are made of silicon with inbuilt bluetooth – well we have enough to deal with wifi frequencies disturbing our sleep and daily lives as it is, I personally think that a natural gemstone jade egg is like the vaginal faraday cage of our time and I enjoy the connection I have to my natural gemstone jade egg just by tuning in having a quiet moment away from a screen, and btw i’m only mentioning these other products as I noticed they are connected to your blog and all the countless newsfeeds that have scare mongered all the jade egg lovers out there using your blog rant. Correct me if i’m wrong but your more likely to catch something nasty from an unwashed dick than a jade stone, if you actually know anything about jade stone which I don’t believe you do. However i’ll give the benefit of the doubt as there are many fake stones out there like helu which is a type of marble and agreed those ones are more porous and they do scratch easily so I grant you that those ones are potentially hazardous, I know because I bought one before I knew anything about Jade and as soon as I saw it scratch easily I got rid of it. But Jades such as Hetian Nephrite or Jadeite has a tightly woven structure and are smoothly polished, I’ve done scratch tests using a scalpel and they don’t scratch. Nephrite is really tough.
Mohs Hardness: 6.0 – 7.0
Specific density: 2.8 – 3.03
Reflection index: 1.61 – 1.63
Structure: Monoclinic; inter grown fine fibrous aggregate.
I’m here defending the Jade Egg Practise which has been used for hundreds of years before gyn obs even existed. It is my personal choice, my vagina, and I stand firmly by it, I absolutely love and have a bond with my Vagina and my Jade Egg. I don’t know Gwyneth Paltrow personally, but I salute her for embracing the Jade Egg practise, I did have a giggle at her thinking a womb is a yoni but i’ll forgive her for that. Again it’s a choice and women shouldn’t have the fear put up them by people like yourself, who are damaging something that has existed for a very long time, but your also damaging other peoples businesses with your strong opinions and you have not done enough research on jade stone from what I can see – it’s just one opinion and I talk from experience – and I think 6 years experience is valid too and they work really well for me, fantastically well – fact!
I liked this comment from Leyla Martin, Leyla recently also very openly shared her experience of sexual abuse which must have been extremely traumatic for her, it was extremely brave of her to share this experience and i’m sure it has helped many other women who have suffered the same experiences. Many women like the egg shape for this reason too. Here is Leyla’s comment. I wrote to her personally and thanked her for writing it.
Hi Dr. Jen Gunter,
Since you posted your take-down of the Goop article on jade eggs with the underlying premise of protecting women and their health, I’d like to bring up a few issues that I have with your letter and the resulting attention that has ensued.
1. Working with a jade egg is more than just putting a stone up your vagina. There is a whole practice to it, involving squeezing and releasing various muscles inside of the vagina in addition to mindfulness training around the sensations inside of the vagina. It is a 15 – 30 minute practice that allows a woman to focus on her sexual sensations and connection to her own body while developing sensitivity and awareness.
Both muscular strength building and sensate focus are scientifically proved strategies for enhancing sexual experiences.
You requested scientific articles, so here they are:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24628380
http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/article/sensate-focus
2. When you write that a woman should use Kegel weights instead it rings exactly like when people used to say (and still say) why would you do yoga? Why not just stretch at the gym? The jade egg practice actually is a system, much like the yoga tradition. It comes from the Taoist tradition in China and was brought to the USA mostly through the lineage of Mantak Chia. There is much, much more to it than just putting a stone up your vagina just like yoga is a system involving a whole lot more than stretching.
I agree with you that there are currently no scientific studies proving (or disproving) the effectiveness of a jade egg practice. But a lack of scientific evidence is not proof of anything if no studies have been conducted.
3. You’ve made several unscientific claims yourself. Including that the jade egg could cause toxic shock syndrome. I’d be curious, first of all, to know if you turn your vitriol and righteousness towards tampon sellers and producers and enthusiasts? After all, tampons actually have killed women, whereas jade eggs have not. If you really are here to protect women’s health, I’d love to see the action you’ve taken on products that actually have harmed women currently and in the past. You recommend, interestingly, plastic, which does have scientific research showing that it is an actual disruptor of the female reproductive system.
While silicon can be safe, many, many silicon toys are created with toxic materials that are scientifically proven to cause cancer. Where is your outrage there? Why are you recommending two materials that have been directly and scientifically linked to harming the female reproductive system while attacking a material that it is probably safe to say doesn’t have enough scientific evidence one way or another. If you are going to recommend using silicone, it’s incredibly important to make sure that it’s 100% silicone.
4. The claim that a jade egg practice can affect female hormones is less outlandish when you consider that it is a full 15 – 30 minute sexual practice. A man having a short conversation with a beautiful woman can change his hormones – so what would make you think a woman engaging in a sexually based activity wouldn’t be changing hers?
5. Several sex toys are manufactured with stone, including the Laid D-1 moonstone dildo which is sold at major US sex-toy shops including Babeland in the US. The finishing of the manufacturer can change whether the stone is safe for internal use and so perhaps it would make more sense to focus on the manufacturing process instead.
6. Walking around with the jade egg inside is only a small piece of the practice – much akin to a head stand in yoga. Most of the practices involve lying down and squeezing and releasing the vaginal muscles. A trained and skilled jade egg teacher knows this and guides appropriately so as not to cause tension in the pelvic floor.
7. Your outrage that a woman could measure her own feminine energy is kind of surprising. After all, a patient’s subjective experience matters, and you ought to know that as a doctor. Belief matters. Context matters. Experience matters. So if a woman spends $66 and experiences more energy, pleasure and joy…who are you to attack her for feeling that way? Or to make it seem like women aren’t intelligent enough to track their own subjective experiences without an Obgyn there with a ph stick to confirm it?
8. Your assumption that a woman would do the jade egg practice and then deny herself appropriate medical treatment is an unsubstantiated allegation. Again, I’ll use yoga as a metaphor. It’s like saying people shouldn’t do yoga because there might be some people who use yoga in place of a necessary medical intervention. That’s really disempowering to everyone. If someone feels like choosing holistic care over a medical intervention – that’s on them – and if a yoga teacher is telling students not to go to the doctor or to disregard medical advice – then it can become an issue of responsibility. But teaching yoga in and of itself isn’t dangerous just because some people might then not choose medical advice. The same goes for the jade egg practice.
I found it really sad that your article became a rallying cry for many conservative news outlets to say, “Hey! A woman had the courage and audacity in Goop to write about a sexual practice that she found personally enriching!” and now we have a way to make her look like an absolute fool by disempowering her entire personal experience with their words of one medical professional. That’s the way women have been treated when they talk about their own birth, their own health and their own sexuality for way too long.
I think ultimately, the medical profession should be a two way street. You ought to listen. And stay curious about things that you don’t really know the answer too.
Yes, we should listen to research. And yes, if something is conclusively proven to be harmful then people should definitely avoid it. But the fact that one gynecologist (who in no way speaks for the whole profession) has an opinion about something (not actual proof) can cause everyone to discount the personal experiences of tens of thousands of women – that’s the patriarchy right there for you and I feel you played right into their hands.
Instead of asking questions – you made assumptions.
I’ve been a jade egg practitioner for almost ten years. I’ve experienced so much self-love, sexual pleasure and joy in my own practice. I’ve seen so many women experience the same. Many cry during their first practice because they’ve never connected with their own body in such a present, loving and empowering way.
I sell jade eggs and I have done extensive research about the manufacturing and care process. I don’t recommend that anyone uses a jade egg for longer than 8 hours internally and I only recommend that women wear the jade egg around if they try it and like it and it feels good for them.
But I am always open to feedback and investigation. If it turned out that jade truly wasn’t safe for internal use, I would discontinue the sale of my jade eggs. I truly care more about women’s health than I do about money.
However, I’ve sold nearly ten thousand jade eggs and I’ve worked with teacher who have sold tens of thousands of other jade eggs and no health problems have ever been reported. I’ve worked with my manufacturer to ensure that the eggs are not bleached or treated in any way that makes them more porous and I recommend that clients take appropriate hygienic steps before and after use of the egg.
Stone is used in several different types of sex toys here in the US and I’ve looked into the process there as well.
I’d like to to take you at your word when you say you really care about women’s health. I think you’ve actually made it harder for a lot of women to engage in a practice that might be an incredibly beautiful support to themselves and their lives and their bodies without really knowing the answers yourself. And you’ve successfully shamed two other women who are clearly interested in advancing the exploration in what is possible for a woman’s sexuality and health outside of the mainstream.
Do they deserve to be questioned? Sure.
Do they deserve to be shamed? Of course not.
Should tests be done to find out whether jade can cause toxic shock syndrome? Yes.
Should jade egg teachers be aware of how to best guide their students to create health and strength and connection and not overwork the pelvis into a state of tension? Yes. Just like yoga teachers. You need to be aware of how to teach properly to avoid injury. But that doesn’t mean the practice isn’t worthwhile.
I’m open to asking the important questions about jade eggs to find out whether they are fully safe and how to do the practice in the way that is most supportive to a woman’s health.
But I’m not about to buy into a bunch of unsubstantiated fear from a medical professional operating way out of the bounds of her expertise and scientific research. That fear has kept many women silent and disconnected from their own wisdom for far too long.
A little humility about what you know and what you don’t — and listening to women themselves goes a long way.
The mainstream media doesn’t feel that way. But a gynecologist who stands for the protection and empowerment of women really ought to.
Warmly,
Layla Martin
Kim Anami wants a http://kimanami.com/the-100000-vagina/ with Dr Gunter – hilarious! I look forward to seeing the VAG off results.
Jade Eggs Global have worked closely with the founder of intimate weightlifting Tatyana Kozhevnikova, we wanted to empower women who bought our eggs and show them how to learn how to use them correctly and safely https://vimeo.com/ondemand/vaginalkungfu
On a final note are Jade Eggs Magical? All I can say is intention is a powerful thing – it’s up to you how you set yours, and that is your own private business.