Love eggs, yoni eggs, jade eggs, vaginal jade eggs… There are even more names for the device than there are benefits.

These eggs are made from a variety of materials; however, the most common are smoothed rose quartz, black obsidian or nephrite jade.

These stones are believed to strengthen vaginal muscles, increase libido, enhance feminine energy, improve physical appearance and prevent and alleviate uterine prolapse.

In order to reap these health benefits, the egg needs to be inserted into the vagina.

In an interview with Women’s Health, medical doctor and sexologist Dr Elna Rudolph states that the egg should only be inserted for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time. “I wouldn’t advise anybody wear one 24/7 – you need to relax your pelvic floor at times.”

Loud criticism 

Over the last year, the love egg has come under scrutiny and a lot of criticism after Goop, the affluent lifestyle site owned by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, published an article praising the incredible healing qualities of the stones.

The story, now removed from the site, stated that the stones can provide women with various vaginal health benefits.

Gynaecologists, however, emerged in droves to deny any health benefits attributed to the stone and claimed that there was no scientific evidence to back the claims made by the site.

In an interview with Health, gynaecologist Dr Jen Gunter warns that using these eggs can be really harmful, “The stones are really porous, so I’m not sure how they could be cleaned or sterilised between uses… [It’s] especially an issue when one of the recommended ways to use it is sleeping with it in. We don’t recommend that tampons or menstrual cups be left in for longer than 12 hours, and those are either disposable or cleanable.”

Speaking to Vogue, physical therapist Stacey J Futterman Tauriello, who specialises in pelvic-floor rehabilitation, states, “Saying that [a jade egg] can alleviate uterine prolapse is absurd. Prolapse is a laxity of ligaments. [Strengthening] the pelvic floor helps support those organs, but it doesn’t change the structure of them.”

Insufficient scientific evidence

Last month the Goop site had to settle a R2 075 000 lawsuit over the health benefits the site attributed to the egg. According to court documents, the claims about the egg made by the site were not backed with scientific evidence.

In a statement, Goop noted, “This settlement does not indicate any liability on Goop’s part. While the company has not received any complaints regarding these product claims, it is happy to fully refund any Goop customer who has purchased any of the challenged products.”

The vaginal jade eggs are still for sale on the lifestyle site.

^{Image credit: iStock} 

Lauren Mitchell