Is my vulva normal?

The vulva area is one of the most variable parts of the body, with more normal variations than noses! The range of “normal appearances” is very wide.

There have always been some women who worry about how their vulva look and at the other end of the spectrum some women never look so once there is a problem they may be shocked about their vulva appearance. If everything is working well down there, then it must be normal! So try not to worry about your vulva size or shape.

The vulva changes throughout the menstrual cycle, and can become a little swollen and a bit lumpier just before a period. Normal skin cysts also can get bigger and feel a little sore at this time. All this is perfectly normal.

Things down there change as a woman gets older. Sexual intercourse can make the inner lips of your vagina stretch, so don’t worry if they seem to be getting a little bigger over the years. Putting on lots of weight will make your vulva lips fat as well. Losing a lot of weight may make the skin droopier too.

Having a baby by vaginal birth changes everything. Your vagina will never completely shrink back to its pre-baby size. This means that the vaginal walls will be looser, and it may look as if there is a small prolapse (bulge in the vaginal wall, usually from the bladder or bowel pushing against it).

The inner lips of your vulva often look very different, because of the stretching during childbirth. The hymen (the frilly ring of skin at the entrance to your vagina) gets broken into small pieces during birth, and tends to look like red lumps just inside your vagina. All this is normal as well.

Some women have completely white patches down there. This is usually caused by auto-immune conditions like vitiligo and lichen sclerosus.

In summary, if there are no issues and no symptoms affecting you “down there” then assume things are normal and nothing needs to change!

If symptoms occur, book a MonaLisa Touch consultation so we can explore things together!

-Dr Constantin