In her practice, Taub estimates that she gets four or five requests for the treatment per day; in terms of the popularity of the services she offers, she says it is a "50-50" split between vaginal lightening and laser hair removal. She's seen the number of requests spike in the past few years due to her speaking openly about the subject on her YouTube channel. (Note: While women are not the only people with vaginas, the treatment is primarily marketed to women.)
Like many trends devoted to improving the aesthetics and overall performance of the vagina and the area surrounding it, from labiaplasty to Brazilian waxing to Gwyneth Paltrow-endorsed jade eggs, vaginal lightening is often attributed to the widespread prevalence of internet porn, as performers tend to have lighter, more compact vulvas.
"When you look at the porno industry, for the most part, you see Hungarian, Russian, Eastern European girls. They're light-skinned girls with pink vaginas and anuses who've never had any babies," Taub says. "Everyone wants that. Everyone wants a pink anus."
But the truth about why so many people request vaginal bleaching — and why, as Taub recounts, it is a source of immense anguish for many — is more complicated and more distressing than that. There are also numerous safety risks. Generally speaking, the American Committee of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has taken a stance against the rise of genital cosmetic procedures, writing that people should "be informed of their potential complications, including infection, altered sensation, dyspareunia, adhesions, and scarring."
Additionally, there are hundreds of search-optimized DIY vaginal lightening hacks on YouTube, as well as a thriving cottage industry for vaginal and anal lightening creams such as Divine Derriere, a millennial pink-packaged cream and a serum, and Pink Privates, which is sold by the company Body Action. Per a 2013 report, the global skin lightening product market is worth an estimated $19.8 billion, though it's unclear exactly how many of these sales can be attributed to anal or vaginal bleaching products.
In addition to the safety concerns posed by ingredients like hydroquinone, vaginal lightening treatments have also been accused of perpetuating unrealistic body image ideals and exploiting people's insecurities about their vulvas. "Some women have been body-shamed into thinking they don't have the quote-unquote 'right vulva,' so they will aim to do this," Dweck says.
Taub, however, paints a more complex picture of the type of woman who comes to her for vaginal lightening. In addition to the hundreds of emails she gets from people who come across her videos, she regularly does consultations with women in their 20s and 30s, who she says often come in after being shamed by their partners.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/12/6/18127154/vaginal-bleaching-lightening-creams
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