What is ‘labia puffing’? The latest NSFW cosmetic filler trend
It’s the other kind of lip filler.
Women are getting their labia “puffed,” a procedure that involves injecting dermal filler or transferring fat into their labia majora to restore plumpness — and that doctors claim could soon become as ubiquitous as boob jobs.
“One day it’s going to be a household type of thing, where we talk about it the way we talk about breast implants,” board-certified urologist Dr. Fenwa Milhouse told Allure, adding that “labia puffing” has grown in popularity year over year.
Following on the heels of the labiaplasty popularity, the cosmetic procedure is meant to make the labia majora, the outermost part of the vulva, “more plump and youthful,” she explained.
“I’ve had women in their 20s get this procedure because they feel their labia majora are very underwhelming, and certainly peri- and postmenopausal women get it as well,” she added.
Dr. Shazia Malik, UK-based obstetrician and gynecologist, told Metro UK that the “labia puffing” is often desired “by women looking to regain a youthful, fuller appearance due to age, weight loss or childbirth.”
“Many women seek the procedure to address perceived imperfections or asymmetry,” she explained. “Aside from aesthetic improvement, labia puffing can also increase confidence, particularly in intimate situations.”
An anonymous 36-year-old from New Jersey told Allure that they underwent “labia puffing” after giving birth to “restore volume and feel sexier.” Meanwhile, one 42-year-old woman said she underwent the procedure because her “vagina was looking like a very old, worn-out gym sock.”
“Just like every part of our skin, the labia can sag and they can become less full,” board-certified dermatologist Dr. Mona Gohara, who practices in Connecticut, told Allure, adding that she sees an estimated one patient per “every couple of weeks” for the procedure.
“Although this is one area where we really can’t blame sun exposure. But our estrogen levels dip and so does collagen, so does elastin.”
To counteract that, doctors can inject hyaluronic acid filler — just like the kind used above the belt — into the labia majora, an off-label use that achieves the desired puffiness. Millhouse, for example, injects anywhere from one to three syringes into the area, but could use as many as six.
“You don’t see many people who want more than six syringes,” she added. “Most women want volume but they don’t want, like, a huge camel toe.”
According to Allure, the price for the procedure starts around $2,500 and the results last approximately one year.
Instead of filler, doctors can also perform a fat transfer, which involves extracting fat from a fatty area of the body and injecting it into the labia majora, although it is the more expensive option, ringing in around $5,000.
Like with any procedure, it comes with risks — which include swelling, irritation, bruising at the injection site and, in rare cases, an allergic reaction, Malik explained — but for many women, the benefits outweigh them.
“People say, ‘Why do you even care what you look like down there?’ But when someone knows they look a certain way, they feel a certain way,” Millhouse said. “I had a patient who, after her procedure, was like, ‘I’m getting turned on just looking at myself and thinking about what I had done.’”
