If there’s one area in which society appears to have a near-limitless supply of innovation and imagination, it’s in the marketing of products designed to make women feel insecure about their bodies – and the more intimate the body part, the greater the scope for marketable insecurity.
Take, for example, anal brightening products, like anal bleaching. These are products that usually contain acids that chemically exfoliate the skin of the anus, and often inhibit melanin production, which is the pigment that contributes to both natural skin colour and hyperpigmentation build up, which some people choose to correct.
More troubling than those products is a listing I came across on AliExpress – or, at least, a Twitter post screenshotting a product from AliExpress. The accompanying photo showed one of those glass vials that you often find vaccines in, filled with a reddish liquid, and bearing the label read “Labia Peeling. Ladies only. Private parts whitening. Restore the virginity. Chelnokova”.
What are chemical peels?
Chemical peels are non-surgical cosmetic procedures that can be used to correct a variety of skin complaints, such as acne scars and hyperpigmentation. For skin peels that are applied to the face, there are a range of options. At one end, there are very mild acids that you can apply topically at home – they aren’t strong enough to burn deeply into the skin so you can use them day-to-day as a mild chemical exfoliant. They lift the uppermost layer of skin cells and encourage new skin cells to grow. Most people will experience some mild tingling and redness, and then their skin might feel a little tight afterwards. At the other end of the scale, stronger acid chemical peels need to be applied by a professional.
There are three types of common chemical peels: superficial peels, which remove skin cells from the top layer of skin (epidermis), are applied for a few minutes and need to be repeated regularly to maintain effects; medium peels, which remove skin cells from the top and middle layers of skin, are applied for a few minutes, can cause burning and stinging sensations, and will last for up to six weeks but need to be repeated every six to twelve months; and deep peels, which may require a local anaesthetic and sedative under constant supervision, as they’re left on for thirty minutes or more.
With deep peels, your heart and blood pressure need to be monitored, because the chemical used (phenol) can affect your heart and kidneys. At the end, you’ll be left with some peeling, redness and discomfort for a few days, some swelling for up to two weeks, and some redness for up to three months. These have long-lasting effects, so usually they do not need to be repeated.
As you might imagine when it comes to applying acids to the skin, chemical peels come with some risks – these can include darkening or lightening of the skin (which can even be permanent), the return of cold sores in regular sufferers, scarring or an infection (although this is rare), and increased sensitivity to the sun as your skin heals.
Why are labia peels?
Labial peeling is a different thing entirely. Intimate peels are, these days, available from a wide range of cosmetic clinics. One practice based in Dallas says:
Ladies, it’s no secret that we pour a lot of effort into taking care of ourselves. From the hair salon to the nail salon to spa treatments and at-home pampering, we all perform regular rituals that indicate a healthy commitment to ourselves and our bodies. This is a good thing! Self-care is important to our overall wellbeing and confidence. So, why should the aesthetic appearance of our lady parts (more specifically the appearance of the skin “down there”) be excluded?
Another website explained why women might want an intimate peel:
The routine daily maintenance that so many women do on their Hoo Haa can cause discoloration. The stress of regular shaving can leave dark patches. Many times in grown hairs can leave dark spots. Routine waxing can also stress the skin, causing areas of darker skin tone. This hyperpigmentation on the bikini line leaves women feeling uneasy. Intimate bleaching is a solution that many women are taking advantage of.
Personally, I’m neither for nor against feminine hair removal – women get to decide for themselves whether they remove hair, how they remove hair and which hair they remove. I love to see the backlash against its requirement, and seeing women proudly sporting armpit or leg hair. And I love seeing women have the confidence to invest in permanent hair removal if that is their preference.
But it is undeniably frustrating to see a cycle where women are expected by society to remove their body hair, and then they are encouraged to have chemical peels to undo the damage some of those hair removal methods have on our skin. Waxing damages the skin, because the skin can darken as it heals. All hair removal methods can cause ingrown hairs and those can scar leaving discolouration. This is the natural consequence of hair removal. And reversing that isn’t “self-care” or about our “well-being”. It isn’t empowering for women to spend time and money, and to endure physical pain, to fix insecurities that society and the wellness industry created in the first place.
If you do have serious insecurities about any skin discolouration, you’re welcome to go to a clinic and get a chemical peel. There are some additional things to consider, however.
In the UK, non-surgical cosmetic procedures are not currently regulated. That means you do not have to have any particular qualifications or license to apply a chemical peel in the UK. This is changing. At the end of 2023 the UK government published a consultation on “The licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England” in which they said:
The current regulatory framework places few restrictions on who can perform non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The government recognises the concerns about the lack of regulation in this field and the potential dangers that this poses to the public. We want to ensure public safety and public protection through a regulatory framework that enables consumers to make informed and safe choices when undergoing procedures which have the potential to cause serious injury or harm.
The UK government set out a plan to introduce a new licensing scheme that they say will identify the procedures that present a risk to the public, and introduce for them a practitioner licence and a premises licence. These licences will be administered and enforced by local authorities, and it will be illegal to carry out non-surgical cosmetic procedures without such a licence. They would also introduce a minimum age of 18 for those people seeking to receive these procedures.
It is not clear yet which procedures will be covered by the licensing scheme but, under the heading “Procedures in scope of the licensing scheme”, they explain that a ‘cosmetic procedure’ is something other than a surgical or dental procedure, carried out for cosmetic purposes, and including the injection of a substance, the application of a substance that is capable of penetrating into or through the epidermis, the insertion of needles into the skin, the placing of threads under the skin, or the application of light, electricity, cold or heat.
Sadly, this regulatory framework is still under development and, until its introduction, it is something of a Wild West when it comes to non-surgical cosmetic procedures. For now, there are two voluntary regulatory bodies that the UK government recommends. The first, called Save Face, is for doctors, nurses, dentists and prescribing pharmacists who provide non-surgical cosmetic treatments. The second, called called the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP), is for all practitioners working in the fields of cosmetic treatments. Both of these bodies carry PSA accredited registers and the JCCP also holds a non-PSA accredited register.
That AliExpress listing
So where does the AliExpress product come into play? On the (now geo-locked) listing on AliExpress, this product is called: “CHELNOKOVA Red Clitoris Labia Peeling Acid Virgin Mammary Areola Woman Clitoris Stimulator Powerful Sucker Clitoris Virgin TCA”.
As far as I can tell they sell three types of acid: TCA, glycolic and citric acid.
They sell these at a variety of concentrations including 60% TCA, which is used for those deepest of deep peels – the ones that get into the deepest layers of the skin and do not need repeating because it has a near-permanent effect. These chemicals should absolutely not be used at home, and deep peels can cause scarring and long-lasting damage to the skin.
The sellers say:
Use a cotton swab, dip in a little liquid, and continuously wipe the labia/areola. After a few seconds, white frost will appear. At this time, spray neutralizing solution, wait for 5 minutes, then implement again, and then end the entire process. During the application process, there will be a tingling sensation, like flames burning on the skin. When white frost appears, it needs to be stopped immediately. Within 1-3 days, the stratum corneum will turn black, wrinkle, and then fall off. Within 10-28 days, a new stratum corneum will be formed, bringing you a shiny, fresh, and smooth new stratum corneum. The previous skin aging problem will be perfectly resolved. And it will become more sensitive. If necessary, it can be done every 2-3 months.
In one of the images provided, they say that if the white frost appears the acid must be neutralised immediately to prevent burning the skin.
I cannot stress enough how dangerous it is to buy an acid on the internet and apply it to your genital area.
Do not do it. Under any circumstances.
As for general intimate peels? They’re not regulated, they’re not medically tested and while they might not cause you harm, a variety of acids sometimes used for some chemical peels do have carcinogenic properties. I wouldn’t take the risk, I don’t think they’re necessary and I really do hate that we have a society that pushes women to have insecurities about their bodies in this way.
