Do you remember when you fell off your bike as a kid? Chances are high you grazed your knees or elbows and the skin was broken. Your immune system went straight to work, repairing that skin barrier just as fast as it could. The skin all over our body is critical for keeping infectious pathogens out - bacteria, viruses, molds and more. After damage of some sort, the skin repair process is often itchy and sticky and irritated and uncomfortable which is all part of the immune response process. When you were ten years old, your immune system had all it needed to do that skin barrier repair and it wasn’t long before your mother was telling you to stop picking at your scabs! Gross.

Fast forward 50 years and your immune system is still trying its best to keep the skin barrier intact, but it’s not as easy as it used to be.

One of the areas we just don’t think about as (a) having a skin barrier that tears and (b) needing to keep that skin barrier intact, is the skin of the vagina and the skin of the urethra. These two “tubes” are very much part of our skin barrier - just because we can’t look at them, doesn’t mean they are not there, but it does mean we need to help them to function well.

It’s been understood for decades that estrogen is a critical component to help the skin of the vagina, the vulva, and the urethra to stay robust and strong. After menopause, when estrogen levels drop, it can be harder to keep those skin layers in good shape. Over time, tiny little microtears can establish themselves in the vagina and urethra as the skin barrier breaks down. What does the immune system do in response? It kicks into gear to attempt to repair the skin. That’s when irritation and discomfort starts as the immune system is in a panic state - “repair the skin, repair the skin.”

Whether or not a woman is having sex, the skin needs to be strong to keep pathogens out.

All of this is why Silky Peach is used by women in all sorts of situations: some may have an active sex life but many women do not. One thing is for sure - all women need to pee and to pee comfortably, without irritation, without the risk of recurrent UTI’s. All women want to avoid irritation and itching of the vulva and the vagina. All women want to avoid bacterial overgrowth in the vagina which creates odor and a discharge.

Silky Peach has estriol in it. Estriol is a gentle action form of estrogen which turns out to be a super effective way to make sure that the tissue and skin in this largely invisible area of the body always has the goodness it needs to be its best!

Silky Peach has nothing to do with sex - in spite of some of our spicy and hilarious reviews - it is not a lube, nor an arousal booster. It is, in fact, a cream designed to provide estrogen for the very large concentration of estrogen receptors in the vulva, vagina and urethra!

Estriol for Incontinence

Incontinence is a common problem for women in menopause and beyond. Some women experience incontinence earlier than menopause due to pregnancies and childbirth, which can weaken and alter the pelvic floor muscles.

As time passes women often experience stress incontinence and/or urge incontinence. We go into more depth on incontinence in this blog, however, to recap, stress incontinence occurs from coughing, laughing, physical exertion, etc., whilst urge incontinence occurs when the bladder is full and we cannot make it to the bathroom in time and have leakage.

For many women, incontinence can be really disruptive - it means pads, liners, even adult diapers. Women worry or feel embarrassed about potential leakage through their clothes, or even just the discomfort of knowing it can occur can inhibit what activities we choose to do. What is sad is that women experience so much shame about this that they don’t ask for help!

Here’s a message our customer service team shared with us today: “Retired Nurse, Robin M, says that she is very happy with how our products have helped her, especially the incontinence! Thanks to you all!”

Estriol for Prolapse

There are different types of prolapse - something we go into more detail in on this blog.

Prolapse, in a nutshell, is when muscle, fascia, and ligament structures become weaker and can no longer support organs, and for many women, bladder or uterine prolapse become more common after menopause.

Now, whilst prolapse is often more complex and can require surgery, some early stage prolapse can be significantly helped by pelvic floor therapy, which also has been shown to work more effectively when tissues are supported by… you guessed it - estriol!

Estriol for pH

Maybe we know that the vagina is acidic… but what does that actually mean? Well, acidity relates to pH, and the acidic pH of the vagina is what helps it stay self-cleaning. This means (in spite of much advertising to the contrary! 😉) that your vagina is pretty competent at keeping bad bacteria out all by itself - no weird douche substances required.

However, this does actually change as estrogen levels drop. As we lose estrogen, our bodies make less of the glycogen layer that the ‘good’ bacteria in our vagina feed on, and with less food, there is less good bacteria. The pH level rises which creates a home for the bad bacteria to move in.

Often, this pH change is why we notice things like scent changes, increased yeast infections, or general ‘disruption’ down south.

Estriol for UTI’s

UTI’s are most women’s worst nightmare - the burning, the stinging, the fear of water (and subsequent need to pee!) 😖… And yet, as we age, they often become more common. We’ve explored UTI’s (and how to deal with them) here, here, and here!

Why? Well, UTI’s stem from a similar issue as pH changes - less good bacteria.

With less good bacteria, and a less acidic environment, there is an increased risk that bad bacteria can get to the urethra and from there, cause havoc. Estrogen is critical for keeping the vaginal pH low so bacteria cannot survive. The perinemum, the area between the anus and the urethra is a hot bed of bacterial activity - why evolution decided to have all the exists to close together we just don’t understand! It is so easy for bacteria to move around in this area and get to places where they shouldn’t be. Bacteria thrive in warm, damp environments and as estrogen levels fall after menopause, the pH of the vagina increases making it more hospitable to bacteria.

Estriol for Comfort

One of the most common issues women tell us about is itching.

Feeling itchy anywhere is uncomfortable, and in your vagina, it’s downright torturous. It’s not like a bug bite that you can put cortisone cream on… it's continuous, squirmy, relentless, just can’t work out what to do with yourself itchy.

It’s all very well to say - “it’s the body, trying to repair itself”, but that doesn’t take away the itching, thank you very much. What’s needed is to get to the underlying issue; the underlying issue is often low estrogen.

Yoga? Itching.
Lunch? Itching.
Gardening? Itching.
Reading? Itching.

Our function IS impacted when doing basic or enjoyable things (and we’ve not even covered necessary things like sitting at a desk working or getting groceries!) is a feat of willpower.

As estrogen declines, our skin gets dry everywhere - and with less estriol (the gentlest form of estrogen) our mucous membranes also dry out - this means double-dry between your thighs. Plus, estriol is crucial for collagen production, and though we often associate this with wrinkle-fighting, one of collagens main functions is actually to help dermal repair, and we can think of itching as skin that is becoming weaker and 'cracking' and thus, in need of repair.

No amount of moisturizer is going to correct the underlying issues, which in this case, are a skin barrier that has become dried out, and subsequently fragile, less overall moisture in the skin, and less ability to repair itself. But, there are of course, things that we can do to help support estrogen levels... **Cough SILKY PEACH cough cough**

So let's hear it for all the ways that estriol helps your lady bits after menopause. If sex is no longer a part of your life by choice, totally cool - let's have Silky Peach Cream be part of your life - by choice, for all the ways!