Last year, I sat in the back of a very crowded ballroom at BlogHer 2017 in Orlando and screamed VAGINA over and over again with a thousand women from all different backgrounds. It was uncomfortable, empowering and absolutely necessary. Think about it. Why is it that men CAN and DO talk about their private parts like it is no big deal, yet women struggle to have open and honest conversations about their vaginas with important people like their gynecologist or their spouse? I had to get some answers…and I did. When I was offered the opportunity to have an open and honest conversation with Vagisil CEO Keech Combe-Shetty, I thought, what better day to share the Vagisil mission and story than on International Women’s Day 2018?
Vagisil CEO Keech Combe-Shetty’s grandparents, Ivan and Mary Elizabeth, were the founders of Vagisil and were two pioneers determined to create products that would actually improve women’s lives. In the midst of the sexual revolution, they believed that no woman should be shamed for having vaginal issues, that every woman had the right to be in control of her vaginal health, and no woman should suffer in silence. The government even tried to step in and ban sales because they (the men of congress) did not believe vaginal issues actually existed. The founder calmly responded with: “Go ask your wives.” The rest is history!
With over a dozen clinically proven products and an empowering history their mission stands the same:
Vagisil is shameless about vaginal health.
The Vagisil mission is to create a more open forum to talk about the vaginal health topics that most women say they are uncomfortable discussing, in order to help inform, educate, and thereby reduce the shame that still exists around vaginal health issues.
I asked, CEO Keech Combe-Shetty Answered…
When is it a good time to start a dialogue about private parts with your children?
Keech has a five year old daughter and a three year old son. She believes in “talking to your children honestly” about their genitals and sexual health. Essentially, the earlier the better. With that said, she also suggests making sure the dialogue is age appropriate and suggests finding ways to “gloss over parts without denying your children any important information. ” Keech also explains, that having a vagina is simply a “part of your life” and often smiles at her daughters pronunciation of “ba-gina”, and no, she does not try to correct her.
Keech also leads other mothers and fathers at her daughters school by running a sexual education class. She helps parents navigate this tricky and delicate subject and empowers parents to align and create a familial dialogue. Keech works on helping children understand that different can still be normal and the differences between healthy and unhealthy. Honestly, I think she and the brand can help all of us navigate sexual health and wellness on a much more normalized scale. Make sure to take a look at the Vagisil Education Page for bit of inspiration. I have been absolutely loving Vagisil myth busters and after talking to Keech about the normalization of sexual health, she helped me feel more comfortable talking and writing about the female body open and honestly.
Before Vagisil, Keech spent time working in the UK and found that the passion for intimate self-care was even more closeted across the pond. She found a fierce passion for normalizing the conversation and actually used dinner parties as her ice breakers. She had a much more “girlfriend approach” and broke down vaginal care in terms of skincare. Cleanse, tone, moisturize. We do it every night for our faces so why not our intimate skin? BOOM ROASTED! I was floored and intrigued.
Keech Explains:
“The skin down there is very similar to the skin around the eyes.” She makes the simple connection between biology and the vagina as a “self cleaning oven” and discusses a intimate skin regimen as a gateway for practical care. She says, “It takes up to 8+ hours to reset your vagina after its natural micro biome is thrown off, which opens you up to infection so she suggests:
Step 1: Cleanse and Tone
- Using a mild cleanser like the Vagisil Odor Block cleanser: This cleanser is patented and actually attaches itself to odor molecules and weighs them down so they cannot leave your body.
- Sensitive? Try Ketches’ favorite Sensitive Wash: The sensitive wash uses hyaluronic acid which makes your skin hold onto water by 1000 times.
Step 2: MoisturizeWho suffers dryness?
- Those who:
- Consume Caffeine
- Antihistamine Users
- Women on hormonal birth control
- Menopausal women (the most severe cases)
- Keech says, “Lubes are a quick fix.” The Prohydrate Internal Moisturizing Gel is not sticky or tacky and will not interrupt the moment. It lasts for up to six hours and uses hyaluronic acid to maintain more moisture.
Sounds quite simple doesn’t it? It is! I hope this post helps you shed a bit of the stigma that goes along with discussing our sexual health. Did you know that recent studies have shown that 50% of us are not comfortable hearing the word VAGINA and 35% of us are not comfortable even saying it? Vagisil and CEO Keech Combe-Shetty are here to continue to fight her grandparents fight. The #NeverShutUp movement launched at last year at BlogHer 2017 and the campaign encourages women everywhere to be shameless in all that they are and all that they do and part of that conversation of course goes back to owning their sexual health.
So please…we beg you! #NEVERSHUTUP!
Happy International Women’s Day to all!
