Ways Your Vagina Changes as You Age

Just like the rest of your body, your vagina ages. Once you get close to menopause, its parts don't look or function the same as they did when you were younger. Dryness, drooping, and a lack of lubrication are all issues at this stage of life. These changes are natural, though their effects on your bathroom habits and sex life may not be welcome.

The hormone estrogen keeps the tissues of your vagina healthily plump and moist. When estrogen levels drop around the time of menopause, those sensitive tissues are left high and dry. Dryness is one of the more distressing symptoms of menopause. It can make sex uncomfortable or even painful. Use a lubricant to reduce friction. And have sex regularly to keep up the moisture you still have.

Your hair goes through natural cycles where it grows for a period of time and then falls out. As your hair gets older, its growth cycle shortens. At the same time, a drop in estrogen makes testosterone your body's dominant hormone. Testosterone fuels hair loss. When more hair falls out than your body can replace, you'll start to see areas of thinning. It happens on your scalp, and it happens down there, too.

Skin tone gets worse because of the age-related loss of elastin and collagen – proteins that once kept it taut. That's true for the skin on your face as well as your labia – the folds on either side of your vagina. Sagging is less obvious when it's inside your pants, but if it bothers you, there are surgical procedures to plump and firm up your labia.

The muscles of your pelvic floor act like a sling that supports your uterus, bladder, rectum, and the top of your vagina. Childbirth and menopause weaken these muscles, which can make the organs in your pelvis droop. This is called prolapse. Sometimes an organ falls all the way into the vagina and creates a bulge. Devices and medical procedures can give your pelvic organs a lift and treat prolapse.

You might expect the hair on your head to go gray as the years pass, but finding your first gray hair down there can come as a big shock. Your pubic hair turns gray for the same reason that the hair on your head does. As you age, the pigment cells inside each hair follicle die and stop producing the chemical melanin that gives your hair (on top and down below) its color. As melanin production slows, your pubic hair turns gray or white.

The loss of estrogen around the time of menopause makes the once-stretchy tissues of your vagina thinner and less elastic. This is definitely a case of "use it or lose it." If you don't have sex often enough, your vagina can get shorter and narrower. So when you do have sex, it will hurt. Maintaining a healthy sex life (with a partner or a vibrator) will keep your vagina loose and limber.

You'll feel the loss of estrogen when you try to make love. Dryness plus thinning of tissues in the vagina add up to painful penetration. Over time, the delicate tissues can tear and bleed. Don't let fear of pain keep you from a healthy sex life. When you avoid sex, it can make the problem worse. Use a lubricant. If that doesn't help, ask your doctor about estrogen therapy or other treatments.

You may not be well-acquainted with your vulva – the opening and outer lips of your vagina. But if you've held a mirror down there recently, you may have noticed some changes. For one thing, it's probably paler than it used to be. The lighter color is due to reduced blood flow from lower estrogen levels. The inner lips have shrunk for the same reason, and they may be drier than they were before.

Sudden urges to use the bathroom or pain when you pee could be signs of a urinary tract infection (UTI). Your vagina is home to lots of bacteria – some good, some bad. The loss of estrogen around menopause changes the climate down there, leaving more bad bacteria than good. Women have more UTIs as they age because of the loss of protective tissue barrier due to thinning and atrophy. Vaginal estrogen therapy can increase helpful bacteria and reduce the number of infections you get.