Photo: Etsy

Remember that time when Goop introduced the jade egg, claiming the $66 stone could "balance hormones," regulate menstrual cycles, and improve your sex life? Remember also when the site ended up settling a $145,000 lawsuit for false advertising? Well, it looks like there’s a new vaginal product following in its quacky footsteps: The Jamu Stick.

The herbal vaginal stick has been circulating the internet with some outrageous health claims that are—surprise!—zero percent backed by science. Here's everything you need to know about the dangerous new "natural" product that's promising to "regenerate" and "tighten" the vagina.

What the Heck Is a Jamu Stick?

Produced by an Indonesian company, the Jamu Stick is a 12 cm-long and 2.5 cm-wide stick made of a "secret recipe" of various herbs. The stick claims to increase libido and "intensify the sensation during intercourse," relieve menstruation pain, combat vaginal discharge and odor, while simultaneously strengthening the vaginal muscles and tightening the vagina. (*Insert eye-roll here.*)

Meant to be inserted into the vagina every three to four days, the herbal stick claims to “clean and regenerate the vagina by removing dead skin cells from the vaginal epithelial surface, thus creating an overall balance of the substance (secretions) inside the vagina,” according to their website.

Not surprisingly, medical experts claim the product is entirely bogus and unsafe, which has led the product to be removed from Etsy. However, the product is still available for purchase through the brand's own website.

Why the Jamu Stick Can Cause More Harm Than Good

For those of you who paid attention during Health 101, you're already aware that the vagina was created to clean itself with the help of natural secretions. Anything besides warm water and mild soap can irritate the vagina further, creating an imbalance of the pH levels, explains Jennifer Butt, M.D., a gynecologist and founder of Upper East Side OB/GYN. (See: Stop Telling Me I Need to Buy Things for My Vagina) "This seems more of a way to introduce bacteria into your vagina and that can actually cause, not prevent, an imbalance in the vaginal pH and foul-smelling discharge," she says.

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As for claims it can restore women to their “former tightness” in just seconds, that's also bogus. As Dr. Butt explains, the idea of a "loose vagina" is largely a myth; the vagina is elastic, which basically means it's able to stretch and withstand different shapes and sizes, both entering and exiting. "How can inserting an herbal stick vaginally for 30 to 60 seconds cause immediate tightening of the vagina?" asks Dr. Butt. "Even lasers usually require a few sessions." And as for claims it can strengthen the vaginal muscles, only pelvic floor exercises can do that, she adds.

And because of the stick's brittle nature, it's highly possible that it could eventually break and become lodged inside the vagina, resulting in a yeast infection, odor, a vaginal laceration, bleeding, and a trip to the ER or gynecologist's office, says Dr. Butt.

Bottom Line on the Jamu Stick

You can go ahead and add the Jamu Stick to the list 10 Things to Never Put In Your Vagina, because on top of the laughable claims that it can make your vagina feel "like a virgin again," this product could be straight-up dangerous. We'll take this as an important reminder that your vagina's natural state doesn't need "fixing"—and any product that tries to use women's insecurities against them is probably bogus.