Women often struggle with new headaches in the bedroom as they get older, but these irritants don’t have to kill the mood.
“As women age, factors such as hormonal changes can impact arousal and pleasure,” Dr. Usha Rajagopal, a board-certified plastic surgeon and the medical director of the San Francisco Plastic Surgery and Laser Center, told The Post.
Vaginal dryness and changes in vaginal laxity and sensation are some of the most common complaints as women age. That doesn’t mean that sex can’t still be fun — all these wrinkles can be dealt with, specialists stress.
Remedies for vaginal dryness can be as simple as purchasing a prescription estrogen cream or an over-the-counter lubricant.
Changes in vaginal laxity and sensation will likely require more intense treatments, like The O Shot, which utilizes platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a non-invasive way to rejuvenate and amplify sexual sensation. A labiaplasty, meanwhile, can provide transformative results that enhance the function and appearance of the vagina.
“Some women find their sex lives in their 50s can be sexually liberating,” Kindra advisory board member Dr. Juliana Hauser told The Post.
“By this point, they know what they like and don’t like, can feel more empowered to speak up about what they want, and no longer have to worry about getting pregnant, which allows them to explore their own bodies more freely and with less inhibition,” she explained.
In fact, about 70% of women 50 and older report enjoying sex, according to new data from a survey conducted by Harris Poll for Kindra, which sells estrogen-free menopause supplements and relief.
Hauser recommends women over 50 create a sexual toolbox with products, toys, and props to promote pleasure for themselves and their bodies.
“I have found that the No. 1 factor for women having more fulfilling sexual lives after 50 is devoting time and purpose behind finding out what they want and don’t want, why this is the case, and living the terms they want to be living,” she said. “Sexual agency is the game changer of fulfilling sexuality.”
1. Educate yourself: Sex education is more than just sex acts and should be explored holistically.
2. Do the four quadrant exercise: Draw two lines on a piece of paper, one horizontally through the middle and one vertically through the middle. In the first quadrant, place things you have done that you want to keep doing or do more of; in the second, write things you have done and don’t want to keep doing or do again; in the third, note things you haven’t done yet but would like to try, or are a “maybe”; and in the last, list things you haven’t done that are a definite “no.”
3. Be your own advocate: Educate yourself, ask yourself questions, and don’t be satisfied with being told “no” on things you want to change.
4. Get a mentor: Talk with someone open to speaking about their sexual life and aging to “tell you like it is” from their experience, through their eyes. They should be able to answer questions earnestly and honestly.
5. Practice sexual agency: Sexual agency builds trust in yourself and your decisions, fortifies the understanding of who you are as a unique individual, attracts supportive and expansive people, and ensures that you know that in any given circumstance your wants and needs matter just as much as everyone else’s.