Blank& started with one wish: a life with less pain. My own story with vulvodynia is probably a familiar one to many.
For years I went from doctor to doctor. I was told to sit in hot baths and to wear cotton underwear. I was prescribed numbing gel and sent off to train my pelvic floor. None of it helped. A prickling, cactus-like pain, not being able to wear jeans, and depression followed one after the other, because it felt like nobody was ever going to be able to help.
Vulvodynia is chronic pain in the vulvar area that lasts at least three months and has no clear identifiable cause. Estimates suggest it affects close to a third of women at some point in their lives, and it remains one of the most underdiagnosed topics in women's health. It often has a serious effect on sexual wellbeing, because one of its most typical symptoms is pain during intercourse.
That same hopelessness came up again and again on forum threads about intimate pain and in social media comment sections. Everything had been tried, and the pain had crept into daily life to stay.
Forums do have their uses, though. Beyond peer support, they are also where remedies that have otherwise stayed in the dark finally see daylight.
One thread mentioned CBD oil and its possible benefits. Women dealing with nerve pain had been applying it to the intimate area as it was. A year later, in the summer of 2023, that idea turned into Etna, a lubricant with CBD extract. The rest is history.
CBD extract and intimate pain
Etna is now one of the two bestsellers in our range. Bringing it to market has also given me the chance to talk with women living with all kinds of pain. Some have cancer, some have vulvodynia, some are dealing with perimenopausal symptoms, and some are simply looking for relief from a discomfort during sex they cannot quite name. For some, Etna has been the rescue of their sex life.
While Etna was being developed, I tested every single laboratory batch. Months went by, and then I realised the painful days caused by my vulvodynia had gone from weeks at a time to a handful of days a month. Two years on, I can say wholeheartedly that Etna has been one of the biggest helps in my own life in getting nerve pain under control. But how can CBD extract ease a stinging pain, or the symptoms of vulvodynia?
Over the past few years, researchers have taken a growing interest in vulvodynia and vestibulodynia, pain conditions where the vulvar area burns, stings, feels tender to the touch and hurts during sex.
Research suggests these symptoms are often linked to local inflammation and to the sensitisation of nerve endings. The pain does not necessarily come from visible tissue damage, but from the nervous system in the area reacting more strongly than usual to touch and other stimuli.
This is why many experts point out that a product for the intimate area needs to do more than provide glide. Its ability to support the wellbeing of the mucous membranes and to minimise irritation matters just as much. That thinking guided us through Etna's development too.
CBD extract cares for the skin and reduces inflammation
CBD extract is a non-intoxicating compound derived from hemp, known in particular for its anti-inflammatory and calming properties.
Studies have found that CBD applied topically can act on the nerve endings and inflammatory responses in the skin. In one study on patients with vestibulodynia, participants using a gel containing CBD reported significantly greater relief from pain during intercourse than the placebo group.*
The formula of Etna, our soothing CBD lubricant, is built on three key ingredients:
- CBD extract reduces inflammation and calms the mucous membranes
- Sea buckthorn moisturises
- Vitamin E protects and strengthens the skin
Research has shown that CBD works on the body's endocannabinoid system, which regulates pain, muscle tension and the stress response, among other things. Those anti-inflammatory and pain-reducing properties are what make the extract an interesting addition not only to a lubricant, but to other products for pain relief as well.
Using CBD for pain management has become increasingly common around the world, particularly in the United States and Canada, and now in Europe too. It is used for pelvic floor tightness, skin inflammation, nerve pain in the limbs, rheumatoid joint pain and the muscle tension that follows sports injuries.
CBD has been said to help especially with pain felt at the surface of the skin, the kind that is not easily treated with painkillers taken orally. That is what led to Etna as well: through our test group, we saw in practice that CBD extract eases the symptoms of intimate pain conditions such as vulvodynia.
The best way to find out how it works for you is to try it!
The writer is Blank&'s Chief Content Officer Fanni Koliseva, who has lived with the pain caused by vulvodynia for years.
This article does not replace medical advice. If the pain continues or comes with other symptoms, it is always worth speaking to a healthcare professional.
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