How celebs are ditching boob jobs & bum lifts for ‘designer vagina’ surgery – and all the stars who admit having it done
IT’S no secret many stars go under the knife – be it for bum lifts, boob jobs or facial surgery.
But the latest go-to cosmetic trend for the rich and famous appears to something they’d like to keep in their pants – getting a designer vagina.
Designer vagina is the informal term used to describe cosmetic procedures performed on the female genitalia, typically with the aim of altering its appearance or addressing functional concerns.
A more empowering umbrella term is vaginal rejuvenation – and while it is not offered on the NHS, it is one of the world’s fastest growing cosmetic procedures.
The best known approaches include labiaplasty, where vaginal lips are surgically reshaped, and vaginoplasty, which tightens the vaginal canal.
Labiaplasties have seen a 1,350% rise in popularity over the last five years, according to new research by Harley Street Skin Clinic.
A 2020 US study found that 52% of women who opted for designer vagina surgery did so because they did not like the appearance of their vagina.
Meanwhile, 38% cited sexual discomfort and 37% wanted to improve their confidence.
But this rise in popularity has sparked debates about societal pressures, unrealistic beauty standards and the medicalisation of normal anatomy.
Designer vaginas have long been controversial, with a group of MPs campaigning in 2015 to have surgical versions of the procedure outlawed.
The type of procedures on offer have come a long way over the last decade, and the designer vagina label doesn’t strictly apply to procedures aiming to alter the appearance of female nether regions.
The tag also encompasses clitoral hood reductions which improve sensitivity, as well as a host of non-surgical procedures which can improve incontinence, post-menopause pain management and female sexual dysfunction.
Everything to consider before getting a designer vagina
While the NHS doesn't offer vaginal rejuvenation treatments, it does offer advice for women considering the treatments.
Some women want a designer vaginas because they do not like the look of their labia, which is the fleshy folds of skin that make up the external part of the female genitalia. However, it’s completely normal to have noticeable skin folds around the opening of your vagina. In most cases, it does not cause any problems.
The NHS advises:
- If you’re thinking about having a designer vagina treatment, discuss it with your GP first. You may have a condition that’s causing discomfort, which can be treated. Your GP may advise you to speak to a counsellor or psychologist before committing to surgery
- It can be expensive, with the average labiaplasty costing about £4,000. The cost of any consultations or follow-up care may not be included in the price
- If you’re having surgery in England, check with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to see if the hospital or clinic is registered with them
- Check the surgeon is registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). They should be listed on the specialist register and have a licence to practise
- You may need up to two weeks off work to recover. It can take a couple of months for the skin to fully heal. During this time, peeing and sitting may also be uncomfortable
- Designer vagina treatments can occasionally result in bleeding, infection, scarring of tissue and reduced sensitivity of the genitals
Designer vaginas are catching on in British showbiz circles – and that’s likely because a number of the techniques improve sexual pleasure and quality of life.
Female celebrities have proudly spoken about their procedures, including Sinitta, Gemma Collins and Nicola McLean.
Even the woman dubbed the UK’s Welfare Queen, Marie Buchan, has had a laser designer vagina, but caused uproar after it was suggested that the taxpayer may have funded it.
The mum-of-eight, who has been in the system for 23 years and received around £500,000 in government handouts, was forced to insist that she paid for it with earnings from a car boot sale.
Here, we take a look at the stars who have proudly had designer vaginas and what they had to say about their procedures…
Gemma Collins
Gemma Collins, 44, famously had a vajazzle on series one of The Only Way Is Essex.
Vajazzles entail decorating the pubic area with gemstones or rhinestones, and quickly caught on in 2010 after Essex’s elite began boasting about their designs.
It was a few years later that Gemma took things up a notch to get a designer vagina, which she openly said made her feel “mega confident”.
The reality star said that her treatment, which was non-surgical, transformed her downstairs to “look like something you see in a movie”.
She told The Sun in December 2023: “I’ve not had any cosmetic surgery, apart from my designer vagina but that was years ago.
“I love it that my boobs are sort of halfway down to my stomach now – this is my body.
“I can prop them up with a good bra and this is what I was born with, this is who I am.”
In fact, it was a conversation with The GC that inspired one other telly star to look into, and ultimately get, a designer vagina.
Nicola McLean
Former glamour model Nicola McLean, 43, was the fellow star that Gemma inspired.
Like one-in-three British women, she was secretly battling incontinence after the birth of her two children and found she couldn’t go for a jog for fear of suffering from an embarrassing leak.
Sick of suffering in silence, Nicola decided to go under the knife for a £4,000 surgery that promised to cure her bladder problems and turbo-charge her sex life.
Nicola’s surgery came after she read about fellow reality star Gemma’s procedure.
I knew it needed to be done… The procedure was pain-free and the recovery has been absolutely fine
Nicola McLean
She told Fabulous in January 2022: “The GC was speaking about it a while ago and I thought, ‘She hasn’t got any kids, I need to look into this’.
“Gemma said it was brilliant and I think she’s brilliant so it went from there.
“I knew it needed to be done. I would have been more nervous if it was just to make myself look better. But this was to improve my lifestyle.
“The procedure was pain-free and the recovery has been absolutely fine.”
I can now bounce on the trampoline with my kids again without weeing myself. It’s changed my life
Nicola McLean
It wasn’t a decision that Nicola took lightly, but she said the thought of having to wear padded knickers in case of emergency pushed her towards an operation.
She immediately saw improvement in her pelvic floor, and described the change as like she had never had children.
She added: “I can now bounce on the trampoline with my kids again without weeing myself. Not only can I run up or down the stairs without risking an accident; I could run a marathon if I wanted.
“It’s changed my life.”
Sinitta
Sinitta, 61, revealed that she underwent treatment in October 2023 after thinking her vagina had “died” – but she now describes it as a “20-year-old” vagina.
It came after the So Macho singer said in November 2016 that she planned to undergo a vaginoplasty and broadcast it on YouTube.
Simon Cowell‘s close pal shocked her followers earlier that year by live streaming her friend having a vaginoplasty on Persicope.
“To be sexy, you actually really need to start with your vagina,” she said on an Instagram live stream with Emma Skeates, also known as The Menopausal Mayhem Mother on social media.
“There’s treatments that can replace the collagen, the vaginal wall can be rejuvenated, the clitoris can be restimulated so that it’s sensitive.”
Sinitta said her new vagina meant she was having the “best sex of her life”.
And despite being one to never talk about sex, she decided to open up as she felt she’d “have to be a real cow” to not open up on how much the procedure had improved her life.
She didn’t reveal the exact procedure she underwent, but she did reveal that it was a half an hour treatment with zero downtime performed by Dr Sherif Wakil.
Dr Sherif is a leading doc in sexual dysfunction and was the first practitioner in the UK to introduce the soft surgery approach to vaginal rejuvenation.
“He said it’s not one-size-fits-all for everyone, but he can deal with whatever your issues are,” Sinitta said.
The gynaecology expert’s offering includes a whopping 19 non-surgical options for women looking to rejuvenate their vaginas.
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith, 53, made headlines by discussing her vaginal rejuvenation treatment on Red Table Talks.
The actress underwent three procedures that she claims took years off her vagina – and compared it to a teenager’s.
“When I tell you my yoni is like a 16-year-old, I’m not kidding,” she told her mum Adrienne Banfield-Jones during the episode.
“I’m talking about the outside. It looks like a little beautiful peach.”
Jada later revealed that her main motivator for the procedure was bladder issues, which she added completely disappeared after three treatments.
Her practitioner was Kelly Rainey at the Vitality Institute of Agoura in Los Angeles, who appeared alongside Jada on the Red Table Talks episode.
Kelly shared that the Girls Trip star opted for a non-surgical process with a wand that moves in and out of the vagina.
The wand “introduces heat which stimulates cellular turnover” and helps improve the overall function of the vagina.
Brandi Glanville
In her 2013 book, Brandi Glanville, 52, said that after her husband Eddie Cibrian cheated on her with LeAnn Rimes, she sought revenge with a brand new vagina.
She wrote candidly about the procedure in Drinking & Tweeting and Other Brandi Blunders, and later discussed it on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017.
She penned: “The pretty intense surgery had an even more intense price tag: $12,000.
“A brand new vagina would be an Eddie-free vagina.
“I understand that, to many of you, this may seem like an extreme measure to cut someone out of your life.
“But I’ve always been an extreme kind of girl, with extreme emotions.
“I decided that since Eddie had ruined my vagina for me, he could pay for a new one.”
When her ex-husband challenged her on the treatment billed to his card, she told him that it was a nose job and hung up the phone.