Chai-Yok: A Spa Treatment for Your Vagina

Chai-yok, is a Korean treatment for the vaginal area.that involves sitting on an open-seated stool in a spa. It is said to reduce stress, fight infections, clear hemorrhoids, regulate menstrual cycles, and aid infertility.

Pungent steam rises from a boiling pot of a mugwort tea blended with wormwood and a variety of other herbs. Above it sits a nude woman on an open-seated stool, partaking in a centuries-old Korean remedy that is gaining a toehold in the West.

Vaginal steam baths, called chai-yok, are said to reduce stress, fight infections, clear hemorrhoids, regulate menstrual cycles and aid infertility, among many other health benefits. In Korea, many women steam regularly after their monthly periods.

There is folk wisdom — and even some logic — to support the idea that the carefully targeted steam may provide some physiological benefits for women. But there are no studies to document its effectiveness, and few American doctors have even heard of it. Read more