Huda Beauty criticised for 'abhorrent' DIY guide on how to lighten your vagina

'This is disgusting, harmful and tragic'

​Huda Beauty has been criticised for encouraging women to lighten their vaginas.

Beauty blogger Huda Kattan has grown what was once a personal project into an international empire and, as a result, become one of the most influential women in the beauty business.

But, a recent article posted to the brand’s website has caused enormous controversy online.

Entitled, “Why your vagina gets dark and how to lighten it”, the article offers advice to women on how they can lighten their “lady parts” with the help of a “trusted expert” and dermatologist, Dr Doris Day.

Here, Dr Day addresses how ingredients like lemon juice, yogurt, coconut oil and egg white can be used as a DIY option for lightening.

She also provides a host of tips on how to avoid darkening in the first place including losing weight, moisturising and even asking your dermatologist for a prescription brightening cream or chemical peel such as hydroquinone and tranexemic acid.

The provocative article has quickly caused a furore online with a Facebook post from the brand reading, “This is a real issue! Hope you guys find this helpful” amassing more than 10,000 reactions and hundreds of comments.

“Don't need this sort of bulls*** in my feed. The darkening of the vagina is the most natural thing ever. Screw you,” one person commented.

Another added: “Oh! Is there a vagina beauty contest going on???...That requires a white one and not black?”

An entire Reddit thread has also been created by those outraged by the article.

“This is just... disgusting, harmful (lemon juice?!) and tragic,” one person wrote.

Another added: “Telling women their vaginas need altering is f***ed up.”

The article hasn’t skipped the attention of members of the professional beauty world either with skincare expert Caroline Hirons publicly addressing it on her Instagram Stories.

“From my angle, this is at best nonsense and at worst, dangerous,” Hirons told The Independent.

“Huda is the biggest ‘influencer’ in the beauty world and her Instagram is becoming more and more clickbait-driven stories posted with zero to little scientific backing.

“Firstly, the area she refers to is the vulva, not the vagina. Being anatomically correct is of paramount importance when discussing the female anatomy. There are five gynae cancers and most women cannot name them all. Hardly surprising if we refer to the entire area as ‘the vagina’.

“This also exacerbates the bigger issue of the ‘lighter is better than darker’ thinking that is clearly still so prevalent amongst certain demographics, that someone like Huda is in a brilliant, respected position to change. And when talking about female genitalia, it is quite clearly ridiculous.”

Hirons goes on to explain that the female anatomy is able to PH-balance itself and requires no lemons, acids or bleaching.

“Why would anyone want to risk burning their vulva so that it appears ‘lighter’? For what reason? For your partner? If your partner is concerned about the Pantone of your genitalia you’ve got a much bigger problem than the colour of your vulva.”

And gynaecologists agree. Speaking to The Independent, Shazia Malik a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at The Portland Hospital said: “As a woman and a gynaecologist I would be alarmed if I got such a request - we should allow women to be normal in all its beautiful shapes, forms and colours.

“It is perfectly normal and healthy for the vulva to be a different shade of skin than the vagina or the legs even. This is because the vagina is what we call a mucous membrane (so not skin) - a bit like inside the mouth, and the vulva is skin like the rest of our bodies externally.

“The vulva can appear darker because it has a high concentration of thick hair (and their follicles) while the skin texture and hair concentration can change because of infection, hormonal changes or just ageing. Like other areas of skin, women can get eczema, moles or even cancer on the vulva.

“If this might be a concern to you, please do get checked by your doctor as soon as possible. Otherwise I would advise leaving well alone.

“As for the measures suggested - to use them in an area near the vagina can be harmful and damaging to the skin and normal bacteria found there, and I would strongly advise women to avoid anything other than warm water and unscented products to clean on the vulval area (there is no need whatsoever to be douching inside the vagina).”

In response to the criticism the article has faced Huda Kattan told The Independent: “All of our features are written on the back of questions and comments we receive on the blog, and in this case, we were asked by a number of readers about skin lightening methods for the vagina.

“We have seen a lot of harmful DIYs on the internet so we simply wanted to provide the best information on the topic and encourage safe ways for people to do this, should they wish to.

“Dr Doris Day is one of the most respected dermatologists in the United States, which is why we chose to consult her for this piece.

“We do not feel lightening your vulva is necessary - we’re simply sharing details for those who may be considering it.”

The Independent has contacted Dr Doris Day for comment.