Hattan’s critics and followers are pissed that such a huge figure in the beauty community would perpetuate ideas that are not only socially irresponsible, but also potentially harmful to the body. Below is the answer, provided to the Huda Beauty team by NYC dermatologist Dr. Doris Day. “The problem with vaginal skin is that it has the highest density of melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) than anywhere in the body. It’s an area where there can be a good amount of friction from walking and exercise.” This ENTIRELY ignores the fact that there are people out there who already have dark skin, whose vaginas were born dark, and will be dark forever. Dark skin, per usual, is positioned as undesirable instead of normal. Kattan has been accused of colorism and insensitive pandering to dark-skinned people with her Huda Beauty brand in the past. While she may not have written this blog herself, she should know to be more careful with this subject at this point — after all, it’s her name on this website. Way to fat shame AND vagina shame people at the same time! “Moisturize,” the third lightening tip reads. “Using a good moisturizer will help keep the skin healthy and optimized, which reduces darkening. Coconut oil is fine to use for this purpose.” But what moisturizer should be spread across your vaginal area other than the (hopefully gentle) soap or bath wash you regularly use? It definitely should NOT be coconut oil, which is far too heavy to use around the labia every day. Adding too many products to your vagina (as recommended in this blog) can throw off the vagina’s pH balance, which may encourage bacterial growth, which may lead to infection. This “moisturize” tip totally clashes with the second tip encouraging you to tend to infections. In fact, if you follow tip #3, you’ll be dealing with tip #2 WAY too often. But at the end of this story, the HudaBeauty.com throws in a totally unnecessary and potentially damaging vagina lightening DIY anyway. “Although Doris is skeptical about DIY treatments, she believes the ingredients, coconut oil, and lemon juice, will be the most effective and safe,” the blog reads. Unless this dermatologist provided additional information to Huda Beauty’s team that wasn’t published, this appears to take Dr. Day’s earlier comments out of context — her actual quote says lemon juice “won’t do very much,” and using coconut oil to brighten skin “would take years to see results.” The Huda Beauty team suggests you: “Combine 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 10 drops of rose water, soak a cotton pad in the formula and squeeze out excess, gently wipe the external areas only (avoid your inner lady parts!), and let this sit for 2 to 4 minutes before rinsing off. Do this once a day, but if you notice a burning sensation or any redness and discomfort either straight away or over time, stop immediately. You can follow with coconut oil.” If you feel your vagina rejecting this advice already, it’s understandable. That’s right: Hyperpigmentation. Meaning your skin may get darker. So all the efforts to lighten your private region could be thwarted by the very DIY hack you are using to stop it. Translation: Lemons are for Beyoncé albums and Arnold Palmer mixes, not your vagina.
