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April 9, 2025 
admin Labiaplasty is trending. As one of the fastest-growing cosmetic procedures in the world, especially among young people, everyone is curious about what’s caused this increased interest.
In this article, we’ll be sharing our research into labiaplasty procedures and the reason for their rising popularity.
What is Labia?
Labia are the folds of skin that sit either side of the vagina. The outer lips are called the Labia Majora and the inner lips are called the Labia Minora. They are part of the vulva and can vary in size, shape, and colour from woman to woman.
What is a ‘Normal’ Labia?
One of the most common questions women ask when considering labiaplasty is ‘what is a normal labia?’ And it’s a fair enough question, especially for women concerned about the appearance of their labia.
The good news is that most labia are completely normal. Unless you’re experiencing discomfort during sexual intercourse, exercise, or while wearing tight clothing, it’s unlikely your labia is anything to be concerned about.
Even if you think your labia looks different to how you might expect, this is also normal. All labia look different. They can vary in size, shape, colour, and overall appearance. If you’re particularly worried or self-conscious about the look of your labia, labiaplasty augmentation can be a great solution.
What is Labiaplasty?
Labiaplasty is a cosmetic surgery for female genitalia that involves changing the size and shape of a woman’s labia. For some women, labiaplasties are medically necessary. For example, reshaping the labia can improve symptoms of discomfort during intercourse, physical activity, and when wearing tight fitting clothing.
For others, the reasons are cosmetic with women keen to improve the appearance of their labia so they feel more confident in themselves and how they look.
What is a ‘Typical’ Labia Shape?
When people are concerned about the shape and size of their labia, they’re usually worried about the shape of the vaginal lips (otherwise known as labia majora). These are fleshy outer lips that typically protrude from the vagina and they are one part of the labia that make it unique in appearance.
The most typical labia shapes include:
Asymmetrical Inner Lips: asymmetry of the inner lips is when one side of the labia is larger or thicker than the other. Asymmetrical labia are very common. In fact, it’s more common to have an asymmetrical labia than not.
Prominent Inner Lips: for many women, the inner lips of the labia stick out from the outer lips and are typically longer. This difference in length can be subtle but they can make the labia appear more pronounced.
Curved Outer Lips: some labias have outer lips that are curved in a horseshoe shape. This is normal and there are many women who have a labia that looks like this.
Prominent Outer Lips: labia lips that are particularly prominent sit far lower than the vulva. This can make the skin appear thick and puffy or thin and loose.
Dangling Outer Lips: prominent outer lips can hang outside your underwear. While this is normal, it can cause discomfort – particularly for women wearing tight fitting clothes. For women with dangling outer lips, labiaplasty procedures can offer a fix.
Long Inner Lips: prominent inner lips tend to hang past the outer lips, creating additional skin or folds.
Why is Labiaplasty on the Rise Among Young People?
In recent years there has been a sharp rise in young people seeking out labiaplasty procedures. There are many reasons for this – some of them negative but the vast majority positive. Let’s take a look.
- Social Media and Body Image
Labiaplasty procedures are particularly on the rise among Gen Z. In fact, according to research carried out by Marie Claire, “one in six people are embarrassed by their labia, with shame particularly high among young people […] The report found that 18 per cent of Gen Zs got their idea of what a labia “should look like” from porn, and 30 per cent obtained it from social media.”
What mainstream social media and pornography show women is that the ideal labia is the ‘tucked away’ or ‘neat’ version. The National Library of Medicine explains that, “in the age of digital proliferation, platforms like Instagram and Facebook have reshaped body image concerns, often leading to increased dissatisfaction and psychological distress due to constant exposure to idealised images and a culture of social comparison.”
Social media and pornography tell young people ‘this is how your body should look’ or ‘this is what an attractive body looks like’. When the truth is, normal looks different for everyone.
For women who feel their labia looks different or ‘not the way it’s supposed to’, they can feel ashamed or embarrassed. From here, they can seek out cosmetic procedures, such as labiaplasty, to help correct the size and shape of their labia and restore their body confidence.
- Increased Awareness of Cosmetic Vaginal Surgery
Labiaplasty isn’t a new procedure. However, it has always been a lesser-known and understood cosmetic surgery. Nowadays, thanks to the power of social media and information sharing, there is more awareness about labiaplasty procedures than ever before.
This increased awareness in cosmetic vaginal surgery is giving young women the confidence to seek out corrective surgeries to ‘fix’ things about their appearance they felt unhappy or self-conscious about. We believe this is powerful and that access to information about cosmetic surgery, and cosmetic procedures, is having a transformative effect on many women’s lives.
- Changing Attitudes Towards Cosmetic Surgery
Cosmetic surgery is no longer viewed as the ‘big bad wolf’ of the medical industry. Instead, the stigma surrounding cosmetic surgery has lessened over time to make way for evolving attitudes that are normalising cosmetic surgery and enhancements.
As a result, many women, thanks to influences like social media and celebrity endorsements, no longer feel ashamed of their decisions to explore cosmetic surgery. Instead, they view it as a form of self-love and care. This reduced shame means women feel liberated to make their own choices and chase their own happiness, without feeling judged or shamed by society.
- Improved Body Knowledge and Education
Women in the 21st century are far more educated about their bodies than women were 100 years ago. From menstrual cycles and sexual pleasure to childbearing and cosmetic surgery, today’s women have more control over and possess more knowledge about their bodies than ever before.
As part of this knowledge, many young people want to know if their body looks ‘the way it should’. While social media and entertainment apps like Netflix are often criticised for bombarding young people with unattainable standards of beauty, the flip side is that young people have more access than ever to informative content.
Whether they want to learn more about sexual health, relationships, how to keep fit, or how to be healthy, there is an abundance of information available online.
- The Wish to Feel Comfortable
Many young women don’t feel comfortable in their own skin. In fact, we see many young women who are exploring labiaplasty because they are experiencing physical discomfort, due to a prominent labia, during sports or wearing swimsuits or yoga pants.
If the labia are prominent, they can cause chaffing and become folded when running, cycling, or wearing tight fitting clothing. This can make physical activity particularly uncomfortable.
We believe all women should feel comfortable and confident which is why we are so encouraged to have young women approaching us to solve their discomfort through labiaplasty.
- Sexual Comfort and Confidence
The labia is not known to negatively affect sexual function or orgasm. However, its size and shape can make women feel self-conscious. The size of a woman’s labia can also make sexual intercourse uncomfortable, due to chaffing, and this can negatively impact a woman’s enjoyment of sex.
The labia can have a dramatic effect on a woman’s intimate relationships and this can have a lasting (and often negative) impact. Labiaplasty procedure seeks to fix this and restore female comfort and confidence.
- Feelings of Body Insecurity
According to The Guardian, labiaplasty is “one of the fastest growing cosmetic procedures among young people […] While there may be health reasons for reducing the size of labia, the rise in labiaplasties is being driven by women, girls and gender-diverse people wanting to alter the look of their vulva purely for cosmetic reasons.”
Feeling insecure about the more intimate aspects of your appearance can have a big impact. One of the benefits of labiaplasty is that it can improve the appearance of the labia, restoring women’s feelings of confidence and comfort in their body.
What Age Can a Woman Get a Labiaplasty?
To be accepted for a labiaplasty, a woman must be at least 18 years old. In general, labiaplasty procedures are not performed on women under the age of 18. The reason for this is that women under the age of 18 are still considered to be in puberty and, as such, the labia is still developing and changing. We encourage you to speak to us if you would like more information about this.
Labiaplasty at GynaeDoctors
We are proud to provide best-in-class labiaplasty procedures that restore comfort and confidence in women of all ages. If you’re exploring labiaplasty procedures, we answer your FAQs and explain what you can expect before, during and after the procedure.
We hope this article has been informative and we look forward to welcoming you to our clinic soon.
