Why Most Yoni Steaming Blends are Actually Useless

Strong words, I know.

If it makes you feel better, we could say, “Most yoni steaming blends work because of the placebo effect.”

If you have a blend that’s working for you, and you don’t want me to ruin it for you, you have full permission to turn back now.

The truth is that different herbs, like different people, shine better in specific situations. Some herbs will be most effective when extracted in water (like a tea that you drink). Some herbs are more powerful when extracted in alcohol (like a tincture). Some herbs like a long extraction process (overnight—many weeks), and some short (a few minutes).

Why is this? Different herbs carry their most potent medicine in chemically different ways — here I’m referring to the herb’s “active constituents”. And these active constituents can only be accessed through specific extraction methods, depending on the chemical makeup of the constituent.

Yoni steaming is very specific — we steep the herbs in the water, but we don’t drink the water. The vehicle for getting the herb’s medicine into our bodies is the steam itself. So which active constituents actually rise up with the steam?

Only the volatile oils rise with the steam. If an herb has a low concentration of volatile oils, it won’t do much of anything in your steam.

All the heavier compounds stay in the water. What falls into that category? Minerals, polysaccharides, and most other plant compounds.

So if you have an herb whose main medicine is in its mineral content (i.e. red raspberry leaf or nettle), or in it’s starch content (i.e. marshmallow root or astragalus root), a yoni steam is really not the best way to use this herb.

Minerals are generally best extracted in vinegar, and polysaccharides are generally best extracted in a longer infusion (overnight at a minimum). In either scenario, we then need to consume the liquid we used for the extraction process.

The vast majority of steam blends available are using vague platitudes to market their products — “Red raspberry leaf is so good for all women’s issues,” or, “Marshmallow root is so emollient and moisturizing.” These statements are unclear, overly simplistic, and don’t speak from a deep understanding of the herbs and how to receive their gifts.

The sadder truth is that most steam practitioners are getting their information from only one source, and not taking the time to educate themselves holistically about the herbs they are using.

Remember, just because most people share a certain viewpoint, that doesn’t mean it’s the truth.

If you’d like a custom herbal blend just for YOU, text HERBS to this number.

Once you’ve got an herbal blend that you feel confident will work for you…

Enjoy your steam!

tldr: If an herb doesn’t have a high concentration of volatile oils, it’s not going to be very effective in a yoni steam.

Every woman is unique. Curious what YOUR ideal steam schedule is? Text STEAM to this number (additional fees apply).

To learn how to set up your home steam session, click here.

For more detailed safety considerations, click here.

For more information about supplies we recommend, click here.

To see all our educational blog posts, click here.