Dr. Bawa: Welcome to another episode of Dr. Sex Fairy. I'm Dr. Kanwal Bawa, and I am here as always to transform your life. I was on the Crazy Rich Neighbors Podcast the other day. Love those ladies, by the way. And we started talking about ThermiVa vaginal rejuvenation, and I swear it got on my last nerve. So I got these awesome women back in the studio because I want to discuss the very important topic of the Vagina Wars.
Tiffany: Hey, hey everybody! I'm Tiffany.
Mia: And we're so excited to be here with you, Dr. Bawa, to get schooled about our vagina mistakes.
Tiffany: We're sorry we did the ThermiVa.
Mia: We didn't know you then. We thought it kind of worked, but now I'm not so sure.
Tiffany: I'm still leaky and creaky.
Mia: Oh no. Yes, and I don't think much has changed. I felt something after. I mean, it looks pretty good. I think it's cute.
Dr. Bawa: Well, it's unique, boo. But now you have me, Dr. Sex Fairy.
Mia: Yes! Oh, wait, wait, wait. We have a sound effect for that one. Yes! Dr. Sex Fairy's in the house.
Dr. Bawa: And I am going to tell you why ThermiVa sucks.
Mia: Tell us, girl. I want my money back.
Dr. Bawa: You want your money back.
Tiffany: And that was expensive.
Mia: It was, boo. It was like $2,500.
Tiffany: Uh-huh. Okay, so tell us all about what we should have done.
Dr. Bawa: Well, see, here's the thing people don't realize. Fifty million women in the U.S. at this moment alone can benefit from vaginal rejuvenation of some kind. Women who have given birth, women who haven't given birth, women who are menopausal, women who are perimenopausal, women who have not had any action down under for a long time—you know, use it or lose it. That's one of our upcoming podcasts. So there are many reasons why your vagina needs an overhaul, ladies. And I feel that ThermiVa is the cop-out treatment. I don't think it does a whole lot of anything. ThermiVa is radiofrequency. They're basically taking heat and heating up your vagina for about 25 to 30 minutes. You risk overheating, burning, all kinds of things—even electric shocks. The other thing is that it's essentially heating your tissue. It's not really doing much to change it.
Mia: Here's what they said, though. They said this heating will cause natural collagen production.
Dr. Bawa: Not enough.
Tiffany: Ooh. And here's my thing. I went for my pelvic floor because even though I never had children, I have not given birth. I was on a trampoline years ago with my little nieces, and guess what? Oops. And so I did it to strengthen my pelvic floor, and it didn't really help at all.
Dr. Bawa: Wow. And that's why you have me.
Tiffany: But did it initially help? It did. And like I say, she's snatchier and cute. But really, what I went for was the pelvic floor strengthening, which it didn't really deliver on.
Mia: Thank God we have Dr. Sex Fairy to set us straight.
Dr. Bawa: To set your vajayjay straight. That's right. Saving the world one happy vagina at a time. So ThermiVa is essentially radiofrequency, right? It's heating your vagina. They put this vaginal probe—slash dildo thing—in.
Tiffany: Yes.
Dr. Bawa: And they're heating it for about 30 minutes. You're lying there uncomfortable with some lady you don't know sitting between your legs. Like any proper vaginal treatment, you have to have a series of them. The issue is that you have to be back in six months again, or sooner. It isn't cheap, and it isn't a long-term solution. I am so against anything that isn't a long-term solution. I hate Band-Aids. Who has the time, energy, and money to waste over and over again?
Mia: And you know what they tell you? You get a discount if you come back in six months to get a top-up. But if you come back one day after that six-month mark, you have to start it all over again. They didn't tell me that. Another $3,000. It's interesting—we went to two different places.
Tiffany: Yeah, I had to.
Dr. Bawa: And you know, I have integrity. When it comes to my patients, I can make money a lot of different ways. Cheating them isn't one of them. I feel that this is almost cheating your patient because you're selling them a dream, and this isn't working. It's not realistic. What they're doing, what they're promising, doesn't work. That's why I forced you ladies to come back in the studio. Let's talk about this. We're going to school.
Tiffany: January 2nd, we're getting treatment after treatment. I told my husband I want all of your services for Christmas. Don't buy me anything crazy.
Mia: I told my husband the same.
Tiffany: He said, forget anything else. Yes, this is what we're doing.
Dr. Bawa: When you come to me, what you will be doing is a combination of a few things. But I think the best comparison to ThermiVa is a CO2 laser, which is what I do. I also do acoustic wave therapy, and we'll talk about that in a few minutes. A CO2 laser is literally ablating your tissue. It's taking a layer off, but it's not painful. I can do it internally and externally, and most of my patients do both.
Tiffany: And it helps with leakage? With your pelvic floor?
Dr. Bawa: Oh my God, it's transformational. Because it is taking your tissue and, like I said, ablating it. It's taking a layer off and doing collagen synthesis to the nth degree. It is strengthening your tissue, thickening your tissue, completely rebuilding your tissue. It's not just heating it and giving you a Band-Aid placebo effect.
Mia: Right. And it does not hurt? I have a very low tolerance for pain. We had twins. Girl, I was hopped up on an epidural from the first little crack of pain.
Dr. Bawa: That's funny. So CO2 is a gold standard in vaginal rejuvenation. Okay. Truly.
Mia: Why haven't we heard about this until now?
Tiffany: Didn't know Dr. Sex Fairy.
Dr. Bawa: Because you didn't know me, honey. And now you do.
Mia: Bring it on, child.
Dr. Bawa: So the thing is that CO2 is, at the risk of sounding a little too scientific, breaking the dermal-epidermal junction. And it's a six-minute procedure.
Tiffany: And just one?
Dr. Bawa: Wow. No, you do a series of three.
Tiffany: That's fine.
Dr. Bawa: But you don't come back in six months. In fact, when my patients ask me when they have to come back, I say, you know, we'll talk about it in a year. Let's see how you feel in a year. And so far, the patients I did over a year ago are happy, and they're not back for the same problem.
Mia: What's the cost if I came to the practice?
Dr. Bawa: It depends. It runs in the same range as ThermiVa. And the beauty is that you don't have to keep doing it over and over again.
Mia: Yeah. We went into it knowing that there would be a top-up.
Dr. Bawa: Yeah. Not my patients. They know they do their three and then they're good, unless, of course, they have excessive incontinence or some major issues. Incontinence can have many causes, including childbirth. People have a false notion that women who don't deliver vaginally don't have incontinence.
Tiffany: I never had a child.
Dr. Bawa: But you still have incontinence.
Tiffany: When I sneeze, cough, laugh—yes. Otherwise I'm fine, but I guess that's stress incontinence, is it?
Dr. Bawa: You know what also happens is that your vagina gets more relaxed with time.
Tiffany: Just think of it like your face—your muscles, everywhere. Your vagina is going to change too.
Dr. Bawa: I do facial aesthetics, and I do the non-surgical facelift. Why? Because after a certain age, your face goes south. Well, the skin doesn't know where the hell on the body it is. It's going to go south everywhere. Things start to sag. Your bladder's not quite what it was, your vagina is not quite what it was, your hormones go to hell. It's a very complex issue. When I talk to my patients, I have to figure out why they have the problem. CO2 doesn't just help you with incontinence; it helps you with laxity. Loose, floppy vaginas are not good for anybody. They're not helping you, they're not helping your partner. And I'm sorry, you cannot have good sex if there's no friction.
Tiffany: I've just figured something out. That's why old people wear such big underpants, because everything's sagging. Everything's sagging; you've got to cover it.
Dr. Bawa: So, you know, when it comes right down to it, CO2 makes a real difference, and it makes a long-term difference.
Tiffany: We need that. Not only that, but we have a friend. She also did the ThermiVa with us. Unfortunately, I think I put the bug in her ear about it, and she didn't have a result either, so she's probably going to want to come see you too.
Dr. Bawa: The other thing CO2 does is help the pH levels go back toward prior levels. And when your pH goes back toward prior levels, you now have more moisture.
Mia: So you know there's this misconception that Kegeling can save the vajayjay. Who has time, boo? Okay, how many Kegels do you have to do? And I'm the Queen of England. Who came up with this Kegel thing? Guys came up with this. Like, just Kegel, just clench, you know, a hundred times a little bit.
Dr. Bawa: Is it going to change your world? No, it's not. If you want real change, you want a CO2 laser. I don't think incontinence is really genetic; I think it's more functional than anything. Maybe I'm wrong—I'm not a urologist—but in my experience, I've never seen patients have a genetic issue with it. Some people simply have more of an issue than others. And the sooner you get on the bandwagon of rejuvenation, the better it's going to be. Let's not be in denial.
Tiffany: But you also have to find the right person, which clearly we haven't until now.
Mia: And it's been a costly trial-and-error period to date. I once went to this place that was dedicated to women. Insurance doesn't cover it, but they deal with hormone issues, sexual issues, or what have you. And they had some treatment where they do this heavy pounding on the clitoris.
Tiffany: That's how we got into this shape in the first place.
Mia: I know, like literally, it's like a hammer.
Dr. Bawa: Oh my God.
Mia: Are you kidding? Yes. I don't know, it was like a free trial, so I tried it. It's super expensive. You have to pay every month. It's like a private wellness thing for about three grand a month. I didn't go back. This is cuckoo. That can't be.
Dr. Bawa: I'm a doctor. In my world, that's called a vaginal foreign body, which can give you infections and other problems.
Tiffany: Oh God, I'm very picky about what goes in my vagina.
Dr. Bawa: Don't listen to Gwyneth Paltrow, people. Listen to me. I went to medical school.
Mia: But people sued her recently, right? Somebody, I don't know, over the yoni stuff. And they won. It's like quackery.
Dr. Bawa: It is quackery. Highfalutin quacks. It's making her very rich, but it's quackery. Sorry, ladies. You've got to spend your money on stuff that works, not yoni.
Tiffany: Speak the truth. That's right.
Dr. Bawa: And you know what irritates me about this? I'm Indian. And they say, oh, you know, they have this whole hippie thing. I'm sorry. Women in India don't even call a vagina a yoni. They call it a damn vagina. Yes. Why are we calling it a yoni?
Mia: Where does that originate? Because there's nothing embarrassing.
Dr. Bawa: You know, in India, Sanskrit, Hindi, all of those languages, yoni is a word, but even we don't use the word. We call it a vagina.
Mia: But is 'yoni' Sanskrit for vagina? Why can't we just call it by its name?
Dr. Bawa: Call it a damn vagina. It's like when you go to Starbucks and they call it chai tea. You know that chai means tea, so you're asking for tea-tea. That's why I say don't call it a yoni. Call it a damn vagina.
Mia: Yes. We also debated yoni steaming. Oh my God, don't get me started. My head is steaming over your yoni steaming. Never again.
Dr. Bawa: That's a whole episode all its own. But I'll give you an example. We were talking about ThermiVa versus CO2. I use a very high-quality CO2 laser by Candela, one of the top laser companies in the world. And no, they didn't pay me, people. This is not sponsored. I also do radiofrequency for the face.
Mia: Okay.
Dr. Bawa: They have different machines. I buy, for the most part, Candela lasers because they're so damn good, whether you put them on the face or your vagina. See, I'm losing my mind here. I have vagina on my mind.
Tiffany: You're sticking to the theme.
Dr. Bawa: I am sticking to the theme. They have a machine called Sublative. Sublative is a fractional bipolar radiofrequency device. I use it to resurface the face. When people aren't very pale, CO2 laser is not the safest for them.
Tiffany: Oh, interesting.
Dr. Bawa: Some Hispanics with darker skin tone cannot really get CO2 resurfacing because it can cause hypo- or hyperpigmentation. But I still want to resurface my darker patients, so I have Sublative for that. Great machine, but it takes three treatments, and even with three treatments, it does not compare to a single CO2 treatment of the face.
Tiffany: Holy smokes, I want everything.
Dr. Bawa: I know. If that tells you something, that's the same idea as what you're getting with ThermiVa.
Tiffany: Yes. Mm-hmm. What is the downtime for that on your face, the CO2 laser on your face?
Dr. Bawa: The CO2 depends. Sometimes you do a lighter treatment, sometimes you do a stronger treatment, and some people recover faster than others. About a week, I'd say. No more than that, usually.
Mia: I just need to know how long I need to withdraw from society. Okay, not long. But what are the side effects? Are there any?
Dr. Bawa: And your vagina tightens up like it was when you were 20, baby.
Mia: These are our new episodes in 2022, child. It's gonna be all about Dr. Sex Fairy, okay? We're gonna give you all our money, honey.
Dr. Bawa: I have children who need to be fed, and I'm okay with that. The thing is, I don't want people out there thinking they can cook up a ThermiVa treatment and somehow it's going to solve all their problems.
Mia: Well, we're here to tell you it won't. Oh man, we felt like it worked in the beginning. We were drinking the Kool-Aid.
Tiffany: She's, you know, like I said, still snatchy.
Dr. Bawa: Yeah, you know, and the thing is with CO2, you can do external CO2 as well. So you can resurface the external area. Sometimes, you know, when it gets darker and you want it to look nicer and pinker and you want to plump it up, you can absolutely do that with CO2.
Tiffany: Why does she get darker?
Dr. Bawa: You know, your hormones go crazy with age.
Tiffany: Oh God.
Dr. Bawa: I think that's the biggest part of that.
Tiffany: That is so strange.
Dr. Bawa: Hormonal changes, in my opinion, cause the most amount of pigmentation down there. Can I do a pitch for another episode and like the hormonal changes?
Mia: Is there anything homeopathic that can be done, or anything at your practice that's not so invasive?
Dr. Bawa: CO2 is really not invasive, believe it or not, because it's a six-minute treatment, unlike your ThermiVa, where you were spread-eagle for 30 minutes getting zapped in your vajayjay. You do that treatment and it changes things. Once you get that treatment, you are having better sex and a better quality of life. Forget the sex for a moment. I have a patient I'm definitely going to have come on one of my episodes. She left me a Google review saying that now, when she exercises, she is only covered in sweat. Does that tell you what the poor lady's life was like? How are you supposed to have good sex? This is about quality of life too.
Mia: Yeah. And I think men get judgy. This is something that—I don't know—men do get judgy when they know that we're getting older or going through changes.
Tiffany: I will never tell my husband when I go through menopause because he'll just use it against me and blame everything on that.
Mia: One hundred percent.
Dr. Bawa: But you know, we've got to cut the men some slack too, because with age they're going downhill as well. Sometimes when a woman is having incontinence and she doesn't want to exercise, let alone have a man go down on her, the poor man is going to take it personally.
Tiffany: Well, that's very true.
Dr. Bawa: He's going to think it's about him. And what that's going to do is it's going to have a cascade effect.
Tiffany: Yeah.
Dr. Bawa: He is now going to have a problem with his self-confidence. That means his erection will suffer. That means problems in the bedroom will start if they aren't already there. One thing leads to another. So I feel that the best-case scenario is when a couple comes in together. You don't have to come to me, though I think I'm pretty fabulous. Go find a doctor near you. Talk to a good doctor. Get a second opinion. Hell, get a third. I think it's best to go together, but if your partner won't go, go yourself. It could be a good surprise, and then you feel more confident. When your partner notices the change, maybe they'll be inspired. Whether men or women are listening, do something for yourself. When your partner notices the difference, they might change their mind about getting help themselves. I also do penile enlargement.
Mia: I've seen your work. It's very good. It's very artful. You deliver.
Dr. Bawa: I do deliver. And the thing is, I can enlarge penises all day, every day. But if we're talking loose vaginas, something has to change there too. So let's not give the brothers a hard time. Let's also do our part to help them along in that journey.
Mia: And look how much time and effort we spend on our faces. Holy Toledo. Just to keep it fresh and whatnot.
Tiffany: We spend time, money, and whatever on our vaginas as well.
Mia: Yes, yes, yes. Well, that is true. I've done like total laser therapy.
Tiffany: Yeah. I've done ThermiVa. I have a question. So the CO2 laser—is it like a wand that goes up the vagina? How is the laser delivered?
Dr. Bawa: In this case, it's a disposable wand. You know that a lot of companies do not have disposable wands.
Mia: Where I went, it was not disposable. That's cringy.com. It was not disposable. I don't even remember if they had plastic on it, to be honest. This is why I don't think they did. That makes my stomach flip over.
Dr. Bawa: Yeah, and you know, I'm a germophobe, really - the best kind of doctor to have, because I don't want that crap in my office.
Mia: But you can spread STDs. Can you spread COVID vaginally from one patient to the next?
Dr. Bawa: That's a good question, I guess.
Tiffany: Well, they did say that they found COVID in men's sperm. So what?
Mia: Yeah. Well, if you got it in the sperm, chances are you got it in the sweat and the saliva too. All the bodily fluids, right? Like how it's just disgusting.
Dr. Bawa: HIV and hepatitis C are real problems. Genital herpes is something that never goes away. You can treat it, but you can never cure it, not with today's medicine anyway. So when you think about all those things, I'm sorry, I don't like anything other than disposable things personally.
Mia: Could you imagine going in, paying all this money for a treatment, and then you come out with an STD? Herpes or gonorrhea? Oh my gosh.
Dr. Bawa: Now, where have you been, honey?
Tiffany: Jeez, I know, right? Oh my Lord. Good news, bad news: tighter vagina, but I got herpes.
Dr. Bawa: Yeah, that doesn't help anyone.
Mia: Oh my God. Bottom line, go someplace with a real doctor.
Dr. Bawa: That's why we're doing this. That's why the Dr. Sex Fairy Podcast came about. I was having conversations like this with my friends and with my patients, and I knew that I had to spread the word.
Mia: And that's why you will be wildly successful. Oh my God. I've already subscribed. I'm telling everyone I can. The world needs this—there needs to be no shame.
Tiffany: Especially for women's stuff. It feels like there's less shame for men's things, but there's still shame for women's sexual health.
Dr. Bawa: Some of these issues are serious. And I say to them, who knows you?
Mia: Probably—well, they'll probably bump into a neighbor.
Tiffany: Well, it is a small town, and you know, you could be at the club and be like, yeah, I saw that guy.
Mia: So we should put it then.
Dr. Bawa: We do have a nice back entrance. Yeah.
Mia: Actually, they should put an ad in the Boca Resort Club. Trust me, your practice is going to blow up. I am the Boca girl.
Dr. Bawa: Boca's very own.
Mia: Boca is a big thing. It's lucky to have you. Totally. And we cannot wait to get into your practice and document it. This is like five episodes for us in the making, okay? And we're helping people. Imagine that.
Tiffany: I can't wait to start the process.
Dr. Bawa: Well, I can't wait to have you in my practice. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we spread some good information today and got some good facts out to the ladies and the men out there.
Mia: I learned a lot.
Dr. Bawa: No more ThermiVa.
Mia: I'm almost due for my six months. I will not be taking my money back there; I'm going to our Dr. Sex Fairy, honey.
Tiffany & Mia: Yes, we're doing that together. We need to take photos.
Dr. Bawa: Well, everyone, thank you for listening today. Be sure to follow me on Instagram at the Real Dr. Sex Fairy and on Facebook at Dr. Sex Fairy. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to shoot me an email at askme at drsexfairy.com. And do not forget to leave me a five-star review. See you next time.
Tiffany & Mia: Bye, guys.
Dr. Bawa: I hope you enjoyed the Dr. Sex Fairy Podcast today. I would love to continue this conversation with you. If you would like my top three secrets for amazing sex, send me an email at askme at drsexfairy.com and I will share them with you. Don't forget to follow this podcast and leave me a five-star review. Until next time.
Tiffany and Mia are the former hosts of Crazy Rich Neighbors, a podcast that shared humorous and often outrageous stories about life, personalities, and relationships inside their affluent South Florida community.
