There Are Only 5 Types Of Vaginas, According To This Bikini Waxer

I get Brazilian waxes all the time. And every time I drop my drawers and get up on that table, I always wonder how the technician is judging my lady parts. Is my vagina one that she considers normal? Is it pretty? Does she think it’s weird?

I kind of care about what she thinks because she has seen WAY more vaginas than I ever have. In fact, so few women have been able to compare their vaginas with others because it’s just not something that we do. And unfortunately, I couldn’t take the awkwardness of actually asking my waxing lady to tell me how my vagina measures up.

Luckily for us curious ladies, a former wax specialist by the fake name of Mel spoke with Elite Daily about the five different types of vaginas she found most of her clients to fall within.  

Not every vagina will fall within one of these categories, but for the most part, after seeing hundreds of vaginas, Mel has been able to narrow it down.

“This isn’t a mathematical algorithm. This is just to help women understand this weird ‘secret’ [the appearance of our vaginas] we keep from our friends and society at large is not as scandalous or peculiar as we may have thought,” she said.

Before checking out these descriptions, just keep in mind that the word vagina actually refers to the hole. What Mel describes are the shapes involved with both the inner and outer labia. Check this out and see how you measure up.

1. Curtains

This is a vagina where the labia minora (inner lips) extend out past the labia majora (outer lips) either a little bit or a whole lot. Apparently, this seems to be the most common vagina and has characteristics that are seen in other types, too.

2. Barbie

While this is the least common, it is the way that majority of people assume that vaginas should look. In this case, the labia minora are completely hidden inside the labia majora and both sets of lips rest on the pelvic bone.

3. Puffs

These look similar to the Barbie but the lips sit lower on the pelvic bone and are either puffed up or thin and hanging.

4. Tulip

This one looks like a flower about to bloom. Here, the labia minora is slightly showing throughout the whole length of the labia majora. It’s different than the curtains because the inner lips are both exposed and contained.

5. Horseshoe

All photos: Kylah Benes-Trapp

This is when the vagina opening is wider at the top, which exposes the labia minora, but the labia majora touch towards the bottom and stop the labia minora from extending below them. The shape looks like a horseshoe in general.

Seeing a penis is normal but looking at a vagina is kind of taboo. This isn’t great for women’s rights, in general. Mel hopes that the vagina can become normalized so that women don’t have to feel in the dark or ashamed by what they have.

Mel summed it up by saying, "Moral of the story is that every vagina is different, but it shares a sisterhood with all other vaginas, and nobody should feel strange or abnormal. Just because you haven’t met your sister vagina yet doesn’t mean she isn’t out there."

So, if you want to take back control of your femininity and practice self-love, grab a mirror and take a good look. No matter what kind of vagina you have, it’s surely beautiful.