There are many things that make us say, ” that’s enough internet for today .” This next story is one of them.
Thanks to TikTok , women have been introduced to the concept of “vabbing,” which is a mixture of the words vagina and dabbing.
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Basically, the idea is that women use their bodily fluids as a perfume in order to attract partners Yes, really.
Before TikTok, the idea of using your own vagina as a fragrance was shared on the “Secret Keepers Club” podcast.
A 2018 podcast episode hosted by comedians Carly Aquilino and Emma Willman had a listener reveal that she uses her own fluids as a fragrance.
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Then, the idea made headlines in 2019 after it was handed down as a tip for single women.
Sexologist Shan Boodram wrote about it in her book, The Game of Desire . “If copulins [chemicals secreted by the vagina] are used as perfume, then it will attract anyone traditionally attracted to women with vulvas.”
Influencer Mandy Lee was one of the first people to bring the unorthodox DIY perfume to TikTok.
People were interested after she claimed that it’s helped her to land dates. “I swear if you vab you will attract people, like a date, [or a one-night stand.”
“Or you’ll just get free drinks all night,” she added in the clip that’s been viewed more than 1.5 million views
She’s not the only one seeing the benefits. In another viral video by the user @palesamoon , she told the story of a first date with a man who “couldn’t keep his hands” off her.
“But I kind of understood,” she said, “because I was doing an experiment that night […] I decided to use my coochie juice as, like, perfume.”
The trend of vabbing has since taken off, with thousands of other videos on the controversial subject and millions of views for the hashtag #vabbingperfume.
But like so many other TikTok trends, one has to wonder if actually there’s any scientific research behind it.
Let’s look at pheromones first, which are “chemical substances that are secreted outside of the body in fluids like urine and sweat,” according to Healthline .
They are said to be an active part of sexual attraction, as pheromones stimulate sexual arousal, hormone levels, and desire.
Companies aimed to take advantage of this by creating pheromone-powered scents, perfumes, and oils for humans. But research has found that these don’t work.
A 2021 study by researchers in Egypt found that pheromone-phenomenon studies are “weak.”
They concluded that noting that pheromones play minor roles in attraction. More research needs to be done before researchers can confidently say that pheromone perfumes (or the DIY vapping version) actually works.
Experts believe that those who find that vabbing works was due to a placebo effect.
“In fact, it is thought that if those who have tried vabbing have experienced enhanced attraction abilities while vabbing it could be a placebo effect due to increased confidence out in the field, if you will,” New York-based board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Blair Murphy-Rose, MD, told the New York Post .
“We know many non-humans are strongly influenced by pheromones and there is reason to believe humans could be as well — we just don’t have the scientific data to back it up today,” she added.
Despite these conclusions, this hasn’t stopped TikTok users from wanting to try out this love potion.
“I’m on my period but ILL GIVE IT A GO,” wrote one user on a video.
“I’m not ashamed to tell you that I’m going to try this,” another wrote.
Given the subject matter, there were a lot of jokes. “Bestie are you telling me to put the juices from my veal cutlet on like it’s Chanel no. 5?” quipped one. Apparently so!
