We need to talk about vaginal dryness during sex
A new survey found that 1 in 6 women ‘put up’ with discomfort during sex


When it comes to sex, we know quite a lot. We know the benefits of mindful sex, what ‘edging’ is and we know how talking about sex can improve your sex life—which leads us to vaginal dryness, and why we need to talk about it.
Sex should be pleasurable, fun, and most importantly, pain-free. But often we can experience orgasm anxiety and feel stressed about sex especially if we feel discomfort down there.
Vaginal dryness can be a huge factor when it comes to not enjoying sex because it can hurt a lot if we’re not aroused enough or are experiencing more dryness because of our monthly cycle.
According to a new survey from Durex carried out by OnePoll, one in six women ‘put up’ with discomfort during sex at one time or another, mainly because they didn’t know what was normal for their vaginas. The survey also found that 18% didn’t know that vaginal dryness is a natural part of the menstrual cycle (in fact, you can experience more dryness for up to 2/3rds of the month.)
When asked about discomfort during sex, 46% of those surveyed said dryness was the main reason and 43% said it was not being aroused enough.
What can we do about natural vaginal dryness?
It’s a short and simple answer...lube!
The survey highlighted that 72% felt it was still taboo to talk about female satisfaction, and that bringing lube into the conversation felt uncomfortable. But lube isn’t just for wild ‘kinky’ sex, it can be just for everyday sex and masturbation. Plus it’s perfect to use with the best app-controlled vibrators and even hands-free vibrators, to amp up the pleasure even more.
Lube helps with penetration and also makes foreplay more fun—why not try flavored lube on for size. Overall it can make you feel more comfortable, and reassured that when you get down to it, you won’t feel chafing or stinging.
Lindsay Forbes, Wellness Category Manager at Durex said: “We know sometimes, it can feel a little awkward or taboo to bring up sensitive topics like sex, discomfort and your body with others, whether it’s friends, family or even your sexual partner, but open communication is a great step to improving your experiences.
“Durex wants to encourage all women to talk more openly about things like vaginal dryness, understand what they can do about it, and help more women to get the best out of sex.”
In fact, Durex has now created ‘Durex Naturals’ which is a range of 100% natural lubricated condoms and lubricants designed for people with vaginas. As Durex knows: “dry days happen but wetter days are better.”
Durex, Durex Natural's Full Set (£31.47)
The ideal set if you're just starting to use lube or want to avoid fragrances.
Inside this set, you get the Durex Naturals Condoms, Durex Naturals Intimate Gel Pure, Durex Naturals Intimate Gel Extra Sensitive, and Durex Naturals Intimate Gel Moisture.
The Natural's lube is 100% natural and the condoms are coated with 98% natural lube and made with vaginas in mind!

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Women's Lifestyle team and has recently earned her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ. She has a background in design, having studied Illustration at Plymouth University but has taken a leap into the world of journalism after always having a passion for writing. She currently writes pieces on beauty, trends, fashion, and entertainment for GoodTo and My Imperfect Life. She also tests and reviews beauty and skincare products and tries out the latest TikTok hacks for My Imperfect Life.
Before working for Future Publishing’s Lifestyle News team, she worked in the Ad production team. Here she wrote and designed adverts on all sorts of things, which then went into print magazines across all genres. Now, when she isn’t writing articles on celebs, fashion trends, or the newest shows on Netflix, you can find her drinking copious cups of coffee, drawing and probably online shopping.
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