[2] For that study, over 4,000 women in Tete (Mozambique), KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), Yogyakarta (Indonesia), and Chonburi (Thailand) were asked about their vaginal care.
In Tete, only 10% of women practiced steaming or smoking, "mostly intended to enhance male sexual pleasure by causing vaginal tightening (64.1% of users) and drying (22.9%)".
[2] Side effects and potential dangers include allergic reactions, second-degree burns if the steam is too close,[1][7] and vaginal infections.
In an article for Goop, actress Gwyneth Paltrow in reviewing a Santa Monica, California spa, described several of their treatments and said of one, "[y]ou sit on what is essentially a mini-throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam cleanses your uterus, et al".
[4][8] A 2017 survey by Vandenburg and Braun[9] (taking as its title one observer's characterization – "Basically, it's sorcery for your vagina")[10] analyzed "90 online items related to vaginal steaming", including from newspapers and magazines, blogs, and providers of the practice.