Good vaginal tone is often a concern to many women and men alike. But how does a women keep good vaginal tone? The vagina is affected by hormonal factors (that maintain the inner tissues of the vagina and the external glands), as well as the tone of the PC muscles that are responsible for holding urine and contracting rhythmically during orgasm. The PC muscles are under voluntary control and can be strengthened by exercise, the most common method being Kegel exercises.

But who remembers to do their Kegels? They are simple and can be done almost anywhere, but it is often difficult to remember to actually do them. Well before there were Kegels, there were Ben Wa Balls. Even though there have been literally hundreds of different kinds made with varying size, weight, materials – all function with the same basic idea. By placing the balls inside the vagina, they stimulate a small contraction of the PC muscles by either the weight of the ball themselves, or by a small amount of vibration that is produced when a woman is moving around with the balls inside of her vagina.

One very early design of Ben Wa Balls was a hollow ball with mercury inside, so that as a woman walked and changed position, the mercury would move inside the ball and produce a very small movement that stimulated the muscle to contract. Unfortunately, mercury poisoning was an undesirable consequence, so the design changed to just weighted balls. There was still some contraction necessary to keep these from falling out of the vagina, so that it would strengthen the PC muscles as they were worn.

A wonderful improvement to this design is to have one ball inside of another, like you can find with the LELO Luna Beads. The small inner ball moves inside of the larger hollow one creating a tingly vibration that stimulates the muscle to squeeze. This contraction improves the tone of the PC muscles, but can also be pleasurable at the same time. Many women also like this ingenious design because the inner vibration is more stimulating than just the weighted ball. It increases blood flow to the area as the muscles are worked and feels good too. Better yet, it reminds your brain to think about sex every time you feel a tingle. All of these work together to improve a woman’s sexual response and enjoyment.

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