Softilate FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q:What is the Softilate made of?

A:Softilate is an injection-molded dilator from medical-grade plastics. They are non-toxic, BPA-free, and latex-free. Softilate is fabricated in a “clean-room” process, ensuring minimal contamination and high quality control. They are designed with a silky-smooth finish that ensures maximum comfort and ease of insertion.

Beyond the materials, they are also designed with many other benefits such as the natural tip shape, external handle, slight taper for easier transition between sizes, an appropriate size range, and other benefits. They are highly effective for treating vaginismus, as well as for post-surgical recovery programs, dyspareunia, vaginal narrowing, vaginal agenesis, and other similar gynecological conditions.

Q:Why are dilators used in treating vaginismus?

A:When used properly, dilators are very helpful with certain parts of vaginismus treatment. The Softilate vaginal dilator can be a very effective tool in helping to eliminate the PC muscle reflex, the underlying cause of vaginismus tightness, burning, and penetration difficulties. It helps enable women to have precise control over the size, speed, and angle of insertions and provide a substitute means to trigger the PC reflex in a sex-like context.

Q:Can the dilators be used to treat other conditions besides vaginismus?

A:Dilators are successfully used by health professionals to treat a wide variety of medical conditions.

Physicians and other health professionals often recommend trainers for post-surgical recovery programs and conditions such as dyspareunia, vaginal narrowing, vaginal agenesis, vaginal atrophy, age related problems/changes, reconditioning the vagina after long periods of no sex, and other similar gynecological issues. The Softilate vaginal dilator set comes with a range of sizes, easy to use handle, and carrying case. In all instances, patients should consult with their physician or healthcare provider for professional treatment recommendations and applicability.

Q:If my hymen is still intact, will using the dilators break it and will this hurt?

A:Hymen membranes typically have few nerve endings and pull apart painlessly.

With physical maturity by the time a woman reaches her late teens, the hymen will typically become a very thin, elastic membrane that may partially separate or fully pull apart. It normally has few nerve endings and correspondingly little feeling or pain when it does pull apart.

If a woman still has whole or parts of her hymen remaining intact prior to dilator insertion, there is a possibility that it either may simply stretch to the side or it may partially or fully pull apart (similarly true with the use of tampons—that the hymen may pull apart to some varying degree).

Q:What types of vaginal dilators are best for treating vaginismus and similar conditions?

A:When choosing a vaginal dilator set to treat vaginismus, women are often perplexed about what requirements are necessary. The dilator sets that are available through this website have been carefully designed for maximum effectiveness in treating vaginismus and other similar vaginal conditions (see your physician for individualized recommendations). Among the most important factors in determining effectiveness are:

 Appropriate Size Range

Dilators that are too big, too small, have large gaps between sizes that make transition difficult, or just do not have enough of a size range, can make vaginismus treatment unnecessarily difficult. Ideally, dilator sets should include dilators beginning with a diameter no larger than 3/4″[19mm], and range upwards gradually to the size of a man’s fully erect penis, about 1-3/8″[35mm] diameter. The length should be a minimum of 3″[76mm] to be long enough to penetrate past the pubococcygeus (PC) muscle bands surrounding the vagina. A set ideally will range in length up to 6″[152mm] to approximate the length of an erect penis or to provide therapeutic value to the deeper vaginal wall tissues where other conditions are being addressed. Women that try to transition directly to full size vaginal dilators (or sometimes vibrators or dildos), usually experience great frustration, especially when a robust program is not followed that teaches about pelvic muscle control.

 The Dilator Shape

A naturally sloping tip is really helpful for comfortable insertion. Also, a slightly tapered barrel helps women to have an easier transition from one size to the next.

 The Surface Texture

A very smooth texture makes it much easier to smoothly insert dilators without any sticking or grabbing. A design with no seams, edge-lines or burrs, also helps ensure that there will be no internal vaginal irritation.

 The Handle

Dilator handles assist women to have greater fine control over the insertion process (easier control over the angle and exact depth) and also helps with hygiene—keeping the hands away from the insertion tip and keeping lubricant off of the hands.

Please note that without an effective program, dilators have limited value in helping with vaginismus. The proper use of vaginal dilators is essential for successful treatment outcomes. When accompanied with a full program to complete the other necessary steps to treatment success, dilators are a helpful tool in retraining the body. Effectively used, they help with treatment exercises designed to eliminate vaginal penetration difficulties and to make a more seamless transition to pain-free intercourse.

Q:Can I return the dilators for a refund if I don’t use them?

A:No, we are not able to accept returns on the vaginal dilator product. For health and safety reasons, and also to comply with FDA regulations for vaginal inserts, vaginal dilators that have been sold to a consumer cannot be restocked and are prohibited from resale.

Q:Do you guarantee the lowest prices?

A:Yes, we guarantee our prices to be the lowest available globally for our products. As our mandate is to help people, we offer quality medical-grade vaginal dilator sets at the best price in the world, and also offer the lowest cost available.