Big Bush Energy is here, and inspiring a new generation of fem care products

First there was the femtech trend of 2017, when startups began going crazy for lady parts, innovating a wave of new tech-powered women’s sexual health products. Then came the cultural body-inclusivity movement, which is all about the love (including for the hair-down-there). Put them together and you have the 2019 iteration of BDE: Big Bush Energy, where the swagger comes not from being, ahem, cocky—but from being a woman who embraces all parts of herself.

In other words: The vagina is taking over the beauty world right now. However you choose to groom is fair game: Products made specifically for your lady parts are launching on the reg, advertisements are getting representative in terms of body hair, and more and more women are feeling empowered to rock a full-on bush—and talk about it, too.

“The entire vaginal care category has become wildly popular.” —Annie Jackson, co-founder and COO of Credo Beauty

As vaginal-health-focused brands like Lady Suite, Fur, The Perfect V, and Love Wellness (among many others) infiltrate beauty shelves, it’s becoming clear that self-care has become about more than the decolletage and up, no matter how you chose to groom. The idea is to keep the area pH-balanced, using wipes and cleansers, to tend to the sensitive skin and hair follicles down there, all without disruption of the vagina’s microbiome.

In fact, the feminine “hygiene” market is anticipated to reach $42.7 billion by 2022, according to Allied Market Research. At the same time, the global vaginal moisturizers market is estimated to increase $27 million to over $152 million. And more brands are embracing fuzz-friendly realness in their advertising: everything from razor brand Billie’s Project Body Hair campaign to an Adidas ad featuring a woman with (gasp!) hairy legs.

“Project Body Hair received overwhelming international support, affirming our thesis that there is increasing demand for brands and mainstream media to acknowledge that women have body hair and celebrate our choice to do whatever we like to it,” says Georgina Gooley, co-founder of Billie. “We also saw the shaving industry quickly follow suit—both big brands and upcoming women’s shaving brands are starting to show body hair in their communications since the launch of our campaign. When big brands and mainstream media start showing change, it’s often a reflection of shifting, wider cultural acceptance of a subject that was previously considered taboo.”

Who else is down with BBE? Certain ballsy (ovum-y?) celebs began talking about it this year, including Ashley Graham, who made her full-grown preference known, and Thandie Newton, who proudly joined the pro-bush party on camera in her Westworld love scenes. Basically, what was previously an unspoken choice is now all anyone can talk about.

“The entire vaginal care category has become wildly popular,” says Annie Jackson, Credo Beauty’s co-founder and COO, of the new breed of skin-care products that can be found at boutique shops like Credo, CAP Beauty, and The Detox Market. “Investing in personal care for your entire body is what we aim to offer [our customer], and it’s not surprising at all that women want products for vaginal health, too.”

So consider 2019 the year when lady parts finally get the (wellness-based) TLC they deserve.

This is just one of the healthy-living trends we’re predicting for 2019—check out the full list here!