Choosing your first yoni egg

Choosing a first egg tends to take women far longer than it needs to. There is a great deal written about which crystal carries which property, most of it contradictory, and it is easy to spend a fortnight comparing stones and never begin.

The practice is what changes things. The stone is the occasion for the practice. Almost any well made egg from a reputable seller will serve you perfectly well, and the woman who buys a plain nephrite egg on a Tuesday and starts practising on Thursday is far ahead of the one still researching in March.

That said, four decisions do have to be made.

1. Which stone

The two traditional choices are nephrite jade and rose quartz, and they suit different temperaments.

Nephrite jade is the usual first stone and the one we would suggest if you have no strong pull either way. It is dense and notably heavy for its size, which matters practically: the weight gives your pelvic floor something obvious to respond to, and in the early weeks when sensation is still faint, obvious is useful. It is also a tough material that holds a polish beautifully and tolerates being dropped on a bathroom floor, which will happen.

Women who choose jade tend to describe wanting their practice to feel grounded, physical and substantial.

Rose quartz is lighter in weight and in character. It is the stone women reach for when the practice is oriented toward tenderness rather than tone, toward the heart as much as the pelvis, toward softening something that has been held tight rather than strengthening something that has gone slack.

It is a softer material and wants slightly more care. Handle it as something that can chip, because it can.

Neither stone is more powerful. They are different invitations, and a woman who feels drawn to one over the other should follow that rather than the argument on any website. That pull is worth more than a specification.

Other materials exist. Obsidian, amethyst, jasper and others are widely sold. There is nothing wrong with them, but for a first egg the two traditional stones have the longest history of use and the most straightforward care requirements.

2. Which size

Eggs are usually sold as large, medium and small, roughly 45mm, 40mm and 30mm at their longest.

Start with medium. It is the right answer for the great majority of women and the reason is not what most expect.

A smaller egg is harder, not easier. Less surface area means less for the pelvic floor to register and less feedback about what your body is doing, which in the early weeks is exactly what you need most. Small eggs are for practised women working on precision, not for beginners.

Large is worth considering if you have given birth, particularly more than once, since a larger egg gives more to work with. Small is worth considering only if a medium proves genuinely uncomfortable, and discomfort of that kind usually indicates tension rather than size, which a different egg will not solve.

Many sellers offer sets of three. They are decent value if you intend to practise for years. They are not necessary to begin.

3. Drilled or undrilled

Some eggs come with a small hole drilled through the narrow end so a string can be threaded through for retrieval.

Both styles are widely used and either is a good choice.

A drilled egg with a string is the more popular option, and the reason is reassurance. The string stays within easy reach, so removal takes no thought at all. That settles the single most common worry women have before a first session, and many stay with a drilled egg for years for exactly that reason.

An undrilled egg is one smooth object with nothing attached, which makes cleaning very slightly simpler. Retrieval is straightforward either way. The pelvic floor is a closed system, nothing can go anywhere, and a gentle bearing down while squatting brings the egg out easily. Most women who worried about this beforehand report never thinking about it again after the second session.

If you choose a drilled egg, use unwaxed dental floss, replace it every single session, and never reuse it. That one habit is all the extra care it asks for.

4. Where to buy

This is the decision that actually matters, more than stone or size.

Buy from a seller who names the material specifically. Nephrite jade, not merely jade, since the word covers several quite different materials at very different prices. A seller who is vague about what they are selling you is being vague for a reason.

Look for a properly finished surface. The egg should be smooth everywhere, with no seam you can feel with a fingertip, no flat spots and no rough patch at either end. Run your thumb over the whole surface when it arrives, and if you find anything that catches, send it back.

Look for a seller who includes care instructions, and specifically one who tells you to sterilize it in boiling water. A seller who does not mention cleaning at all has told you how much thought they have given to the thing they are selling.

Expect to pay a reasonable amount. Very cheap eggs are cheap because of what they are made of or how they were finished. This is a single purchase that will last years, and it is not the place to save fifteen dollars.

When it arrives

Sterilize it before its first use, without exception. Three to five minutes in gently boiling water, lifted out onto a clean cloth, cooled to room temperature on its own rather than under cold water.

Then check the surface thoroughly with your fingertips while it cools. Then put it somewhere you will see it, because the most common fate of a first yoni egg is a drawer.

Then begin. What is a yoni egg covers what the practice actually is, and the four week sequence in yoni egg exercises takes you from your first session onward.