Restore Liposomal DHEA Vulvar Cream is a cosmetic moisturizer for external vulvar tissue. It contains DHEA in a liposomal delivery system, with no added estrogen or testosterone, no synthetic fragrance, and no synthetic preservatives.

Restore is a daily moisturizer
for external vulvar tissue. Most women arrive here because something changed — tissue that feels drier, thinner, more easily irritated, or simply less like itself than it used to. If you are still working out what is happening rather than what to buy, read first. The articles are written to help you understand your body.

→ Start here: What Causes Vaginal Dryness After Menopause

Restore incorporates DHEA into a phospholipid liposomal formulation to help the cream go into the tissue. The cream also contains humectants, emollients, and conditioning ingredients that moisturize dry external vulvar skin and help it feel soft, smooth, and comfortable.

No. Restore is formulated for external vulvar application and is not intended for internal vaginal use. The vulva is the external tissue — labia, clitoris, and the vestibule around the vaginal opening. That is where Restore is designed to be applied. As a note, the vestibule is where recent research suggests "vaginal pain" occurs.

Yes. Restore is made with plant-sourced ingredients and designed for ongoing daily care. If you have sensitivities or allergies, review the ingredient list and patch test before first use.

We'd like you to ask the provider who prescribed it for you. They may want to know what else you are using and when, and they may have a view specific to your situation that we cannot have from here. What we can tell you is that systemic hormone therapy often misses the vulva and vagina, but each person will respond differently.

No added estrogen or testosterone. It contains DHEA, a precursor that tissue can convert locally into estrogens and androgens.

→ What Is DHEA and how does it work in midlife?

No. Restore is a cosmetic product, not hormone replacement therapy and not a prescription medication. It contains DHEA, a hormone precursor, rather than estrogen or testosterone themselves.

Yes it can be. Vulvar and vaginal change often begins in perimenopause, sometimes years before the last period and before anything else has obviously shifted. Being told you are "too young for that" is one of the most frequent reasons women spend years without help. Even if your hormone testing is normal, vulvar, vaginal, and desire changes can be happening. We suggest you write down the changes you are experiencing, then talk to your provider.

→ What Changes in Perimenopause?

Neither, as far as the evidence goes. Vulvar tissue stays hormone-responsive long after the last period — women decades past menopause still show measurable tissue change with local hormonal treatment. What's less settled is whether the size of that response shifts with the number of years involved. In any case, your tissue often needs support earlier than understood, so if your body says so then pay attention; and research shows tissue can stay responsive into older age.

You can ask, and you should — with your oncology team, before you use it. Restore contains a hormone precursor, which is exactly the category that needs a specific answer from the people who know your body, your receptor status and your current treatment.

Ask them directly about topical vulvar DHEA rather than about "a moisturizer". Many women in this position have been told to manage without anything at all, and the better reality is that there are solutions for everyone, even if the answer about this particular product turns out to be no.

Wash your hands after applying. Restore is for your use, and as with any product containing a hormone precursor it is worth avoiding transfer to others, including children in the household.

If you apply it and then have skin-to-skin contact shortly afterwards, some transfer is possible, though the level will be low; applying at a different time of day from skin contact is the simple way around that.

Because a blood test measures
what is circulating, not what tissue is doing. Vulvar tissue makes and uses
hormones inside its own cells, where they act locally and are broken down
without ever entering the bloodstream. Normal serum levels alongside symptomatic
tissue is not a contradiction, and it does not mean the symptoms are in your
head.

→ How Vulvar Tissue Makes Its Own Hormones

Estrogen supports tissue structure. It does not fully restore androgen-dependent functions such as blood flow and sensation. Real improvement that then plateaus is a
recognized pattern, not a sign you used it wrong or did not give it long enough. The biology is not fully addressed by estrogen alone.

→ Why Isn’t Vaginal Estrogen Enough in Midlife?

The vulva and vaginal tissues are sensitive to hormonal changes, especially during midlife and menopause. Supporting these tissues helps maintain comfort, confidence, and natural vitality.

DHEA is a natural hormone precursor produced by the body. It plays an important role in supporting healthy, resilient tissue. Our formula uses a gentle, topical form that works in the vulvar tissue, incorporating DHEA into a liposomal cream made for external vulvar application with no added estrogen or testosterone.

It starts as wild yam. Wild yam contains
diosgenin, not DHEA, and the human body has no enzyme that converts one into
the other — which is why wild yam creams do not deliver DHEA to tissue. Converting diosgenin into DHEA takes a four-step
laboratory process developed in the 1930s. Restore contains the finished DHEA.
Wild yam cream contains the plant it starts from.

→ The full chemistry, step by step

Restore contains no added estrogen or testosterone. It contains DHEA, a precursor that can be converted within tissues into estrogens and androgens.

→ What Is DHEA and How Does It Work in Midlife?

Restore is made for adults seeking a topical moisturizer and conditioning cream for external vulvar dryness, particularly during midlife and menopause.

Because DHEA is a hormone
precursor, speak to your provider before using Restore if you have a personal
history of breast, uterine or ovarian cancer, or any other hormone-sensitive
condition.

Not without speaking to your provider first. Restore has not been studied in pregnancy or lactation. Vulvar tissue does change substantially in the postpartum and breastfeeding period, but supporting vulvar tissue at this time has not been studied.

Please see a provider. Unexplained bleeding after menopause always needs evaluation and is never something to manage with a topical product. This one is not a formality.

Although we use no harsh chemicals or synthetics, a few women have reported mild itch or sting response when first using Restore - which goes away with continued use. Any itching, stinging or burning that does not resolve after a few days means stop using Restore, let us know, and talk to your provider.

Check with your governing body first. DHEA is prohibited at all times under the World Anti-Doping Code, and that applies however it's used — including topically, and including at doses that only bring you back to a normal level for your age. Anti-doping rules work on presence, not on whether the result was physiologically normal. If you're subject to testing, treat this as you would any other prohibited substance.

Email laura@thevulvaco.com with what happened, when it started, and the lot number from your bottle if you still have it. Reports are read and recorded. If you are having a severe reaction, seek care first and tell us afterwards.

We have had no reports of new hair growth or acne from women using Restore. Some women notice mild vulvar itching in the first few days, which settles as tissue adjusts — that is distinct from stinging or burning that doesn't subside, which mean stop and let us know.

One thing worth knowing: a small number of women convert androgens to their more potent forms unusually efficiently. It is genetic and most people do not know it about themselves. If you notice any change in your hair, including thinning or shedding on your scalp, stop using Restore and speak to your provider, and let us know. This is
rare, but is known scientifically.

On the external vulvar tissue:
the outer and inner labia, the area around the clitoris, and the vestibule —
the ring of tissue just inside the inner labia and immediately around the
vaginal opening. The vestibule is the part most women miss and it is often the part that is most uncomfortable.

Restore has no published clinical trials of its own. There is good published research on local DHEA conversion in vulvovaginal tissue, there are randomized
trials of a prescription intravaginal DHEA product - but that is a different
product by a different route, and we do not get to claim its results, and there is a lot of evidence pointing to vulvar DHEA being a necessary part of our healthy biological function. Our articles say plainly where evidence is established and where it is inference.

→ The Science

We currently ship within the United States only. International shipping is not yet available, but we’re working toward it.

Orders are processed within 2–4 business days and typically arrive within 7 business days, depending on location and carrier. You’ll receive tracking information once your order ships.

All orders ship in our Vulva Co box. We do not ship this in plain wrapping because the entire premise of the company is that
vulvar health is not something to hide. That said — if your living situation makes a branded box a problem, say so at checkout and we will send it plain. No
explanation needed,

We hope we can spark discussion with our beautiful packaging!

Yes, with no time limit. Email hello@thevulvaco.com and we will send you a free return label. One request first: if Restore is not right for you but the bottle is still good, consider passing it to a friend. Most women are managing this without any solution at all.

We do. Email us and we will send you a free return label.

Allow up to 14 business days to process. Most of that is bank processing time rather than us.

Contact us immediately at hello@thevulvaco.com with your order details and photos of the damage.