For women who have had children, or who are simply getting older, it can be difficult to maintain sexual health.
Of course, this isn’t something only women encounter—ever seen those ads for erectile dysfunction treatments?
But women are more likely than men to face issues with their pelvic floor, a diaphragm of muscle underneath the pelvis that holds up several important organs.
When the pelvic floor is weakened, after a pregnancy for example, it can cause symptoms like a lack of bladder control and pain during sex.
Seattle startup Joylux, founded in 2014, is taking aim at this issue with an innovative sonic-powered device to help women strengthen their pelvic floor muscle.
Founder Colette Courtion, previously CEO of skincare company JeNu, and CEO and founder of spa Calidora, said that about three million women suffer from weakening of the pelvic floor in the U.S. alone.
“It’s a huge problem for women yet there are very few treatment options available today,” she said.
Courtion explained that most treatments to strengthen the pelvic floor are manual muscle exercises.The most well known is the Kegel exercise, when a woman manually contracts and relaxes her pelvic floor to build up strength.
Joylux’s first product, vSculpt, introduces a technological alternative to this manual practice. It zaps the pelvic floor muscle with sonic vibrations, making it repeatedly contract to build up strength.
This means women can spend less time doing difficult exercises. The vSculpt device is not yet on sale, but it is available on pre-order for $345. The device features 9 LEDs for perineal heating, three therapy modes, and six sonic vibration modes.
According to a SEC filing today, Joylux recently raised $2 million in financing. That’s on top of an additional $1 million that the company previously raised.
Joylux is in the middle of a $500,000 funding round to support the vSculpt’s launch.
Joylux is unique in the male-dominated tech and medical device world with a female-led executive team.
“This is a women-led, women-created company that is targeting a real need,” Courtion said.
Courtion is joined on the executive team by Program Director Sophia Sanchez, also of JeNu and Calidora, and CRO Steve Traplin, previously of We-Vibe.
“Our aim is to be the next Clarisonic of women’s health,” said Courtion, reffering to the Redmond, Wash.-based skincare technology company that sold to L’Orielle in 2011. “We have a whole pipeline of products in the works that are aimed towards women’s health.”
