Vulva or vagina? What's the difference?

Most of us call everything down there the vagina, or talk about our private area, or just say "vag". But the vulva and the vagina are different parts. The short version: the vulva is the outside, the vagina is the inside.

The vulva

The vulva is everything you can see from the outside. At the top is the mons pubis, the soft, hair-covered mound over the pubic bone, which cushions the bone beneath. Below it are the labia majora (outer lips) and labia minora (inner lips). The clitoris sits where the inner lips meet at the top. The vulval vestibule is the smooth skin around the vaginal and urethral openings.

Vulvas vary enormously in colour, size, shape and smell, and they change with age. Inner lips that extend beyond the outer lips are common.

The vagina

The vagina is the internal passage, a muscular, stretchy tube about 7–10 cm long. It runs from the vestibule to the cervix, the neck of the womb.

Different places, different problems

The vulva and vagina are made of different tissue, so they tend to go wrong in different ways. The vulva is covered in skin, so its problems are often skin problems: irritation from soaps or products, eczema, or conditions such as lichen sclerosus. The vagina is lined with mucous membrane, more like the inside of your mouth. Its problems are more often about hormones or the balance of bacteria. Because the causes differ, so do the treatments, and a product designed for one isn't necessarily suitable for the other.

Sources

Women's Health Victoria, "The Labia Library," https://www.labialibrary.org.au/

Nguyen JD, Fakoya AO and Duong H, "Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis: Female External Genitalia," StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf (updated February 2025) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547703/