Exclusive: How This Physician-led Sexual Wellness Brand is Changing the Way We Approach Pleasure

Dr. Amir Marashi and Dr. Kimberly Lovie are disrupting the world of sexual wellness by launching the first-ever pleasure products designed by physicians—Cerē.

Driven by their pursuit of normalizing female pleasure, breaking down taboos and eliminating shame from sexual wellness for women, the brand recently launched limited-edition packaging to make pleasure more accessible and fun than ever before.

Marashi, an internationally acclaimed OB/GYN, vaginal surgeon and founder of Cerē, and Lovie, an MD, MS, Chemist and Sonographer at Cerē use scientific data to develop their products, ensuring pleasure goes hand in hand with quality products.

In an exclusive interview with People Chica, Dr. Marashi and Dr. Lovie dish on the science behind female pleasure, the intricacies of the clitoris and their best tips women can use to maximize their sexual pleasure.

Sexual wellness is becoming a topic that is talked about more and more. For you, what's the importance of creating a brand that moves toward normalizing women's pleasure?

Dr. Amir Marashi: For me, it's always been about a woman's right to pleasure – that is how we approach everything in my practice, because women simply deserve the same rights that men do. This is one of the reasons that we started this line of products – to give women the same podium that men have always had.

Dr. Kimberly Lovie: Talking about male sexual wellness is much less taboo, and as a result, there are decades of research (and many products on the market) dedicated to male sexual wellness. Unfortunately, this isn't true for women's sexual wellness. If we normalize the conversation of women's sexual health/medicine/wellness, then we open the door to more research being done on the topic. Ideally, doctors will also be more open talking with their female patients about their sexual health and patients will be more comfortable bringing up their sexual concerns with their doctors.

People are sometimes hesitant to try sexual wellness products such as lubricants or toys due to the irritation they can cause after use. What kind of ingredients are found in Cerē products and what can they expect from using them?

AM: All of our toys are made from medical-grade silicone – this decreases the likelihood of material degradation over time (it can be dangerous to have parts of the vibrator peeling off onto the skin, and into the body.) Medical-grade silicone is also easy to clean and won't cause allergic reactions with the skin.

Additionally, all Cerē products are a sleek shade of black to ensure any debris is visible after use, encouraging frequent cleaning to prevent common infections, like bacterial vaginosis.  

KL: The Enchantment Gel is a very special product.  It's the first gel developed by doctors (Dr. Marashi and myself) and backed by a medical research study. It contains a unique formulation of l-arginine and l-citrulline, which are two amino acids that increase blood flow, warmth, and pleasure. These amino acids are safe and don't contain allergens. The Enchantment Gel also contains chamomile, which promotes muscle relaxation, making it easier to reach climax.

In the Enchantment Gel development process, we wanted to measure blood flow to the clitoris before and after using the gel. So we looked at blood flow to the clitoris with a Clitogram™, the clitoral ultrasound method we developed.

We published our findings in Sexologies, the Official Journal of the European Federation of Sexology.

Both of you have been studying the clitoris for some time now, what is one thing most people don't know about the clitoris that would help them enhance pleasure in their lives?

AM: Many people think the glans is the entire clitoris, since that's the only part that can be seen. But the clitoris extends beneath the skin's surface, on either side of the vagina. The clitoral bulbs and crura make up the bulk of the organ and fill with blood during arousal.

KL : We wanted to share what we're learning about the clitoris with a general audience, as well as a medical audience (since this isn't covered in depth in medical school!). So we created a blog called Cerēmony of Self.

Your team created a sex toy in the shape of the clitoris called the Lalalena, how does this product work for those who are curious?

KL: Vibrators come in many different shapes, but many are shaped like the phallus. In fact, pleasure products have been made in the shape of the penis for 28,000 years.

AM: We wanted to empower women by bringing the clitoris to the forefront. It was important for us to make a sex toy in the shape of a clitoris because it has never been done! The Lalalena is intended to not only spread awareness of what the clitoris actually looks like, but to also empower women by putting a product representing their own anatomy in their hands. 

AM and KL: We thought to ourselves: "what if we made a vibrator in the shape of the organ it was meant to stimulate (the clitoris), fitting along it like a glove?" The Lalalena is shaped like the entire clitoris (not just the glans), which means it has a glans, paired crura and paired bulbs. To use the Lalalena, align the toy's glans with your glans, and the crura/bulbs with your crura/bulbs (which lie on either side of the vulva). The Lalalena's bulbs and crura are flexible, and can be adjusted to your unique anatomy.

If you were to prescribe your favorite items for a woman who is just starting on their sexual health journey, what would they be?

AM and KL: Vibrators that stimulate the entire clitoris and take anatomy into account are ideal. We used the Clitogram™, to see what parts of the clitoris are stimulated. Surprisingly, part of the clitoris is stimulated during penetrative intercourse. What was commonly referred to as the G-Spot (a sensitive area inside the body, located in the anterior (front) wall of the vagina) is actually a complex zone made up of many erogenous structures – and part of the clitoris is one of them. For this reason, researchers now call the G-Spot the G-Zone.

One of the vibrators used in our research study had a standard vibrating component (that is inserted into the vagina), and an air pulse component that is external and is placed on the glans clitoris. We found that the internal vibrating component stimulates the G-Zone, and the external air pulse component stimulated the rest of the clitoris. This led to a dramatic increase in blood flow! So we modeled our Spellbound Stimulator on this:

You can read the research study here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1158136022000445