My ilo have developed a huge community of women through the online presence.

AN honest conversation between some female friends made Claire Deeks realise there were few safe spaces for women to explore their sexual health, particularly when a couple revealed they’d never experienced an orgasm.

Hence the company name: The ilo in My ilo stands for I Love Orgasms.

Ms Burke said she and Ms Deeks initially started as a sexual wellness company which branched out into designing their own vibrators and producing a range of natural body products such as lubes and massage oils.

The products are designed to “open up a conversation into sexual health”.

“There’s so many young women – you think orgasm is such a simply thing, but it ends up translating into so many different parts of your life,” Ms Burke says.

“And the stories we’ve had from women, once they’ve been able to connect to their bodies in this way, are overpowering, from simply physiological things like increased sleep.”

Sexual health

Ms Deeks takes over listing the areas it can help women’s lives: 

“Depression, anxiety, it connects with your body and your relationship with other people and it just has a ripple effect in all areas of your life.

“And we overlook it straight away; our skincare routine is so important, why not our sexual health routine?”

Ms Burke said when the pair launched the company about 18 months ago, Covid was at its height and she says with people forced to stay at home, it provided the impetus for people to start talking about sexual health, even hitting the mainstream.

“Before this, it was never spoken about; it wasn’t even spoken about in my friendship groups, and we’re very open and very close to one another.”

Not being sexologists themselves, they sought out experts and supported charities that taught adolescents about sexual health.

Continued next week.