Go to Content Go to Navigation Go to Navigation Go to Site Search Homepage

I’ve recently lost my virginity, and Ive had sex about 8 times and it still hurts. Not as excruciating as the first two times, but how long til it starts feeling better? Is this abnormal?

One of the biggest reasons why you may have pain or irritation during vaginal sex is that your vagina is not lubricated (wet) enough. But, it’s totally normal to not have a lot of vaginal lubrication, and it doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you or your partner. 

To make sex feel more comfortable, it may help to wait until you’re fully turned-on before putting anything in your vagina. Foreplay can help with this. Using plenty of lube can also help make sure that sex feels good to you. If you’re using condoms, choose a water or silicone-based lubricant - oil-based lube can make condoms break.

It’s really important for you and your partner to communicate about your preferences, and for you to tell your partner if anything hurts — sex should never be uncomfortable for you. Sex can be a lot about trial and error — figuring out what works for you and what doesn’t, what feels good and what you don’t like. Everyone has different preferences for how they like to be sexual with someone. Masturbation can be helpful to figure out what you like and don’t like. It may also help to wait to have sex until you have a partner who really excites you and helps you enjoy it, and who you feel comfortable talking openly with.  

In the meantime, check out our page on sex and pleasure. And, if you’re having pain during sex that doesn’t go away, talk with a doctor or nurse, like the ones at your local Planned Parenthood health center.

Tags: sex, virginity, pleasure

Explore more on

We and our third partners use cookies and other tools to collect, store, monitor, and analyze information about your interaction with our site to improve performance, analyze your use of our sites and assist in our marketing efforts. You may opt out of the use of these cookies and other tools at any time by visiting Cookie Settings. By clicking “Allow All Cookies” you consent to our collection and use of such data, and our Terms of Use. For more information, see our Privacy Notice.

Cookie Settings

We, and our third-party partners, use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect, store, monitor, and process certain information about you when you access and use our services, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device. We use that information to make the site work, analyze performance and traffic on our website, to provide a more personalized web experience, and assist in our marketing efforts. We also share information with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. You can change your default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of required cookies when utilizing our site; this includes necessary cookies that help our site to function (such as remembering your cookie preference settings). For more information, please see our Privacy Notice.

Marketing

On

We use online advertising to promote our mission and help constituents find our services. Marketing pixels help us measure the success of our campaigns.

User Feedback and Session Replay

On

We use qualitative data from LogRocket, UserZoom, Hotjar and AB Tasty to learn about your user experience and improve our products and services. LogRocket allows us to view session replays.