Anna’s Wild Yam Cream is a traditional cream used to relieve menstrual pain.
The brand’s website claims that “The key to feminine wellbeing comes from providing our bodies with the nutritional resources we need to have our body to produce the natural compounds needed to meet the ever changing demands of our feminine wellbeing,” which isn’t particularly scientific.
But does Anna’s Wild Yam Cream contain research-based compounds for relieving menstrual pain? Does topical cream work for these symptoms? Are there any unhealthy ingredients? And is Anna's Wild Yam cream better or worse than popular menstrual health products like Hormone Harmony?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Anna’s Wild Yam Cream to give our take on whether or not it's likely to be effective for menstrual symptom relief, and whether or not it's healthy.
We’ll also share our concerns about the ingredient disclosures (or lack thereof), and compare Anna's Wild Yam Cream to other popular menstrual health products to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- We don't consider this formulation likely to be effective
- Not clinically tested
- We do not currently recommend Anna's Wild Yam Cream
Ingredient Analysis
The active ingredients in Anna’s Wild Yam Cream are shown below:
image source: https://annaswildyamcream.com/
It’s important to note that there are no inactive ingredients listed which is a consumer safety issue, and we strongly urge consumers to avoid health and cosmetic products that fail to publish full ingredient lists.
Consumers may be allergic or otherwise sensitive to inactive ingredients (like fragrance) in creams, and we urge Anna’s to either publish the inactive ingredients in this product, or clarify on the product page if only active ingredients are included.
Wild yam extract is the first-listed active ingredient, and was shown to be ineffective when applied topically in women with menopausal symptoms in a 2001 clinical trial.
The researchers concluded:
“This study suggests that short-term treatment with topical wild yam extract in women suffering from menopausal symptoms is free of side-effects, but appears to have little effect on menopausal symptoms.”
Chaste tree extract was shown to be effective for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in a 2017 medical review, although all of the clinical trials seem to use an oral version of the compound rather than topical.
Just because a compound is effective for relieving menstrual pain when taken orally, does not necessarily mean it will have the same effects when applied topically.
Aloe vera is clinically shown to have anti-inflammatory effects, as we documented in our review of Gotucream, although we can’t find a single study proving that topical application of this compound relieves menstrual pain or any menstrual symptoms.
Vitamin E was shown in a clinical trial published in The Journal of Reproductive Medicine to reduce pelvic pain in menstruating women when taken orally.
We can’t find any trials suggesting it has the same effect when used topically.
The ingredients list also states “contains soya bean products,” which is a very strange ingredient disclosure.
Which part of the soya bean product is used? At what dose and concentration?
Overall, we cannot identify any active ingredients in Anna’s Wild Yam Cream that we consider likely to reduce menstrual pain or relieve any uncomfortable menstrual symptoms.
The brand fails to cite any clinical research on their product page proving that either this formulation or any of its constituent active ingredients are effective for what the brand claims.
Anna's Wild Yam Cream vs. Popular Menstrual Products
Here's how Anna's Wild Yam Cream compares to other popular menstrual health products, in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
Hormone Harmony
Contains some naturally-derived active ingredients like fennel seed, which is clinically shown to reduce menopausal symptoms.
While we have some concerns about health claims made by this brand, we consider its formulation to be superior to that of Anna's Wild Yam Cream, and our Product Tester tried it and found it to be highly effective.
We consider Hormone Harmony to have an advantage in regard to potential efficacy.
Winner: Hormone Harmony
Equelle
This oral supplement contains active ingredients which are clinically shown to relieve menopause symptoms, as we documented in our Equelle reviews article.
The brand publishes all active and inactive ingredients in their supplement.
We consider Equelle more likely to be effective, and more safe, than Anna's Wild Yam Cream.
Winner: Equelle
Embr Wave
Physical device worn on the wrist which is clinically proven to reduce hot flashes in menopausal women.
We consider this device more likely to be effective, and safer, than Anna's Wild Yam Cream.
Winner: Embr Wave
Our Clean Menopause Support Pick
Illuminate Labs Panax Ginseng Extract is our top menopause support pick.
A meta-study on natural products for treating female sexual dysfunction found that panax ginseng was effective for improving sexual arousal and sexual desire in women.
Anna’s Wild Yam Cream Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Some ingredients have been studied in menopausal women
Cons:
- Active ingredients are studied more for oral than topical use
- Unclear if brand failed to publish inactive ingredients
- Doesn’t appear clinically tested
- No proof of efficacy
- We cannot identify one single effective active ingredient
- Worse formulation than competitors
- Questionable health and marketing claims on brand website
