After menopause, vaginal dryness becomes a real problem for many women. Hormone replacement therapy may help, but even with supplemental estrogen, some postmenopausal women experience persistent dryness. In reproductive-age women, estrogen levels fluctuate during the menstrual cycle, resulting in different amounts of lubrication throughout the month, Winks and Semans note. Its viscosity may also vary. The same goes for pregnancy, childbirth and nursing.
Emotional stress is also a factor in self-lubrication.
Everything from job hassles to relationship tensions can impair sexual response in both men and women. Some women report that birth control pills reduce lubrication. Cover up with a Salon T-shirt this summer. We moved in together and her libido nearly vanished. Doomed Femme fatale Jane Greer had a scent about her that was sweet, but with a hint of death.