Hello, vagina owner! We include this step because there’s tons of information out there about how you should care for your vagina and some of it…well, it’s not so great. 🙁
First things first: we’re a feminist, trans-loving business and we understand that gender can be complicated, so that’s why we’re keeping our language gender-neutral on this page. That’s also why we think vaginas have unfairly gotten a bad reputation as smelly and yucky, and we’d like to dispel some of those myths!
One of the most common myths about vaginas is that a perfectly healthy, clean vagina smells bad. This is simply not true. Sure, your vagina doesn’t smell like a rose, but it’s not a rose. That’s a lot of pressure on a humble body part! But a vagina that you’re bathing daily shouldn’t have a strong smell of any kind. And if it smells really bad, it’s worth checking with your doctor, as they can tell you if there’s an imbalance, infection or any other health concern going on.
When it comes to actually cleaning your vagina, it’s really quite simple if we use accurate words. The vagina is actually the channel leading into the body, but often we call the whole genital area a vagina. Really, the parts you can see on the outside are called the vulva. The test I like to use is: “Can I wash this with the palm of my hand (ie. not fingers)?” And the vulva can be a little sensitive, especially if you’re removing hair and there could be a rash or irritation from that. However, each vulva is different and many of them don’t need special washes or soaps in order to stay happy, clean and properly hydrated. If you do find your vulva is getting dry and itchy, definitely switch to a moisturizing soap or shower gel for at least that part of your body. Exfoliation will also help if you’re removing your pubic hair.
Now, the tricky part is that the vagina—the opening itself—is self-cleaning. It has a delicate balance in its PH and it doesn’t like to be disturbed. So washing the inside of your vagina is typically unnecessary and not recommended. If you really need to for some reason (there are some medical contexts where you should), use water only unless otherwise directed by your doctor. If you throw off the PH, it’s bad news for all the good bacteria that keep your bits healthy. We do not recommend douching because it can really upset the balance in your vagina. Douching should only be used if specifically recommended by your doctor.
So after all of this, if you still need a special soap to clean the inside of your vagina because the doctor said so, I’m afraid that is a very specialized product and we don’t feel qualified to make it. So that might mean this is the end of the quiz for you—sorry! But thank you so much for your interest in and support of our products, and we really appreciate you taking the time to learn a little about your tender bits with us. 🙂