Growing up I nobody never taught me anything about hygiene and as Im going into adult hood I’m worried i may still be doing certain things wrong.
Just so it’s clear, I know the answer for some of these but I just wanted to get a general consensus on what is good/not good to do
How do you shave down there properly, and are there any specific razors or gels I should use? How do I take care of my PH levels? What even are my ph levels? What’s the proper way to wipe after peeing? Can showering too much be bad? What can I do if I get a micro tear? (I think that’s what it’s called) how can I identify a UTI/ yeast infection, and how do I prevent yeast infections/UTI’s?
I know these questions make it seem like know nothing, but I do. That being said, advice from real life people is much better than what I can find on Google and reddit is one of the few resources I have right now
Comments
Good vaginal hygiene means being gentle and keeping things simple. Shave by trimming first then using a clean sharp razor with unscented gel shaving in the direction of hair growth. Use products made for sensitive skin and avoid anything scented. Keep your pH balanced by not douching wearing cotton underwear avoiding scented soaps and staying hydrated. Wipe front to back and wash only the outside with warm water or unscented soap once a day. For small tears use aloe or healing ointment and let the area breathe. UTIs cause burning when peeing and urgency while yeast infections cause thick discharge itching and irritation. Prevent both by peeing after sex wearing breathable clothes and avoiding scented products. You are learning and caring for your body exactly how you should.
Plain ole dove soap 🙂
keep it clean with just warm water, wear breathable underwear, and let your body’s natural balance do the rest
Easy.
Wipe front to back ALWAYS, use NO soap on your physical vagina (advice from my gyno). Summers Eve and the like are BS and do more harm than good!
You can use normal gentle soap around the area, creases of legs for example.
Be careful with having many super perfumed baths, they can give you a yeast infection! If you get loads of yeast infections, you can incorporate a probiotic into your diet.
Agree with shaving in direction of hair.
Always always always pee after intimacy.
Less is more. The vagina is self-cleaning inside, you only need to wash the outside with warm water.
If you want to use soap, stick to unscented, mild, pH-balanced soap, but it’s optional and avoid scented soaps, sprays, douches, or anything meant to go inside, they mess with your natural balance.
Only unscented mild soap on the outside, never inside, your vagina is self cleaning. You don’t HAVE to shave, pubic hair is not unhygienic, though you may want to trim carefully with small scissors (keep your fingers between the scissors and your skin). Yeast infections and UTIs are different and need different treatment. If it’s a UTI you’ll usually have low stomach pain, you might have a mild temperature and feel unwell, and it might burn to pee. You’d need antibiotics to treat it. A yeast infection is vaginal/labial and will feel itchy and you may have discharge. For that you can use a cream/pessary or both (a pessary is a small tablet that goes inside) from the pharmacy. Cotton underwear will help prevent both, as will making sure you keep hydrated.
For washing: just use warm water and your hands. Clean between the vulva, don’t get any water deep inside you.
For hair: if you want to shave, trim first. I shave with the hair direction, if I shave against it I get bumps. If you tend to get itchy after a shave, use a plain food-safe oil or vaseline to moisturize right after the shave – before it has a chance to get irritated. Pull the skin tight to avoid nicking yourself, use a clean and sharp razor and give your skin a rest if you have any infections in the area.
Wear breathable natural fibers like cotton underwear, don’t wear synthetics too often.
You don’t need to shave or even trim for good hygiene, you need to wash regularly, showers or baths. By all means shave or trim if that’s what you want, but body hair on women is perfectly natural.
A UTI feels like you have to pee, but not much comes out and it burns when you pee. The only time I ever got one was when I didn’t pee after sex. Also, after several hours, my urine had reddish/brown color in it. Make sure you go to the doctor for a suspected UTI- you need antibiotics to get rid of it.