We all know that keeping it clean down there is absolutely necessary for a healthy vagina. But what we don’t know is how to keep it clean. Most of the women around the world don’t even know the difference between their vagina and vulva, which makes things even worse. The commercial world takes advantage of this lack of awareness we have about our own body. They shower our Television with advertisements of products completely unnecessary for our vagina. We recently held a poll here asking our readers, whether they used soap to clean their vagina. The results are in and here’s an analysis.
Do I Need to Clean my Vagina?
To answer this question in one simple word, NO. You don’t need to clean your vagina because it has a self-cleaning mechanism. Remember that white discharge you see? That is how the vagina keeps itself clean by removing all the unnecessary foreign elements out of its space. So, does that mean you don’t have to do anything about your lady parts? Absolutely not. Because it’s your vulva that needs your attention, not your vagina.
Oft times we confuse the two, vulva and vagina. The vulva is all of your lady parts that you can see and vagina is the muscular tube-like structure that joins the vulva and the uterus. While the vagina has a self-cleaning mechanism, the vulva does not. But you don’t have to go crazy with trying to keep it clean either.
The Thing about Soap
Now, if you have understood that it is the vulva that needs cleaning and not the vagina, let’s turn to the product at hand: Soap. It is important to understand that the area around and constituting your vulva is very sensitive. The soap contains chemicals that can harm this sensitive skin causing more harm than good. So, if you want to use a soap to keep your vulva clean, go for one that isn’t heavily scented. Be very careful of the ingredients that go into the soap that you use to keep your vulva clean.
Make sure that you don’t use any body wash or other bathing product for this purpose. An unscented glycerine or castile soap will do the job well for you. Another thing to note is that you don’t have to lather up your vagina every time you go for a bath. You are only stripping the skin away from its natural oils. The rough skin around the vagina can do a lot of harm.
Is there any Other Alternative to Keeping It Clean Down there?
Like I said above, you don’t have to work up a lather of soap every time you are in the shower. During your normal baths when there isn’t any need to go out of your way to clean your vulva, just use lukewarm water to wash it inside and out. Make sure that you don’t douche. It might sound all nice and good, maintain the pH balance of your lady parts. But the duty of maintaining the right pH is done very well by the bacteria in your vagina. They don’t need any external help to get the job done.
While it is very important to maintain your hygiene, don’t over or under-do it. Make sure that you use the right products and be informed about what needs to be done. Even if you don’t use a soap, there will be no harm, as long as you give moisture free and clean environment to your lady parts.
