Personal hygiene

[Pepperedbeef]

I read a twitter exchange arising from an article about poor female genital hygiene. One user said, “unperfumed soap and water, it’s not hard girls”. Lots of people responded saying you should never use soap on your vagina. The reply was “not inside it, no but on the folds”. This left some dumbfounded. Do some females really think that no cleaning agent should be used in the area at all?!

Read the link Gwen. It’s GCSE biology. The mons pubis and labia majoria are not mucus membrane. I fully concede you may be biologically different to the majority of women meaning you can’t put unperfumed soap on fatty tissue though.

Gwen. That article is about not soaping your vagina. This whole thread agrees you should never put soap on/in your vagina. Your vagina and your vulva are 2 different things. This thread is about women who mistake the advice on washing vagina as applying to your vulva too or as the NHS call it, the area around the vagina. I don’t think I could this difference any clearer!

I don't feel water is enough but I'm not the Vulva police.

You can only police your own Vlad

But Gwennie says you need to steam your vag who knew

Might get the creases out portia

But definitely not the stench

"The mons pubis and labia majoria are not mucus membrane. "

How could you ever put soap on the labia majora and ensure it doesn't go onto the labia minora though?

"That article is about not soaping your vagina. "

I'm not convinced it is. In everyday language, vagina is often used for the vulva as well. It's not possible to wash the vagina in a normal shower anyway so I presume they mean the vulva.

Gwen I think the NHS can be trusted on this one

I don't actually put soap on my tummy. It doesn't get dirty or sweat duo shower gel isn't going to drip down. I can't imagine not using soap in an area that encounters urine, faeces, menstrual blood. Sweat odds the least of anyone's worries. I can imagine if you have gynae issues that advice would be more specific but never no soap.

212 posts

Use soap on the outside & around the anus, wash with water inside the folds. It's not rocket science. No soap on mucus membranes as it messes with the flora.

If you must wash with a cleaning agent, get a product designed for genital use, with an acidic pH - i.e. NOT a regular soap, however "mild" you think it is.

You’d think that Cote but a surprising amount of women seem to think to the contrary. I believe they’ve misunderstood the advice and like Gwen deem the whole area as the vagina. The point of my original post was that very issue - the misunderstanding. If they want to hold onto that misconception they can but I hope they boil wash their pants

You misunderstand. When I say "outside", I mean the outside skin where hair grows. That's where you use soap. You don't open the folds and clean the vulva with soap, unless it's a special one made for female genitalia, with acidic pH.

I don’t Cote. The areas you’re referring to include the pubic mound and thigh crease. Areas that Gwen believes are mucus membrane because they are genitals so just washes them with water.

Surely nobody believes that the thigh crease is a mucus membrane. I didn't see Gwen say that.

You only wash the skin where hair grows (or can grow) with soap, unless it's a special product made for female genital area.

Who calls the vulva their vagina? the vagina is the internal tube like structure. Of course you don't wash your vag with soap, that'd require purposefully pushing it inside you internally! It's fine however to wash the vulva with soap unless instructed otherwise by medics. My nurse pal says a lot of women seem unaware they need to clean the clitoris properly too, as sweat/gunk etc can accumulate under the clitoral hood just like a man's foreskin. If you're not using a cleaning agent on that area it's going to be very unpleasant and smelly, and about as enjoyable for a partner to go down on you as it is to try and go down on someone who hasn't washed their penis 😷

Who calls the vulva their vagina?

@LemonShark quite a few women do.Vagina has been co-opted as the all encompassing term for everything in that region of the female body. Infact many women are surprised to learn we even have 3 holes down there.

I'm not going to enforce what women should or shouldn't go with their genitalia but this thread just goes to show the importance of being aware of these issues. I stand by my initial assertion that water isn't enough. You'd be shocked to learn the amount of women that do indeed douche their vag's.

"You'd be shocked to learn the amount of women that do indeed douche their vag's."

In this country? Isn't it an American thing?

"Use soap on the outside & around the anus, wash with water inside the folds. It's not rocket science. No soap on mucus membranes as it messes with the flora.

If you must wash with a cleaning agent, get a product designed for genital use, with an acidic pH - i.e. NOT a regular soap, however "mild" you think it is."

This is exactly what I've been saying. You agree with me Cote and not with Pepperedbeef.

Heh yeah man, get it right!! sheesh!

This place lately, is it a super moon coming or something

www.mazewomenshealth.com/blog/2014/04/25/be-gentle-with-your-vulva/

There are quite a few websites backing this up. Those that mention soap for those who want it recommend a mild, unscented soap and I doubt those women who are soaping are using two different types of soap.

By the way, I don't use soap on my ears either. I'm able to wash the gunk away with just water.

This is an hilarious thread. So many details and using correct names for body parts interspersed with comments from people like me who can’t believe a) the initial post and b) that so many people have got involved.
I always use soap to wash my vulva (incorporating both labia sets), my mons pubis and never wash inside my vagina.
My children call it a bagina which I quite like.
Hth

"recommend a mild, unscented soap"

What is a "mild soap", though? If it's real soap, then by definition it will kill microbes. That means it will damage the flora of the genital area and can lead to various problems like thrush, just like antibiotics can damage gut flora and cause diarrhea.