The market now offers a wide range of intimate washes products, changing the way people think about personal cleanliness. Soaps, face care items, and basic hair care supplies were the only personal care necessities in the past. However, there has been a significant development in the personal care industry recently. Personal hygiene awareness has increased with the introduction of numerous new revolutionary personal-hygiene care products, including intimate washes, intimate-care wipes, anti-chafing creams specifically for males, different types of sanitary pads, stand and pee products, and many more.
The most recent statistics show that at least 80% of women in India neglect to clean their intimate areas, rendering them vulnerable to a variety of bacterial and fungal illnesses. Women frequently overlook their private parts’ issues because they find it difficult to discuss them. Let’s define intimate hygiene first.
Intimate Washes – What is intimate hygiene?
When it comes to personal hygiene, the majority of people give their hair and skincare the highest priority. Intimate or personal hygiene discussions are still frowned upon by women in India. But it’s important to maintain good vulvovaginal hygiene. Both beneficial and dangerous bacteria can be found in a woman’s vaginal area, just like in our digestive system. Beneficial bacteria create an acid that keeps reproductive health in balance and prevents the growth of pathogenic bacteria, fungi, or yeast.
Intimate or feminine hygiene, which avoids a variety of vulvar and vaginal problems, involves daily careful washing of the external vulvar and vaginal area. The newest solutions for private parts hygiene are now available on the market i.e., intimate washes, which causes a lot of misunderstanding about how to use them and what is needed.
Does the vagina need daily cleaning?
The vagina is a self-cleaning organ and doesn’t need special cleaning products. First, it’s important to recognize that the vulvar area, which contains the labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, and the vaginal entrance, is the exterior organ of the female reproductive system and that the vagina is its internal organ. In addition to eradicating several hazardous microorganisms, the fluid produced by the vulva and vagina also keeps the vaginal pH stable.
Regularly bathing the vagina with abrasive soaps, gel washes, or douches can upset the pH balance of the vagina and increase the likelihood of infections and odor. Even bathing the vagina with abrasive soaps or gel washes can create microscopic cuts and dry up the vaginal mucosa, which is the ideal environment for bacterial or fungal growth and can exacerbate an existing vaginal infection.
For proper personal hygiene, simply bathing your vulva and external genital area every day with warm water is adequate.
Intimate Washes – How can you clean your intimate area safely?
We don’t need to clean the vagina since it cleans itself. However, maintaining good vaginal and reproductive health necessitates regular cleaning of the external genital area. For personal hygiene, several doctors advise washing the intimate area with warm water. But for other women, washing with water alone isn’t enough. To clean the vagina, they use soap or an intimate wash. Make sure the products are mild, odorless, and chemical-free if you want to use them. The area should then be thoroughly rinsed and dried with a pet.
What are Intimate Washes?
A particularly developed cleaning solution for intimate areas is an intimate wash. You can purchase them without a prescription from a doctor at drug or convenience stores.
Are Intimate washes safe for vaginal health?
It is a contentious subject. While many specialists contend that using intimate wash is harmless, some contend that doing so raises the possibility of bacterial or fungal vaginal infections.
The pH and bacterial balance of these body parts are quite important when thinking about the health of the vulvar and vaginal tissues. Products for intimate hygiene, including wipes, washes, lubricants, and douches, have recently gained popularity, and women have begun using them without realizing it. The various stages that a woman’s reproductive systems go through, including adolescence, menstruation, and menopause, alter the pH and microorganisms in the vagina. Doctors warn against often using these commercial intimate wash products. Although intimate wash that has been recommended by a doctor can help balance the pH of the vagina, which helps prevent infections and promotes the growth of good bacteria.
Personal hygiene is improved by the ease of use of private parts wash products. However, consult your doctor before incorporating any new products into your intimate part care routine.
What about natural washes – are they safe?
Intimate wash products have recently been introduced by businesses like AH!YES and Love Wellness Co., who advertise them as being soft enough for daily use without spreading illness. They are made of all-natural, organic, and hypoallergenic components, and are touted as “matching vaginal pH.”
While intended to make the area feel clean and fresh, the majority of these products still contain alcohol and fragrances, which can dry out and irritate the vulva’s delicate skin.
There is also a tonne of DIY vaginal wash recipes on the internet that encourage the use of components like witch hazel, coconut oil, essential oils, castile soap, and rose oil.
Again, natural components can be just as unpleasant and stripping for the vulva as the synthetic components present in commercially available washes. A pH imbalance can harm sperm and prevent it from fertilizing an egg, so using an intimate wash that significantly changes the pH of your vagina may disrupt more than just its natural infection-fighting mechanisms.
No matter how “natural” the cleanser may be, if you use it to unclog a sink, don’t put it on your vulva.
How to clean your vulva without using intimate washes?
The best approach to keep your vagina and vulva healthy and clean is to stay away from intimate washes, perfumed and unscented soaps, deodorant, and hygiene wipes.
Use only one to two times every day to wash your outside instead of with ordinary, clean water. Yes, you heard correctly—using water to clean your vulva is the finest option. I’m done now!