Practicing good hygiene and living a healthier lifestyle can have a positive impact on your vaginal health. However, there are also feminine hygiene mistakes you could be making that can cause more harm than good.
These mistakes can lead to imbalances and uncomfortable situations with your vaginal area.
In this post, we’ll discuss some of the biggest mistakes women can make with their feminine hygiene. You want to make sure you’re looking out for these unhealthy practices and put an end to them immediately.
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Feminine Hygiene Mistakes:
Wearing Silk/Satin Underwear
One mistake you could be making is wearing silk or satin, non-breathable underwear. Even though you’ll find pretty pairs you want to purchase, it’s important to remember that those types of underwear can retain moisture, which isn’t a good thing!
If your underwear is non-breathable, this is the perfect environment for yeast and bacteria to grow, which in turn, leads to a variety of possible infections. Bacteria love warm, moist environments – So, you know what the best thing for you to do is?
Look for underwear with a cotton crotch!
You can still purchase your cute underwear, however, make sure it’s made from breathable, cotton fabric. Wearing cotton underwear can ensure your vagina remains cool and dry throughout the day.
Using Irritating Soaps
Your vagina is self-cleaning which means nothing needs to be done to the inside of it. However, it’s important to wash the outside area (the vulva) with warm water and soap daily.
Another feminine hygiene mistake you can make is using scented soaps or body washes to clean your vaginal area.
Our vagina has a healthy pH range of 3.5 to 4.5. Sometimes this can get thrown off when we use soaps that contain harmful ingredients or fragrances. When your pH balance is altered, it can lead to bacteria, yeast, or even urinary tract infections.
Here are some of my favorite intimate washes that are fragrance-free:
Related Post: Amazing Feminine Hygiene Products to Try Right Now
Wearing Tight Pants
When your jeans are too tight, not only are they uncomfortable, but this can increase the risk of bacterial or yeast infections.
Remember, bacteria love to be in an environment that’s warm and moist, what better place than your pants?
You want to make sure you’re keeping your vaginal health in mind because this can harm it.
Wearing Your Pad/Tampon Too Long
Another mistake you could make is not changing your pad or tampon frequently throughout the day. How often you need to change depends on how heavy your flow is and how absorbent your pads/tampons are.
It’s recommended that you change them every 4-6. hours, why is that? As we discussed before, bacteria thrive in warm, moist areas. While you’re on your cycle, you don’t want to end up with an odor because of bacteria in your blood.
Changing out your pad/tampon will not only help you feel refreshed but will also prevent odor and accidental leaks from happening. Make sure you always carry extras with you because you never know how often you’ll have to change. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
I love wearing the Ultra Thin Pads from the L. brand. They’re comfortable and don’t bunch together throughout the day.
Wiping Yourself too Hard
We already know the basics: wipe from front to back. However, it’s also important that you don’t wipe yourself too hard. There are times when we may clean ourselves harshly, and unfortunately, this can cause small cuts and irritations if we’re not careful.
You want to be as gentle as you can with your most sensitive part. Use soft tissue and take your time when wiping yourself. Some even recommend dabbing instead of swiping.
You can also use feminine wipes after you finish using the bathroom or as a midday refresher. You can check out my favorites below:
Not Switching Out Razors
Another mistake to avoid is reusing a dull razor blade. If you shave regularly, you want to make sure the blade is fresh so you can remove your hair smoothly. It’s important to change out your razor after using it a few times.
Using dull razor blades can cause bumps, irritation, ingrown hairs, and cuts. There’s also a chance that the blade will harbor bacteria once it has been used for a certain amount of time. This can lead to infections and irritate your vaginal area.
One of my favorite razors is the Flamingo Razor. It has 5 blades, is flexible, and is easy to hold. I love that I can keep the same razor but continue to switch out my blades when it’s time. They sell blade cartridges which makes it easy to avoid reusing them for too long.
Another good-quality razor is the BIC Flex 5 Men’s Razor. This does a great job of providing a close, smooth shave.
Avoiding these feminine hygiene mistakes will ensure your vagina remains clean, fresh, and most importantly, healthy!
Sometimes we don’t think about the things we do in our routine – that’s why it’s important to do your research and learn about your vagina inside and out.
We all can benefit from learning more about how to maintain the overall health of our vagina so we can have confidence knowing we’re fresh and problem-free.
14 Comments
great post as always! we need to talk about this topic more!
Thank you for reading + commenting sis! Yes we sure do, and I hope this post helps someone, especially if they’re a younger female and aren’t sure how to take care of themselves! I know some people can feel embarrassed asking questions about it.
Awesome post Madisen. So informative. Thank you!🥰🥰
Thank you for reading love! I’m glad it’s informative and hope it helps!
I love silk and satin panties. Now I’m going home to make sure their lines with a cotton crotch. Great article Madisen.
Thank you for reading sis! And yes once I found out about the cotton crotch, I’ve been looking for that with each pair I purchase and it has been helpful!
Yesss!!! Especially these young ladies need to read this!!!
But the tight pants sis, it’s out of my control 😂 (laughing emoji) I will most certainly be sharing this blog!
Yesssss sis exactly because I know they probably have questions too! And lol I knowww and I still have my moments too but my pants used to be tight to the point where I’d have marks by the time I got home. That wasn’t good! Thanks for reading sis! ♥️
I’m guilty of wiping too hard..I sometimes catch myself like dang why I gotta be so ruff
Girl I’m sure we all do that sometimes, especially if we’re in a rush! We just have to take our time! ♥️ Thank you for reading!
I am so guilty of some of these!! Especially tight pants, and wearing a tampon for too long. Thank you for laying it out and telling it like it is!
Thank you for reading, and no problem! I feel like feminine hygiene should be talked about more often and that’s what I’ll be doing on here. 🙂 I’m glad it helped you!
I feel this isn’t talked about enough openly, like its taboo to talk about feminine hygiene. I think it is so important and thank you for talking about this!
Exactly! It’s like people are afraid to speak up but we all have to learn how to practice good hygiene, especially younger females. They may not be educated about it, so that’s why I want to keep writing about this topic. Thank you for reading and commenting!