Feminine hygiene
 

How do you ladies feel about using soaps downstairs? What potential effects are there? My girlfriend does't use soap down there, for the front which I can understand, or the back, which is a little.. gross.. to me. Is this normal?

What does she use then?

I use soap "downstairs" every single time I take a shower/bath (which is at least once a day)

I've never heard of someone not using soap (or bodywash) down there...?

Tell your girlfriend about the benefits of using soap:

- she's cleaner
- you go down on her more ;)

Some soap can irritate sensitive tissues so sometimes that makes a girl think they are bad for her. Dove soap, for example, stings for me. Unfortunately, not washing with soap only increases the sensitivity of her skin (same way not flossing makes your gums hurt worse when you do). There are soaps specially designed to be used on a lady's privates, which are very gentle. She can try one of these, or just use a gentle, moisturizing liquid soap. She should avoid soap with glycerine because I've just discovered glycerine is sugar-based and thus actually feeds germs (ewww)... glycerine-based lube apparently also causes yeast infections for some people. Personally, I always like to use Dial antibacterial body wash on my privates because it is very smooth and clean-feeling, smells nice, and kills germs that might cause odor or infection (I'm very prone to UTIs so I'm careful about germs).

I soap 'downstairs' thoroughly. I imagine my guy likes me as clean & fresh as I like him. I have sensitive skin, so I use Jergens Pure & Gentle Clean Soap (its a liquid soap) and add a few drops of my favorite essential oil (most essential oils have antiseptic qualities) for fragrance. Grapefruit is my favorite.

I soap up pretty well down there, front and back. I've heard that it's not good cause it could kill the "good" bacteria, but I think that's only a problem if you actually go into the vagina. If you just get the outside and between the fold, you should be fine.
I've also starting keeping it shaved down there, and one of the reasons was easier hygene. It's gross, but stuff gets stuck in the hair...

See, Dove is the only soap that works for me downstairs.

Some women don't like to use soap because the dyes/fragrance in certain soaps can be very irritating/drying on the sensitive tissue of the genitals. However, there are plenty of soaps out there gentle enough to use, ones that don't have dyes/fragrance.

However, a good rinsing, without soap, can be just as cleansing. So if she's really getting at it with water/showerhead/wet washcloth, she should be just as clean as someone who does use soap.

Also, soap can be very irritating in the anal area, and can be responsible for external anal itching. Not pleasant. I use a gentle soap in all areas and frequently use baby wipes for when I need to feel...fresher.

Not being female I'm not sure I'm 100% in the know on this but I've heard that certain soap when used a little too aggresively in the nether region could lead to a yeast infection. :eek: Around the back door me thinks there should be no harm no foul so to speak. :thumbsup:

Lack of soap to clean the ass is disgusting. I don't care how well you wipe your ass...

In front, I say as long as it's not disgusting for some reason, she's PROBABLY not going out of social boundaries (until people find out she doesn't wash).

She just washes with water :-\

She doesn't even use shaving gel in that area when she goes to shave, although somehow she never cuts herself.

Edit: I would be curious to know how exactly this habit/aversion got started, but I doubt she could tell me herself.

I never feel clean down there if I use just water

Every article I've ever read about this always says soap, even unscented, is a no no and that just water is fine...this coming from gynecologists and the like. However, I always use soap, I don't feel clean if I don't. I'm allergic to all body soap except Dove, and that I have to wash off quickly or it stings. As far as my backdoor goes, I can't use soap at all on it because it is too irritating, I just use baby wipes because they don't bother me.

"Every article I've ever read about this always says soap, even unscented, is a no no and that just water is fine...this coming from gynecologists and the like."

That was before the "sexual revolution" I guess....

http://www.issvd.org/Genital_Hygiene.pdf

What is the best way of keeping myself "clean"?

Gently separate the outer "lips" and bathe the inner skin with plain water, using your hands only.

http://www.medformation.com/ac/crswa...thral.syndrome
How can I take care of myself?
Drink 6 to 8 glasses of fluids each day to cleanse the bladder and rest of the urinary tract.
Keep the genital area clean, using clear water. Do not wash the genital area with soap

These articles were written in the past couple of years.

After googling this, I found plenty of articles saying that unscented soap is fine (so much for women's magazines), but nearly all of them said don't use a perfumed soap. There are still obviously advocates for the water only method.

Some women can tolerate soap, but for others soap or any kind of detergent (especially scented soap) in the vagina is an instant yeast infection. Generally, if you're healthy and bathe the rest of your body there shouldn't be any odor at all.

lucky man, you have a catch. I have never heard of that, she has to use something.

I asked her about it, and she said she doesn't use it because it washes away good and bad bacteria. And she said if she used it in the back, it would run down to the front.

Hogwash.

And more importantly, ICKY!!!!!! :|

All soap, all the time!!

^^^ What she said.

Really, I couldn't be with someone who had such primitive ideas about self hygiene.

Does she *Gulp* taste any different? Seriously, I could not see going down on a girl who didn't have proper hygiene. I guess if you don't have a problem with it, then things are ok.

Soap does kill good and bad bacteria, but unless she's REALLY getting up in there, it'd be hard to do. It's not going to affect her internal chemistry to have some soap run down from the backdoor.

I never use soaps as it's too sensitive ab alance down there. I used to but it didn't feel right. Now I use a product prescribed by my gyno, called Avena Natural. It's very gentle and has just the right pH for those sensitive areas.

OK, this about the balance of bacteria is getting silly.

INSIDE your vagina, you have bacteria.

OUTSIDE, you should not.

INSIDE, leave things alone and don't douche or use soap, or yes, you will mess stuff up.

OUTSIDE, for God's sake, wash! Bacteria on the outside of your body cause odor, skin irritation, and urinary tract infections. Water does NOT remove skin oils because water and oil don't mix (duh) and the bacteria will remain, clinging to the oils.

Well, its not so much a taste as a pH issue, it tastes strongly basic. Imagine licking a lemon without the lemony taste, except for bases instead of acids. I mean if she hasn't showered since the day before it does get a bit unfresh(its not usually strong smelling though), and I politely ask her to wash off first. Is that an acceptable thing to do? Sometimes she gets annoyed by it.

But thats her natural pH I guess *shrug*.

Has she considered using femine wipes? (those things that are like baby wipes)

I'm sorry, but more yuck.

I wouldn't even go near my husband's dick if I knew he didn't use soap (or at least SOMETHING CLEANSING other than water) in that area. *shudder*

:eek: Would she go down on you if you didn't wash? Something tells me the answer is a big fat NO.

Dude, that's not her "natural ph", it's her not being clean. Simple as that. I say stop going down on her until she decides to clean herself.

:hmm:

Not for me. I just don't think I would feel all that clean if I didn't use soap.

She bought some Dove soap when we went to the grocery store. Hooray. Hopefully it won't sting her like it does some of you ladies :-\

I wash with soap, and sometimes she asks me to wash before (not with soap, because the soap leaves a taste she says), but in general I'm relatively scentless, since I shave down there often. Oh, and since I masturbate like a billion times a day, I usually kind of just rinse the unit off with water afterwords, so hes constantly had a shower :-)

Soap on the head is said to dry the skin out (and I know this from experience). Doesn't mean I don't use it, but it's not necessarily the best thing.

Surely Dove with 1/4 lotion counters this? :confused:



For the front, I personally use Dove Sensitive Skin Body Wash with 1/4 lotion. It's unscented, doesn't sting me at all and it feels nice after. It won't mess up any good bacteria unless she washs up inside herself.. which is just daft (and probably painful).
As for her back, that's just sick, sorry. I use the same body wash all over me, this includes the back and it doesn't sting or hurt... but instead feels nice and smooth after. :D
If she only washs(just water does nothing) the outside (including her lips), she will be fine as far as good/bad bacteria goes. It's like... not washing anywhere else. You get unwanted bacteria there, it needs to go otherwise she's at risk for all sorts of unwanted infections including bladder and yeast infections.
She doesn't need to super scrub it, either. Be gentle. :)

I don't think soap is necessary, but if you're not using it, you better at least use running water (no baths!) and LOTS of it...and be very, very detail-oriented in your cleaning ritual.

All in all, though....yuck.

Nobody's saying she shouldn't use soap/detergent of some kind...FYI when you wash on the outside, some of it gets inside, trust me. And even though this may sound gross, another thing that gets in there very easily is bacteria from your bum, if you don't wipe front to back -that's another good way to get infections for a girl.

If a girl is extra sensitive the best thing is to use a specially made product, like I do. It's a soap, only specially made for the job. Just telling it like it is. She should wash with something, but I once went to a urologist about a urinary infection and he told me that I should only use glycerine soap, unscented...but I like a little soap so I use a gynecological soap instead.

I've used Dove and it stung...not good if you're sensitive I think. Plus the scent of Dove isn't the best in that area, it's too strong...something light is better.

when women wash their body dosent the soapy water run down their stomach and between their legs...front and back?? so not washing the back because it would hit the frunt is the dumbest thing i ever heard.

but thats just my opinion

ew...just eww...but i'm not abig fan of the dove soaps..you should go to a health food store and get like a cream soap..aka one that has no lather or real soap because that can dry you out...get one with like essential oils...they get rid of all the icky germs and any smell and it leaves me cleaner then with normal soap

When it comes to personal hygiene I think both genders should be more thorough about cleaning their respective genitalia. Why would you expect someone to want to go down on you if you don't keep it clean?

External cleansing is a must. My SO and I both use Summer's Eve body wash for both the front and back. It's unscented, has no soap, and is relatively cheap.

If an unpleasant odor has developed, perhaps due to exercising or wearing pantyhose (which can trap moisture) or other factors, feminine wipes can take care of her just before getting intimate.

Internally, the vagina maintains itself quite adequately; externally it's user maintanence.

In the tampon area of a store they have Summer's Eve soap, for her feminine parts. Or the wipes. I think it was just how she was raised. Some ppl who were raised by a single father like my self I did not know how to take care of my self in that area, so I had girl friend's and I learned a lot from them.
You should like buy her some or just use what you have and clean her she might even get turned on.
I had a boy friend that never cleaned him self either but I started to clean him cause we showered together a lot and I would always soap him up.