The Fast Facts
- Vaginas maintain a healthy pH balance on their own, and you don’t necessarily need feminine hygiene products to stay clean.
- It’s important to minimize your use of products that may cause dryness and alter the pH of the vagina, which can lead to irritation and infection.
- Dove Beauty Bar Soap is unscented and hypoallergenic, and specifically for sensitive skin, making it a gynecologist-recommended option for vulval cleansing.
Check out our top picks for vulva- and vagina-safe hygiene products below.
| Product | Type | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dove Bath Bars | soap | • fragrance-free • hypoallergenic • for sensitive skin | $$ = $10 to $20 |
| LOLA Cleansing Wipes | wipes | • fragrance-free • hypoallergenic • bamboo wipes • pH balanced • gynecologist-approved | $$ = $10 to $20 |
| Vagisil Feminine Wash | wash | • pH balanced • hypoallergenic • gynecologist-tested | $ = under $10 |
| Honey Pot Sensitive Intimate Wash | foaming wash | • pH balanced • gynecologist-tested | $$ = $10 to $20 |
| Fur Ingrown Concentrate | oil | • for sensitive skin • gynecologist-tested | $$$ = over $20 |
| Medicine Mama Vulva Wash | wash | • for sensitive skin • fragrance-free • pH balanced • tested in a clinical trial | $$ = $10 to $20 |
We chose these products based on criteria we believe are strong indicators of quality. Each product is as mild as possible and includes ingredients suitable for use on the sensitive vulval skin.
And in most cases, the products are also:
- dermatologist-tested
- gynecologist-recommended
- hypoallergenic
- fragrance-free
As a part of our vetting process, we consider:
- the product’s composition, ingredients, and overall quality
- any third-party certifications
- the company’s reputation and business practices
- any lab test results
- marketing claims
Peruse the toiletry section of any pharmacy, grocery store, or gas station, and you’ll see the phrase “feminine hygiene” plastered over lotions, wipes, oils, and more.
The term is a marketing phrase used to group products typically aimed at cisgender females. They don’t always have anything to do with keeping clean. Commonly, products under the “feminine hygiene” banner include:
- sanitary pads
- tampons
- panty liners and shields
- internal cleansers
- sprays
- disposable razors
- and more
Cisgender women and other individuals with a vagina have long been taught that vaginas need to be cleaned, and natural odors, hair, and other physical characteristics of their vulva and vagina can be sources of deep shame for some people.
It needs to be said again: None of the cleansing products we’ve listed are must-buys. Vaginas have a certain level of natural odor, and as Dr. Renjie Chang, OB-GYN, co-founder of sexual health startup NeuEve, explains, vaginas clean themselves.
“The vagina doesn’t need to be washed, wiped, or treated because the vagina is a self-maintaining organ,” she said. “A healthy vagina has an ecology of bacteria that helps it maintain the right pH.”
That would be a pH value of 3.5 to 4.5, which is slightly acidic. At this pH, the vagina can prevent “bad” bacteria from thriving, Chang says.
Washing inside or douching the vaginal canal can disrupt this natural balance, resulting in irritation, bacterial vaginosis, or other vaginal infections.
“Douching actually increases the risk of pushing STIs upward toward the fallopian tubes and can cause pelvic inflammatory disease,” says Dr. Kimberly Langdon, OB-GYN.
“In most cases, water is sufficient for washing and caretaking the vulva,” says Dr. Felice Gersh, author of “PCOS SOS: A Gynecologist’s Lifeline To Naturally Restore Your Rhythms, Hormones and Happiness.”
“Cleaning the vulva should be a part of your daily hygiene routine,” says Dr. Sherry Ross.
Gynecologists don’t typically recommend using feminine washes all the time, as they can upset the pH balance of the vagina and irritate sensitive vulval skin. However, it is important to keep the vulva clean. All you need is warm water and maybe a gentle, fragrance-free soap.
You don’t need to clean inside your vagina as it naturally cleans itself, and doing so can change the balance of natural bacteria inside.
Speak with a gynecologist if you’re concerned about odor, discharge, or skin irritation.
The best thing to wash the vulva with is warm water.
“If you can avoid using them daily, you should,” Dr. Felice Gersh says. “Research has found a link between how often someone uses certain feminine hygiene products and bacterial vaginosis,” she says.
But if you feel like you have to use one? Make sure it’s one with the fewest ingredients.
First things first: Your vagina isn’t supposed to smell like hydrangeas or pineapple. It’s supposed to smell like vaginas naturally do.
According to Dr. Felice Gersh, the smell of a healthy vagina is musky or musty.
“If the vagina smells like dead fish, rotten eggs, or spoiled meat, then that’s a clear sign of infection,” she says. “No spa or feminine hygiene treatment will clear up an infection.”
There may be. Some of these products contain fragrances and irritating chemicals your genitalia would be better off without.
Before using the product on your vulva or vagina, do a patch test on your arm to ensure you don’t have an allergy or reaction to any ingredients.
Stop use immediately if you do start to experience:
- irritation
- redness
- excessive dryness on the vulva or vagina after using a product
If you can, talk with a healthcare professional if you have any concerns.
At the end of the day, feminine hygiene is a marketing slogan designed to get people with vaginas to buy products they don’t necessarily need.
But if you’re looking for a way to bring your bits into your self-care practice, the gynecologist-approved products above can help.