What cleansing system is best for personal hygiene for a woman ?

Dove unscented is good for the outside also.

Don’t douche.

Are you having trouble with the soap you use now? If that is the case, any mild, unscented soap is fine. Otherwise, just use whatever you use.

Why would you need anything other than the usual soap you use for the rest of your body?

@chyna – Mkay thanks. I guess that’s what I’ll get then next time I’m at Target.

@ANef_is_Enuf – Well I’ve been using a body wash that’s perfumed and it’s a fuchsia color… smells really nice, and I use that to wash my body. It makes my skin smell good but when I went to the Gyno she said that it’s not good at all, and using perfumed soap is very irritating. And i’ve been stupidly using the same body wash to clean down there.

@FutureMemory – Because the one I am using is too irritating to clean down there, so I need to know which soap/wash would be good for a woman to use.

@ANef_is_Enuf – I’ve never douched, my mom does, and it kinda freaks me out. I just need something to wash the outside, not inside.

@partyrock if it isn’t irritating you, I don’t see why you need to buy special soap. I have ridiculously sensitive skin, I’m prone to contact dermatitis, and I don’t buy special soap for my hoohah. :)

@ANef_is_Enuf – Ok for the sake of the question I have a yeast infection !! I probably should have mentioned that earlier lol, and I’ve had one for a few days, reason why I went to see the Gyno today… was from using my perfumed soap… I didn’t know that it could be irritating to my skin, but I guess it does. I guess I’ll just buy Dove Unscented.

@partyrock oh, then, yes. That makes sense. Dove, Cetaphil, or even generic brands of mild, unscented soap should be a-ok.

I tend to get kind of irritated from shaving so my doctor recommended this bar of tea tree oil soap from Trader Joe’s and to use it with the body gloves that exfoliate. I use this more on my upper/inner thighs but I use to soap all over down there. It’s super mild and I like it.

The best personal hygeine system for a woman is biology. Your body is evolved to cleanse itself by maintaining healthy infestations of helpful flora and fauna. Vaginae are supposed to have a natural scent. They are not supposed to smell like pine trees or lilacs. This is just one of many ways in which the cosmetics industry has bamboozled people into spending billions of dollars on completely unnecessary or – worse – actively harmful products to fix “problems” which don’t exist. I avoid the city buses if at all possible at school-open and school-close, for example, because entering the toxic miasma of eye-watering Axe funk is like getting teargassed for the whole trip.

If you want an amusing critique of douching, I recommend a read of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.

I don’t use anything and haven’t had any problems. And before any screams “eeww”. My hubby would tell me if there was a problem.

@ANef_is_Enuf – Cetaphil is used for the face right ? Do they have a body wash ? That one has no scent or harsh chemicals ?

Has anyone ever used the soaps they have at Target for women ? I forgot the names of them.

@tranquilsea – I’ve never used anything either and never had a problem, until I started using that perfumed body wash :(

@partyrock Cetaphil makes a variety of soaps, most of which are considered to be especially gentle.
Bar.
Liquid.

@partyrock sorry, nope. I don’t put soap/washes/douches/cleansers/etc in there. Can’t help with that. The outside gets washed with the rest of me, I have never used anything special.

Honestly, if I were you, I would just avoid soap altogether. You’re better off just rinsing with plain water until your infection clears up, imho.

@ANef_is_Enuf – Yeah that’s what I was thinking. They gave me a special medication for it anyway. Thanks a lot.

Your gynecologist is right—Dove unscented (or the generic equivalent) is the best solution. I get yeast infections very easily and any kind of scented or dyed soaps aggravate the situation. I use the generic version of Dove and if I try anything else I get a yeast infection almost immediately.

Like the others above have said, you shouldn’t need to clean too aggressively. Especially if you’re showering regularly, water and some gentle friction will get the job done just fine most of the time.

Eve unscented feminine wash would be the best bet. Non-irritant since it is fragrance free

Vaginas, unlike the male counterpart, are a pretty darn efficient at self cleaning. It’s a bit of a closed system though, don’t disturb the peace down there too much with soaps and such. Be mild with your ladyparts.

Soap and water. All that other crap is a marketer selling you something you don’t need.

When people say ‘soap’ they often are referring to ‘detergents’. There is a very important difference. Most liquid soaps are detergents and their strengths vary greatly. I am a trained soapmaker and sometime cosmetics formulator and it would devastate me if a product I made irritated someone’s skin or ‘lady bits’. The soap I make is bar soap and I can control the cleaning power and additives.

If you are experiencing irritation from using soap down on your lady parts (but you certainly are not using soap in a douche-type situation, right?) you want to look for a few things on the ingredients list of your liquid shower gel. (I refuse to call it soap.) Look for the second ingredient to be an oil of some sort, like sunflower or almond oil. This is going to cut down the stripping/cleaning effect those cleaners have. If you can, find something made from Ammonium Laurel Sulfate instead of Sodium Laurel (or Laureth more likely) Sulfate. If AT ALL possible, look for a REAL liquid soap alternative that is cloudy. The first ingredient will read something like ‘potassium cocoate’ (which is saponified coconut oil in liquid form). It will be ‘potassium something’ if it is a true liquid soap. If it is really clear, that means there are no unsaponified fats left in the soap and that can be a bit harsh. I prefer a liquid soap to be a but cloudy because that means more gentle.

Some good advice I found after a quick search:
Be gentle! Aggressive scrubbing could damage sensitive tissues of the vagina.
Use minimal soap and be careful to avoid getting soap inside the vagina.
Wash the buttocks and anal area last to avoid cross contamination. Anal bacteria reaching the vagina (by piggy-backing on a wash cloth or fingers) can cause serious discomfort and/or infection.

If you want, I can put you in touch with a soap maker near where you live. They often have a very mild baby type soap with no fragrance and extra oils to make it very gentle and it is usually olive oil based to make it even more skin friendly.

Everything I’ve ever read has said that you don’t need to use anything other than warm water and your hand to clean your chacha. It cleans itself (internally), and you shouldn’t have to do a heck of a lot else on the outside. If you use pads rather than tampons, I can understand how you might feel a little “dirty”, but really, there’s not much you should have to do.

I use Dove (all over) – either bars or shower gel – which was recommended to me by my doctor as my skin is super-sensitive and I’m prone to eczema and I’ve never had any problems.

The advice that @cazzie gives at the end of her post is great. You don’t ever need to use any sort of cleansing product inside your chacha, and, if you want, use something very mild on the outer area. Maybe, if specially-made soaps are out of your budget range, check out some baby soaps, like Johnson’s?

I use pear soup outside my vagina. and water for the inner lips (labia minor and major). Douches are not good for you and soups either
And @Seelix you are right, the vagina naturally cleanse itself. tHe insides of course.