Ladies, let’s be honest, talking about feminine hygiene seems to be a rather taboo topic. We never feel comfortable when we are not feeling 100% fresh down there, but we also don’t want to ask someone their advice or admit to the problem either. It’s a tricky situation.

The only process that seems to work on finding the right answers is typing endless Google searches. Why does it need become such an awkward conversation? Well, we’re most definitely going to talk about it today. All we want to know is how we can keep everything clean, healthy and smelling great!

That’s why learning more about vaginal hygiene will benefit you in the long run. You don’t need products to make your lady flower smell good and sometimes the smallest things can go a long way to keeping you clean. All you need to do is follow these tips to ensure you stay fresh down there.

15 Avoid products with scents.

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While it might be tempting to use perfume, products with strong scents can actually be harmful to your health. These scents can be very sensitive to the vaginal mucosa, which can build up more bad bacteria.

Using products like feminine wipes or scented pad liners isn’t a good idea either. According to various sources, using these products will make your odor even worse and irritate your skin. We suggest not wasting your money because you don’t need to smell like flowers. There are more natural remedies to make everything down there as healthy and clean as possible.

14 Trim it down.

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You can reduce your feminine odor by trimming your pubic hair. While most of us are into the trend of removing all the carpets, it might not be good for your vaginal health as stated in The Wire. Any type of removal might inflame your hair follicles. The hair actually is involved in balancing your health and odor. But, if it gets out of hand, trimming it down is not a terrible option.

If you still fancy waxing, it’s been suggested that you pay close attention to your local beauty or wax places. A terrible reaction due to waxing can lead to unhealthy bacteria or any other terrible complications.

13 Use only water or very mild soap to clean it.

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Again, products with strong scents are not good for your lady area. Stay away from body washes or very scented soaps when taking a shower. You can use it everywhere else on your body, but certain spots can lead to uncomfortable irritations.

It is also best to only clean the outside of your vagina and not the inside either. Womenshealth.gov mentions cleaning the inside can mess with the balance of normal bacteria flow. Many doctors recommend not douching in that area at all. It can lead to health problems in the long run such as bacterial diseases or troubles with pregnancy.

12 When on your period, change your pads or tampons often.

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As much as we hate having our time of the month, it’s important to think about being sanitary during your menstrual cycle. It might sound daunting but changing your feminine products every few hours or so will help keep your vagina healthy.

Taking more showers might be a good idea also. There’s a spike in bacterial growth when your period occurs and even if you think it smells bad, you might be the only one who notices it. However, it’s still a good idea to maintain the area’s cleanliness a little more often during this time.

11 Eat yogurt.

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You would never have thought eating a sort of food would keep you fresh. But, it’s true! Studies have shown that yogurt is rich in lactobacillus bacteria. What does that mean? Well, t helps fight one of the most common causes of vaginal odor – candida infection. The yogurt’s nutrients basically help restore the normal vaginal pH level.

Not to mention, yogurt is already a healthy choice to include in your daily diet. Eat about two cups of plain, unsweetened yogurt a day. Soon enough, you will be waving bye bye to your vaginal odor and looking slimmer.

10 Wear 100 percent cotton underwear.

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While it sometimes feels better to wear panty hose and silky knickers, Victoria never told you the secret on how these fabric materials are blocking up your ventilation. We might appreciate the different colors and sexy patterns that help make us feel good, however they might be the cause of not smelling great.

Wearing loose cotton underwear will help open the air flow and get rid of any odd odors. We are not telling you to never wear your pretty panties ever again, but not wearing them everyday will definitely help you feel more comfortable and fresh.

9 Take more showers.

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While it is not advised to wash your hair daily, put on a shower cap and plan to take more showers out during the day. A few minutes in the shower daily will help make you feel cleaner. And you do not even have to lather yourself with body wash either! You can use a mild soap to wash everything up. Water will be fine to freshen up your body too.

Washing your private area will help decrease the odor and it will make you feel comfortable before going out or into bed. You’ll instantly feel better after taking a nice hot shower.

8 Cool it with the scrub-a-thons.

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Why doesn't obsessive scrubbing help the smell go away? The more you scrub, the faster the terrible odor returns. Your vagina is a self-cleaning organ after all. Sorry ladies, douching is a no go then. You need to balance the good and bad bacteria to have a happy, healthy vagina.

Stay away from the scented bath products as well and let your body do all the work. While it might be hard to not clean the area as often as you want, just think, you're helping yourself stay away from diseases like bacterial vaginosis (which is caused by bacteria imbalance) and you'll have everything back to smelling normal.

7 Wear more loose-fitting clothing.

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Sometimes wearing jeggings or really tight pants are not the best outfit choice when thinking about feminine hygiene. The tighter the pants, the more your lady area is going to sweat, which obviously calls for a bad odor. Wearing looser clothing would help allow more ventilation and make you feel much more comfortable.

It’s even not a bad idea to include more skirts and dresses in your daily wardrobe. Besides, we’re always up to dressing up for our everyday outfits. We suggest you cleaning your jeggings more often as well to avoid any bad smells.

6 Visit a gynecologist.

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Even if going to the doctor might not be your favorite activity, a trip to your gynecologist could be very beneficial to your vaginal health. A lot of bad odors could come from more serious bacteria or diseases. So, your doctor can easily figure out on what’s going on down there.

Not to mention, the doctor can prescribe any over the counter medication to bring everything back to normal. A yearly check-up appointment with your gynecologist always seems like a good idea too. Vaginal health is important to check up on to assure smooth pregnancies in the future or avoiding cancerous diseases.

5 Do not use scented tampons.

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It does seem tempting to use scented tampons. But, it's a very bad idea! Using scented products in such a sensitive area can harm your body's most fragile ecosystem. You don't want to be using perfume products there.

While these products might initially smell great on the outside, combining them with your natural odor will not make a satisfying combo smell. In most cases, the odor gets worse. Skip the artificial products and rely on your vagina to do the cleaning during your next menstrual cycle.

4 Go commando at night.

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While it is not really recommended to go commando in public, why not skip your underwear when it’s time for bed? Come on, it’s not that bad! It really does not make a difference whether you’re wearing underwear under your pajamas anyway. Besides, it gives your parts a few hours to actually breathe.

The extra ventilation helps clear out the bacteria and keeps everything healthy. You might even start to feel better yourself with the little extra comfort. When you wake up in the morning, you can instantly begin your day in a very great mood.

3 Practice safe sex.

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Sexual diseases can really funk up everything down there fast before you realize it. It’s always advised to practice safe sex and use protection. Not only to prevent from having pregnancy, but having everything down there not smell odd either.

Before and after intercourse, it might be best to wash that area too. You can avoid any bacteria or worse, sexually transmitted diseases. Even if you don’t have time to shower, at the very least, try peeing after sex. It might sound silly, but the urine helps flush any bacteria out of your vaginal area. That little step can help generate good health with everything going on down there.

2 Stay away from junk food.

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You are what you eat. Terrible food will make you not smell perfect down there. And can you blame it when you are eating greasy chips or spicy food? Instead, start eating much healthier food like fruits. Don’t worry. Your lady flower isn’t going to have a citrus scent, but since fruit has a high content in water, it will help flush away any bacteria causing bad odors.

If fruit doesn’t work, eat cooked or raw garlic a few times a week to keep your vagina healthy. Garlic contains scientific properties that help kill yeast. While yeast infections could affect your health down there, eating more garlic can help get rid of bad vaginal odor.

1 Do special exercises.

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Have you given birth before? Your puboccoygeus muscle and pelvic floor muscles might not be at its best shape after giving birth or simply getting weaker with age. Doing a quick exercise now and then could strengthen your muscles to avoid problems like urinary incontinence.

Kegel exercises do exactly that thing. All you do is locate your pelvic floor muscles (it’s best to pretend you’re stopping urination because you’ll easily feel them). Hold on the muscles for three seconds while tightening. Then release. Repeat this 15 times. You can continue to do these kegel exercises daily to help gain control and have better vaginal health in the near future.

Sources: huffingtonpost.camadamenoire.comscarleteen.com

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