I often get questions from my circle of women about their vaginas and how to keep them clean, safe and healthy while having consistent sex. Since we’re rarely taught about this stuff growing up, most women I know have been left to figure it out on their own. This usually is a lot of trial and error - which just isn’t right.
I’m not an expert (yet) - but here are some basic and general tips and tricks I’ve acquired through my own experience and research.
Cleansing wipes
I keep packs of gentle cleansing wipes by my bed at all times. I try to use them on me and my partner (but mostly me) before and after any sort of play. They’re also good for just general clean up of any sticky icky messes!
PEE!
Peeing after sex is a really good way to prevent UTI’s. Interesting fact - if you’ve ever noticed, it’s actually difficult to pee directly after having an orgasm. This is because of a hormone released during orgasm called vasopressin. By constricting blood vessels so urine stays inside the body, and also helping the kidneys absorb water in your urine - vasopressin tries to retain water in your body during sex. If you just give yourself a minute, breath and relax the stream will come and clear any bacteria that may have made its way into your urethra!
Lube Lube Lube!
The best way to prevent any tears, bruises, or abrasions during sex is to make everything as wet and slippery as possible. It’s best to go slow at first, give your body enough time to lubricate itself. The more relaxed and turned on you are, the wetter everything gets. Lube helps with this too. It also just makes everything EASIER and more pleasurable. I recommend getting water based (there’s also oil and silicone based). Water based dries the fastest, but it's the easiest to clean up. Sex products are not regulated by the FDA - so manufactures can use any chemicals (body safe or not) in whatever product they make. This is why I always check ingredients and reviews.
My recommendation : Sliquid H2O
Pubes
The sciency purpose of body hair is to trap bacteria and make it harder for it to absorb into your body. Story time - once I was playing in a creek and looked down at my legs submerged in the water. Every individual little piece of hair seemed to be holding some dirt around it. Kinda gross, but kinda cool! My leg hair was holding onto the dirt so that less could be absorbed by my legs. Pubes work the same way - and this is one of the reason I don’t shave any hair off my body. I maintain it so to speak, by trimming with a beard trimmer! It sounds kinda silly but I’m rarely ever itchy or irritated, and its softer and never bumpy. It prevents ingrown hairs and razor burn. I encourage all my friends to really consider the reasons why they shave their bodies and maybe take it out of their shower routine!
Ph Business
One of the most amazing aspects of the vagina is its ability to self-clean. A vagina is a biome, a habitat, a whole environment in and of itself! There’s a delicate system of bacteria - good and bad. This is why you should never use soap, perfumes, or any products inside of your vagina - it messes up the system! Always clean outside of your yoni with warm water, and maybe a gentle unscented soap. Semen can also mess up the balance, so if you frequently have it inside of you it’s best to get it out soon after and consider limiting how often this happens.
Probiotics
Every woman needs a good probiotic in her life! Probiotics help your immune system to better fight off infections - but they also help weaken the growth of “bad” bacteria by increasing the acidity of the vagina. Overall, they’re really good for balancing your Ph.
As females, our bodies are a sacred passageway for life. Our vaginas are mystical, magical and miraculous. They deserve all the TLC!
How do you take care of your yoni?