What are your patients seeing on social media about vaginal hygiene products?
Patients are bombarded with ads and influencer content pushing vaginal washes, sprays, and douches as “essential” for cleanliness and odor control.
What’s the evidence about vaginal hygiene products?
- Companies producing feminine hygiene products have long told people—especially young women—that their natural scent or discharge is something to be ashamed of. Feminine hygiene products are part of a $2 billion dollar a year industry. Sponsored content via influencers and targeted advertising on social media has supercharged the spread of this misinformation.
- The vagina is self-cleaning and doesn’t require special products. In fact:
- Fragranced soaps, wipes, sprays, or douches can affect the vagina’s natural pH and disrupt the balance of healthy bacteria.
- These products can increase the risk of irritation, allergic reactions, bacterial vaginosis (BV), and yeast infections.
- Douching has been associated with higher rates of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
- The external vulva can be gently washed with warm water and, if desired, mild, unscented soap.
Citations
- Daher A, Albaini O, Siff L, Farah S, Jallad K. Intimate hygiene practices and reproductive tract infections: A systematic review. Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinical Medicine. 2022;2:. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gocm.2022.06.001
- Gupta S, Kakkar V, Bhushan I. Crosstalk between Vaginal Microbiome and Female Health: A review. Microb Pathog. 2019;136:103696. doi:10.1016/j.micpath.2019.103696
- Jenkins, A.L., Crann, S.E., Money, D.M. et al. “Clean and Fresh”: Understanding Women’s use of Vaginal Hygiene Products. Sex Roles 78, 697–709 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0824-1
- Newton J, Richardson S, van Oosbre AM, Yu J, Silence C. A cross-sectional study of contact allergens in feminine hygiene wipes: a possible cause of vulvar contact dermatitis. Int J Womens Dermatol. 2022;8(4):e060. Published 2022 Nov 28. doi:10.1097/JW9.0000000000000060
- Turpin R, Tuddenham S, He X, Klebanoff MA, Ghanem KG, Brotman RM. Bacterial Vaginosis and Behavioral Factors Associated With Incident Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in the Longitudinal Study of Vaginal Flora. J Infect Dis. 2021;224(12 Suppl 2):S137-S144. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiab103
Talking with patients about vaginal hygiene
Get curious:
If someone asks about or mentions using these products, start with an open-ended question:
Can you tell me more about what you’re using and what made you interested in it?
This opens the door for a conversation without judgment. Often patients may have received information from family members or friends in addition to seeing marketing on social media. It’s important to understand where they are receiving information from.
If someone has had recurrent vaginal infection:
Sometimes the products we use can negatively affect the balance in the vagina. Are you using any products inside the vagina or around the outside on the vulva?
Acknowledge concerns & normalize:
People often use these products because they feel pressure to smell or look a certain way.
So many of my patients have shared that they feel like they’re supposed to smell a certain way or be totally ‘fresh’ all the time. You’re definitely not alone in that.
Thank you for sharing with me what you’ve been using. Lots of people use these products and aren’t aware of how they can contribute to getting frequent infections.
Clarify with evidence and empathy:
If they’re using products proactively:
The vagina does a good job of keeping itself clean. Most products marketed for vaginal hygiene can actually do more harm than good. How would you feel about taking a break from using [xxx] product and seeing how things feel?
If they’re using them to address a symptom:
If you’re noticing a particularly strong smell, this might be a sign of something we should check out—like bacterial vaginosis (BV) or a yeast infection. Products might cover it temporarily but because they won’t treat the cause, the smell will likely come back.
Diving deeper
- Give concrete examples of how people describe their typical vaginal smell to help patients understand a range of “normal.” Common descriptors include musty, slightly sour, bittersweet or metallic (especially around someone’s period). Note that roses, linen, or “delicate blossoms” are not on that list.
- Take a harm reduction approach for people who have been douching or using highly scented products. Can they move towards a gentler formulation just on the outer vulva or decrease their frequency of use? It may take small steps over time to get someone used to their “typical” scent or discharge.
Key takeaways
- Patients often feel shame or confusion from online messaging—validate before educating.
- The vagina is self-cleaning and does not need special products.
- The vulvar tissue is sensitive and can be easily irritated by fragranced products.
- Fragranced washes, sprays, and douches can cause more problems than they solve.
- Encourage patients to seek care if they notice new or concerning symptoms.