What is a vagina?
A vagina is also known as the birth canal for those who bear children. The vagina connects with the cervix and implants along the uterine wall.
When fertilization does not happen, menstruation does. Until the egg is released, the uterus builds up the extra lining to provide the most hospitable environment possible for a fertilized egg. When the egg is not fertilized this extra lining has to go somewhere. So it exits the body during your period until menopause or any number of factors that affect menstruation.
What is a Vulva?
The vulva is the outside portion of the female genitals. The part you can see. It consists of the mons pubis, clitoris, urethra, labia majora, and labia minora. The labia majora is the outer fold of the genitals. While the labia minora is the inner fold. These parts help protect the clitoris which, is extremely sensitive - even more so than the head of the penis. The clitoris can be a major pleasure center. In fact, many people with vaginas need clitoral stimulation to orgasm.
Now that we have sorted out the fun facts of anatomy. Let's explore some habits for vaginal health. Here are eight things to keep in mind if you are a proud owner of a vagina.
1. Do Not Douche:
Douching is actually very harmful to the vagina. So, How to keep it clean? Luckily, vaginas are amazing organs. Not only do they help bring life into this world (as if that's not enough) but, they also do a great job of keeping themselves clean. They do this by balancing healthy bacteria pH levels on their own. No douching is needed because douching actually eliminates some of the good bacteria which change the pH in the body and make you more susceptible to infections.
What about smelling fresh? Each person generally smells different, and there are natural ways to affect your personal scent. Which is, changing up what you eat. Things like pineapple can make the vagina taste sweeter. While asparagus can have the opposite effect (which we will discuss later on)
Try This:
If you still want to clean your vagina and vulva. Make sure to use non-scented products and only wash the labia majora. Rebalancing personal moisturizing and cleansing wipes by (good clean love) are a great way to remove excess sweat.
2. Keep the Pubes:
It's okay to do a bit of trimming or removing along your swimsuit line. No one says it needs to be unruly. However, you should rock it however you want but, your pubic hairs are there for a reason.
Pubic hairs serve many purposes. It protects your downstairs from extra bacteria, and it helps eliminate issues related to friction and sweating less witch is common with hair removal. Also, means less itching when the hair starts to grow back, fewer cuts, scratches, and fewer ingrown hairs.
Try This:
If you must shave or landscape your pubic hairs, try to use a natural shaving cream or gel. Sliquid products (www.sliquid.com) has a great line of hypoallergenic and vegan shaving creams that are fantastic for trimming.
Check Your Lube Ingredients:
Lubrication is great and can take sex to the next level, for everyone involved. However, some ingredients are not healthy for your body. For example, glycerin which is form of sugar. It's the providing source for moisture in lubes, but it also contributes to bacteria growth in the vagina. Petroleum products are also no-no's because they can ruin the vagina's natural pH levels. Other things you may want to avoid includes:
Parabens
Scent
Flavors
Non-natural Oils
Dyes
Try This:
Uberlube products (www.uberlube.com) are personal lubrication that can also be used for massages. These products are made of silicone. Which maintains a silky and smooth feel throughout the play. You might also like good clean love's products (www.goodcleanlove.com) which are almost a naked lubrication that's organic, vegan, free of parabens and glycerin free. It smells good too.
4. Use Body (Safe Sex Toys):
Do you find yourself wondering how the heck some toys work? You're not alone. And it turns out not all sex toys are safe for anything but taking up drawer space.
Toys made from certain materials are generally speaking safe. These include:
Wood
Silicone
Stainless Steel
Glass
Ceramic
Stone
A type of plastic called ABS
With that said, these need to be pure, medical or even food-grade materials, not blends. If you want to learn more, I recommend visiting Dangerous Lilly (www.dangerouslilly.com) for information on body-safe toys, non-safe toys and more.
Try This:
Generally for fist time buyers it would be ideal for you to purchase sex toys in person. Because it is hard to determine what toys best suite you and to also ensure they were not previously used. There are a some great online companies. For example, Vibrant is one of my favorite shops, their toys all body-safe and they donate all their proceeds to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. Their 5 star customer service has always answered my questions very quickly. Another great company is Fun Factory their known for their very wide variety of toys. Including many that charge via the USB, waterproof and great for traveling. So these toys are some of the best in my opinion.
5. Practice safe sex:
One of the best and easiest things you can do for vaginal health is practice safe sex. Here are a few tips for staying safe.
Use protection: That could be a condom, dental dam, or gloves. It is not rocket science, and you already know you should, so just do it.
Get tested regularly for sexually transmitted infections (STDs). You should get tested after any partners you exchange genital fluids with.
Mind the order of your sexual acts: Going from butt play to vaginal play can increase the likelihood of infections such as those painful urinary tract infections (UTIs) or bacterial vaginosis. If anal is your thing, make sure you do it after vaginal sex and not before.
Make sure you check condom ingredients: There are a tons of brands that are made with spermicides. Spermicides are not very healthy for the vagina as they can kill good bacteria.
There are other forms of birth control available, see below. To make for a happier and healthier vagina.
Try This:
An FC2 vaginal condom is a great option. Because it's not latex, it can be used no matter what lubrication you choose, it's also pre-lubricated with a silicone-based. Lifestyles make a great non-latex made condom. Lastly, GLYDE products have a wide variety of non-flavored and flavored condoms and dental dams for oral sex.
Peeing after sex can help reduce the likelihood of UTIs. Plus, it aids you in getting in some discrete clean-up time.
7. Wear Breathable Clothing:
Breathable clothing and fabrics makes for a happy vagina. Cotton underwear is great. It has moisture-wicking properties to limit the amount of wetness that can promote bacterial growth. Changing out of wet clothing can help limit issues as well. Nonetheless, whatever kind of underwear you like just make sure to change them as needed.
Try This:
It is not always easy to find cute cotton underwear. I know Torrid has a variety of styles in a cotton-spandex blend that still looks cute while protecting your vagina. Torrid also runs underwear from not only the traditional sizing. Their sizing starts at a size 10 up to size 30.
8. Sleep In Your Birthday Suit:
No lie sleeping naked can be healthy for your vagina. Going without underwear overnight can help your vagina improve circulation, air flow and also relieves dampness. The benefits don't stop there, not wearing underwear can prevents things like yeast infections bacterial vaginosis, or even chafing. Plus, once you are in the nude, you might be surprised how incredibly liberating and empowering it can be.
Good vaginal health is not a one-step process. But luckily, there are lots of simple and easy things you can do every day to make sure your vagina is well protected and happy.
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