It's designed to help maintain a healthy pH in your most intimate areas to keep you feeling fresh all day.
In short? It works with your body's natural state, not against it. The Cleansing Wash boasts clean ingredients, including grapefruit, lavender, and aloe leaf. It helps prevent odor-causing bacteria from forming and protects your most sensitive parts by maintaining a healthy pH balance. Gynecologist-approved and hypoallergenic, it's also made by women, for all.
Here, we'll share all you need to know about our new wash, and why you might want a wash designed for your vulva. We also caught up with leading women's health specialist, Dr. Navya Mysore to learn more about why a pH-balanced, unfragranced wash is best, where not to use the wash"and more.
Let's Talk Anatomy
First, let's cover the vagina versus the vulva. The vulva encompasses all external parts of your genitals including your labia, clitoris, vaginal opening and the urethra. The vagina connects the uterus to the external world. As for the natural pH level of the vagina, it's about 3.8 to 4.5, meaning it's on the acidic side. Its acidity decreases slightly as you age, with its pH level rising closer to 5.
Is A Specific Vulva Wash Necessary?
Dr. Mysore says you don't actually need a separate wash for your vulva. "You can use lukewarm water for your vulvar and external vaginal area as this does not disturb the natural bacterial balance of the external and internal genitalia," she notes. However, many of her patients still prefer to use a vulva-specific wash for many reasons and when they do, she recommends they use a wash that's pH-balanced, gentle and doesn't dry out the skin, she adds.
You can use the wash every day, whether you're on your cycle, ovulating, working out, before and after sex"the possibilities are endless. Dr. Mysore says you can also incorporate it into your routine interchangeably"using lukewarm water one day, the wash the next. "Whatever works for you," Dr. Mysore says.
Let's Talk Hygiene
"Practicing good vulvar and vaginal hygiene is important so you can avoid an infection," says Dr. Mysore. "Our vagina is quite amazing in that it cleanses itself naturally by producing normal vaginal discharge," she adds. To clean the vulva, warm water or a wash that maintains your natural pH can be used, Dr. Mysore notes. No matter your preference, she advises that you avoid using any soap with irritants or fragrance to clean that area.
pH Balanced"Just Marketing Or A Must-Have?
If you are going to use a wash down there, it is important that the wash is pH balanced, Dr. Mysore says. "When the pH of the cleanser matches your vaginal/vulvar pH you are allowing the good vaginal/vulvar bacteria to thrive and this helps prevent infections from forming."
Why Should We Avoid Fragranced Washes?
Fragranced wash can lead to itchiness and irritation in the vaginal and vulvar area. "The chemicals that form the fragrance contained in the vaginal fragranced wash can irritate the vulvar skin by drying it out," Dr. Mysore Says. "The fragrances can also disrupt your natural balance and leave room for infections to brew"like a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis, thus the importance of having clean ingredients in the pH-balanced wash you are using," she adds.
Where to Avoid Using the Wash, If Anywhere?
You should never use any kind of cleansing product internally, meaning inside your vagina as this can definitely irritate the internal walls of the vagina, Dr. Mysore notes. "The beauty of the vagina is that it is a self-cleaning organ so let it do its work!"