Does your skin get irritated easily? Especially in your most intimate areas? Your body is sending a signal, and it’s time to listen!
When it comes to your intimate wash, terms like paraben-free and sulfate-free are super important, and here’s why: These common ingredients, while often adding to the commercial appeal of soapy suds (think of your next candlelit bubble bath), can not only dry out the skin’s surface, but make it more prone to infection through the spread of certain bacteria. This bacterial transmission often leads to the development of UTIs and is a leading factor in their origins.
'The environment is the most important factor for bacteria to either grow and thrive or perish. A healthy environment encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria, an unhealthy environment is always the playground for opportunistic flora. Therefore looking after your own intimate environment by reducing chemical exposure is logical and something almost everyone can do, once you know how.' says naturopath Shauna Anderson.
So what ingredients should you avoid and why?
Let’s break it down:
Parabens - Chemicals used as preservatives in cosmetics - they can affect your endocrine system and disrupt hormones.
SLS - A foaming agent - can be absorbed into the body…
Phthalates - Also called Plasticizers… need we say more? Also affects your endocrine system.
Sulfates - Another lathering agent often made from petroleum…
While douching has been a popular ritual for women the world over for centuries, and in many ways a cultural norm, did you know that your vagina is naturally self cleansing? In fact, the function of your natural fluids not only assists in cleansing, but acts as an indicator to further notice signals about our internal wellbeing and stages of our menstrual cycle.
So when it comes to your intimate wash, it goes without saying that less is more. By opting out of ingredients that will dry out your skin, you’ll also optimize it’s pH balance, giving your vagina the best chance to do her thing, naturally.
Why not try an intimate wash that’s made without any nasties, and see how she shines!
Bye, bye, UTIs.