Dear Women: Four things you should never do to your genital

Despite the universal truth, though, some ladies still insist on messing around or tidying up down there in the most creative of ways. Here are four common moves that can go very, very wrong.


1. Stay far away from steaming.
We’re all for philosophy of living your very best, healthiest life. But when Gwyneth Paltrow starts doling out patently bad advice, we’ve got to draw the line. Your vagina isn’t a carpet—you should not steam clean it.

Paltrow defined steaming for V as when you “sit on what is essentially a mini-throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam cleanses your uterus, et al. It is an energetic release—not just a steam douche—that balances female hormone levels.”

Raquel Dardik, MD, clinical associate professor at NYU Langone Medical Center’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, has a slightly different opinion. “Steaming would be a definite no because you would burn your vagina,” she says.

2. Self-medicating is always a bad call.
Those over-the-counter vaginal creams or suppositories for yeast infections have their place; this is about the more homespun approach people sometimes try. “You should never try to self-medicate with homemade remedies like garlic or tea tree oil.

3. Inserting UFOs (unsanitary foreign objects) 
You already know what’s allowed to go into your vagina: tampons, fingers, sex toys, a penis, lube, birth control, menstrual cups—and that’s about it.
“Essentially, it comes down to common sense and personal habits. Sex toys, diaphragms, menstrual cups should all be cleaned and washed in-between uses.
 Everything else such as cucumbers, bananas, that phallic-looking device in your kitchen—should stay far, far away from your lady parts. Even if you sanitize the heck out of them, their textures alone can cause some serious irritation.

4. The douching really needs to stop.
Pretty sure you know this already, but just in case: Your downstairs isn’t supposed to smell like a tropical breeze. “These products do exactly the wrong thing to the vaginal microbiome, making it more susceptible to infection,” says Constance Young, MD, assistant professor at Columbia University Medical Center’s department of obstetrics and gynecology.
We know what you’re thinking: If it’s so bad for you, why are there so many products on the market? “It’s all about marketing that’s not based on any science—it’s the equivalent to Febreze, but for a more intimate setting,” says Young. If you absolutely, positively feel the need to freshen things up, stick to the tried-and-true method of (surprise!) unscented soap and water—but only on the outside.