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NEVER EVER put soap in there. Your v****a cleans itself, the discharge in your knickers is like your own home-brand soap. If you put anything that's not water up there to clean, you could get yourself an infection like bacterial vaginosis - I think the name's something similar to that, I can't quite remember. Anyway, that can make you smell quite bad amongst other things. So no. No soap.
I think it may be alright to do a bit of shampoo and conditioner on the pubic hair, but just be careful it doesn't get inside you.

Volde is right, you should never ever ever put soap in your v****a. Your v****a is self cleaning, just like your eyes are. Getting soap in your v****a can lead to irritation, a disruption in your delicate ph balance, nasty infections, and funky smells. That goes for douching too. So just let your v****a clean itself.

You should open your labia a bit and rinse the area with warm water when you shower. That will take care of the smegma build up. (Smegma is a white cheesy sort of substance made up of dead skin cells and other things that collect in folds and crevices around the genitals).

As for the outside bits where pubic hair grows, some people say it's ok to use soap there and others say it's not ok. It doesn't clean itself like your v****a does, so some people say to use soap. But other people say that it's too sensitive of an area for soap, it's too close to the v****a to risk using soap on, and rinsing it does the job anyway. So it's your call whether or not you want to use soap there (I do). When people do use soap, what kind of soap they use varies from person to person. Some people do even use shampoo and/or conditioner. But a mild soap that is not antibacterial and that has little to no fragrance or dye is generally best.



They call them "vaginal cleaning wipes" or "vaginal cleansing wipes." But the name is misleading because you really shouldn't use them in your v****a (a lot of people call the entire area down there "the v****a," but it's not - the v****a is just one internal part of what we've got going on down there - it's not the whole thing). If you use them, use them for external cleaning only.

Years ago people thought that douching was good. They thought that you could douche after sex, wash the sperm away, and not get pregnant. And they thought that the v****a needed cleaning. Now we know that isn't the case. Now we know douching isn't necessary, or even safe, and it's not a reliable form of birth control. So doctors and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists don't recommend it. But sadly, companies still make it because some people don't know or don't care that it's bad for them and not recommended, so they still buy it, so the companies still make money off it.

Okay I have a question. When I am in the shower and I clean myself I use soap, and after I do that I also do shave. I am on birth control and there is a side affect to where you spot, for some reason instead of it being red like period blood, its like a brownish color...what does this mean? Should I stop using soap? I don't put it inside me, just on the outside...if this means I have an infection let me know because I have to go to my doctor in September and I can ask her about it, but does anyone knows what that means? If so please tell me because I am freaking out about it...

Ah okay..thanks very much for answering me XD and I will make sure to tell her that when I see her next.

It's normal for there to be some smell down there. The exact smell and intensity of the smell varies a bit from woman to woman, depending on where you are in your monthly cycle, and even depending on what you have eaten recently. So it's important for a woman to get to know her smell and to get to know what's normal for her. Once she's familiar with her smell and any monthly changes or diet changes that it may make, it's a lot easier for her to keep an eye out for unusual changes that may mean infection.

So we can't tell you whether or not what you're smelling now is your normal smell or an unhealthy infection smell. If you want to know, you should visit an ob-gyn. I know it's scary to think about, and I don't know anyone who actually likes going to the ob-gyn. But it's all part of growing up and taking care of your body. It's something that we all have to do. I started getting exams when I was 16, so probably not much older than you are now.

:/ don't feel embarrassed about it or anything. Because of shocking sexism, people have been reluctant to look into how vaginas work properly until recently, and a lot of the time people don't get access to useful information, so it's not surprising your mum thought it was right to put soap in there. However, don't carry on doing that.
If you're worried there's an infection, then go to a doctor. It's confidential, they don't tell your parents - and anyway, it's not like you've done something wrong, you're just checking everything's healthy down there, that's something people our age should be applauded for. I get that you'd feel uncomfortable with the touching, but really it won't be that bad, and do you want a short while of a doctor examining you, or an infection? They're not going to judge you on how it looks down there, or anything.