What Is A Vagina Supposed To Smell Like

What Is A Vagina Supposed To Smell Like
This Is What Your Vagina Is Supposed To Smell Like
Hint: it's not freshly baked cookies.
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Maybe you've wondered, "Does my vagina smell normal?" YourTango gets down to business.
I don't care how comfortable you are with your own body, we all have those moments where we think about how we smell down there. Maybe it's at the doctor's office before a pelvic exam, or it might be as your partner is making their way to your vagina for some up-close and personal fun. You wonder, "Do I smell normal? And what is normal anyway? What is a vagina supposed to smell like?"
Healthy vaginas often do have smells! Most of the time, these vagina scents aren't awful—they just smell like a vagina; like the way you sometimes smell sweaty or how your feet stink in certain shoes. We smell like humans, and the smell of our vaginas depend on certain factors. If you just took a shower and washed your lady-bits, there probably isn't any smell. But if you just had a marathon sex session, your vagina will have an odor.
It's important not to forget that your vagina also secretes pheromones that are supposed to trigger sexual interest and excitement.
"I don't know how to describe what a vagina should smell like, but I can tell you what it shouldn't smell like," says Mary Jane Minkin, M.D. , clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale University School of Medicine. "The vagina shouldn't smell like rotten fish or anything rotting. [That odor] is from bacterial vaginosis , which is really an imbalance of good guy and bad guy bacteria (the bad guys are the anaerobic bacteria which tend to be overgrowing, and anaerobes classically produce a foul or rotting type odor)."
"Many women notice after having their periods that there is a different odor," says Sara Gottfried, M.D. , founder and medical director of The Gottfried Center for Integrative Medicine and author of The Hormone Cure . " A lot of women notice a change in scent after having sex . Semen is really basic—it has a pH of around eight—so when you have sex, it changes the pH in the vagina to the basic side of things."
The good news is that vaginas are self-cleaning and they naturally produce some discharge that helps to eject germs and bacteria out of your body, like a bouncer at the exclusive Vagina Club. You have regular discharge , which is mostly white with a little yellow, but when it's grey or neon green or yellow, that's not good.
"Another thing that we do see causing bad odors is a retained tampon," said Dr. Minkin. "If someone does notice a foul odor, check in for a retained tampon (something folks forget to take out at the end of their period). If they find one and cannot remove it, call the health care provider to remove it. That's one of the few times a douche would be helpful , and then follow it up with some RepHresh, an over-the-counter solution that helps keep the pH levels healthy."
As far as smell goes, Dr. Minkin says, "There are times I do see women who complain of an odor, and I don't smell anything abnormal. The one thing I strongly discourage women from doing is using scented products in the vagina, because that tissue is the most delicate in the body, and the most sensitive to irritation like an allergen."
For the most part, don't mess with your vagina. It knows how to take care of itself. If you do see or smell something that doesn't seem right, have a health care professional check it out.
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We hear this question (and misinformation on this topic) ALL THE TIME, and we decided that today is the day we’re going to answer it. But first, a quick anatomy refresher. Your vulva is all the parts on the outside, including your inner and outer labia and your clitoris. Your vagina is the part that’s on the inside of your body (where tampons and other things can go if you so choose). When most people talk about the way their vagina smells, they really mean their vulva. After all, it’s pretty hard to smell something that’s inside your body.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get back to the question. And the best way to answer it is to start with what your vulva definitely should NOT smell like.
Despite what the “feminine hygiene” (don’t even get us started on how f-ed up that phrase is) aisle at your local drugstore would have you believe, your vulva should not smell like Island Splash, Sheer Floral, Delicate Blossom, Morning Paradise, or Sunset Oasis, whatever any of those things smell like.
We checked in with our on-staff medical provider, Robin Watkins, who’s a nurse practitioner and a certified nurse-midwife, and here’s what she told us: “It’s normal for your vagina and vulva to have a smell, just like it’s normal for your underarms to have a smell. Body smells are a part of being human and come from bacteria breaking down sweat on your skin.”
And there is a range of normal smells. What’s normal for one person may be different from what’s normal for another person. Just like you wouldn’t expect your armpits to smell identical to your friend’s, neither will your vulva smell just like anyone else’s.
It’s absolutely normal for your smell to change. Watkins says that your menstrual cycle, exercising, the weather, having sex, and even eating certain foods, like onions and garlic, can change the way your vulva smells.
Most smells are normal. Smells that could indicate a problem are fishy or sour odors, or any kind of rotting smell. The other thing to watch out for is if you have a smell that’s unusual for you at the same time that you have other symptoms, like pain, itching, unusual discharge (especially if the discharge itself has a smell), burning, bleeding when you have sex, or fever. If that happens, you should definitely check in with a health care provider because it could be a sign of a more serious problem. Also, if you notice an entirely new smell that you’ve never had before, or if your smell is bothering or worrying you, go get it checked out.
Assuming that you’ve ruled out any actual problems, your worry is just that—a worry. Try to internalize that you are not supposed to smell like nothing, and, as we’ve established, that you’re DEFINITELY not supposed to smell like perfume.
Whatever you do, don’t resort to using products marketed for eliminating odor. According to Watkins, “It’s counterintuitive, but using soaps with a lot of perfume or washing inside the vagina, like douching, can actually upset the balance of the bacteria in the vagina, causing a fishy odor.”
In fact, and perhaps we’ve buried the lede here, but neither your vulva nor your vagina need any kind of cleanser ! That includes even the mildest soap. Your vulva only needs to be washed with lukewarm water, and your vagina actually doesn’t even need to be washed with water—it’s self-cleaning. It lives its best life when it’s left alone, like a very introverted and/or feral cat.
Ultimately, we’re going to have to learn to accept that people with vulvas and vaginas are humans, and humans have smells. It’s fine, we promise.
Lauren Kernan is the Director of Content and UX Strategy for Bedsider and Abortion Finder. In her spare time, she can be found sewing or starting and giving up on various other crafts.
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I would be willing to bet that your grade school sex-ed class taught you very little when it comes to vaginal odors. In this blog post, I want to share with you the basics. What is normal, what is not and how normal hormonal shifts can impact the scent of our lady bits. I also wanted to emphasize that as women culturally we have been taught to feel shame and embarrassment over our normal body functions and I want to change this. You won’t believe the advertisements I dug up that you will see later on in this blog!
At the end of the day, every woman has a unique vaginal smell that when all is well is considered 100% normal. This is part of the individualized beauty of who we are. There are though some specific scents that are not normal and give you an important signal that your vagina needs some medical care. Unlike what popular douche companies try to tell us, your vagina is not meant to smell like lavender and roses.
Your vagina is home to many many bacteria and yeasts that keep us healthy when balanced. The basic function of this microbial population is to serve as a barrier and keep the vaginal pH just right to protect us from harmful infections as well as yeast and bacterial overgrowths – the kinds that cause yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis.
When this microbial population is not balanced you may experience discharge, odors and/or recurrent infections. In addtion, the vaginal microbiome plays a big role in the overall health of the uterus, vagina, as well as sex hormones. Research does exist showing a correlation between the microbe population and conditions such as pelvic and uterine inflammation, endometriosis, PCOS, pelvic pain and fertility issues.
One of the most abundant types of bacteria is known as lactobacillus. This bacteria helps to keep the vaginal pH acidic or low by producing lactic acid and thus prevents less friendly microbes from being able to set up camp. IT also promotes mucus production and this mucus provides a protective barrier from unfriendly organisms. A decrease in Lactobacillus has been found in women with endometriosis and is believed to play a role in immune and hormone signaling cascades . Research has also shown that this change in the vaginal microbiome can result in decreased sensitivity of the uterine lining to the signaling of progesterone, create inflammation and the symptoms associated with endometriosis. The wrong gut flora can negatively impact fertility through affecting conception and implantation, embryo transfer effectiveness, increase miscarriage risk and even preterm birth.
Where our society has really failed women is with the negative associations we have learned from our culture between normal female physiology. The shame and embarrassment women often express about their bodies has been internalized teachings from our culture. What is frightening is studies clearly show that how we feel about our bodies has an influence on our experience of being a woman from our confidence, sexual behaviors and self-care. Knowledge and self-love promoting practices in medicine need to be adapted if true preventatives measures want to be taken in women’s health.
From 1900-1960s Lysol (yes the household cleaner) marketed their toxic chemical filled products to be used as vaginal disinfectants. Lysol back then was even more toxic than it is now (I would not recommend using Lysol products even today). The way these ads targeted women made them feel unclean in their own bodies and marketed these products as a way to “keep your man”. These advertisements unfortunately directly produced anxiety, shame, embarrassment and confusion over what likely was “normal” vaginal odor. This promotes the opinion that women’s vaginas should be “fresh and clean” or “odorless” which is just not the case. A vagina should smell like a vagina and now a flower garden.
Your vagina does not require douching because the microbiota, pH, and mucus all contribute to a self-cleaning process. Douching can also contribute to inflammation, irritation, itching, burning, vaginal tissue damage, and more infections. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends against douching, vaginal hygiene sprays/powders, as well as the use of fragranced tampons and pads. Fragranced products cause more problems as they are filled with chemicals.
Normal vaginal scent can range from musky to earthy, to sweet like bread. A slightly fishy odor may be normal if combined with sweat gland secretions but may also point to an infection. To find out if an infection is present your doctor will take a sample of vaginal fluid and add chemical reactants and view it under a microscope. In addition, scents can change depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle because hormonal fluctuations influence the vaginal ecology and pH balance.
When in doubt, it is best to have any concerning odor or discharge investigated by your primary care physician.
Typically unless there are other symptoms (pain, abnormal bleeding, fever, discharge, fever) or a new odor what you’re experiencing is probably normal. As women, we are constantly being bombarded with messages that tell us that our natural bodies are not good enough and we need to put a stop to it through education and empowerment. Our vaginas are not meant to smell like flowers they are meant to smell like vaginas. If you found this article helpful please share <3
PS. If your vagina is troubling you or if you are fighting recurrent yeast, BV or UTIs check out my other blogs, webinars, and social media posts.
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