Your routine/hygiene?

[questionsnat.livejournal.com]

Sorry I made another profile for this question:

So, I'm just curious if anyone out there is like me, extremely paranoid about their vagina smelling/looking/whatever to a partner and I'm wondering what/if you do anything special when youre sexually active when someone other than you is going to see it all the time?

I'm currently in a relationship and we havent gotten to that point soon, but I think we may soon. We may also move in together soon so then we would be together 24/7.

As of now I shave & epilate maybe once a month or less often... thats something Ill have to get used to doing all the time.

Also I'll admit sometimes I dont shower everyday so I'll start doing that...
Right now Im really worried if we're 'in the moment' and Im not freshly showered or something, so Im wondering whats your shower-limit for being with someone? As if, if you didnt shower that morning would you excuse yourself to do it? How many hours unshowered do you think you may start to smell? I'm worried I wont smell myself but my partner might, and I wont know.

Also does anyone know how if you wash your hair too often, it actually gets oilier quicker? (its true, your skin is trying to bring back what you washed off even though to you and others its unpleasant (oils, smell)) Could the same thing happen to your vagina? Usually I shower every 2-4 days. But when Im going to be with my partner Im thinking twice a day. Could that mess anything up? Or make me 'dirtier' quicker if Im constantly washing it?

Or does anyone use any feminine wipes? Any suggestions which ones? I'm thinking about buying something like this http://www.drugstore.com/puretouch-feminine-wipes-naturals-flushable-moist-wipes/qxp315929?catid=184078 and marking over the writing on the packets so its not obvious what it is and keeping it in my purse.. Does anyone use wipes like this and have a specific suggestion? I'll probably buy them online rather than in person.


I'm also thinking I may make sure I eat fruit daily... I heard pineapple is good for... the way you may smell/taste there. Anyone have any suggestions there? Is there anything you make sure you eat or make sure you avoid if you know youre going to be sexually active?

basically I think my routine will be, shower twice a day, use feminine wipes before doing anything, and eat fruit like pineapple everyday. Anyone want to share their routine or just things you started doing when you became active? Thanks!

Comments

[arcanefairy.livejournal.com]

I shower two times a week (sometimes three). When my boyfriend and I moved in together he admits he was a bit weirded out, though I had told him that is how often I shower (I think he didn't believe me, because he has to shower at least once a day because of his job, often he showers twice a day). I don't smell (in fact I am often told I smell lovely and get asked what products I use, the only products I use is shampoo and conditioner, I am water only on my body as it works and I'm allergic to most soaps). I just don't sweat very much (even after exercising or being out in intense heat). The only times I really deviate from the twice a week schedule (though I kinda go until I feel dirty so there is no real schedule) is if say a kid threw up on me at work, or a toilet overflowed. I also don't typically wear deorderant. My body chemestry allows me to be this way, and frankly it saves me so much time I couldn't imagine showering more often even if I had to, though I would begrudgenly do it.

As for sex, if say it's been a few days since I last showered I offer to have some shower fun with the boyfriend, or I tell him I need to shower first. Often he tells me not to bother, because hey, human bodies get dirty and smelly going through day to day life. For me, garlic oozes out of my pores if I eat it (and I love it so) so I now tend to avoid it. Though if I feel like eating some I will.

I think when you first move in together it would be best to stay with your current routine for a bit. It has been what has worked for you, and frankly I fear that going from showering a few times a week to twice a day may bring some resentment from you feeling like you are giving up some time (frankly I don't understand how people can manage to shower everyday, but then again I work a lot of jobs and go to school, I have no time for anything).

I trim my pubic hair, though often I get lazy (see a reoccuring pattern here, I swear I'm not a lazy person, but if things can slide for a few days/weeks I let them)and don't bother with it for awhile. Getting an opinion about my body/appearance from my boyfriend is like pulling teeth (he always just says what I do with my body/appearance is my choice, which I agree with, but if I ask it means it's okay to answer honestly) though I have managed to get that he prefers neat and trimmed hair, but honestly he is just stoked that I agree to have sex with him that he couldn't care all that much less about it.

[x-hypatia-x.livejournal.com]

I shower pretty much daily. I miss a day here and there and if I've been out exercising in the summer and showered before that, I shower again. On average, though, once a day, and that's pretty much because I have curly hair and it looks absolutely ridiculous no matter what I try if I don't just shower and comb it afterward. If I shower more than usual, though, it definitely makes my skin dry.

If it's been, I don't know, 8+ hours since I showered, and I think I'm about to have sex, I clean up with a wet washcloth on my bits. I'm not a fan of wipes because they smell chemical-y to me and I definitely wouldn't want to lick them. That said, even when I've been all, "I'm dirty, it's a bad idea!" I've never had a partner decide to stop heading for oral sex or complain--I've had complaints about smelling/tasting like soap, but never about not having washed recently enough. And personally, I'd rather my partner's genitals tasted slightly sweaty than like soap.

Fruit's good for you and all, but I dunno about including it in your diet for that reason, you know? Not least because I've never heard anyone actually express interest or preference in the matter, even though I know a number of people who've tried it as a science experiment. I'd definitely agree that what people eat can change their taste short-term, if they eat a lot of it. I hate black licorice and going down on someone who's recently consumed a lot of Jager is a really unpleasant experience for me. And definitely, if someone has consumed a lot of garlic (like, a lot a lot--we're talking a whole head here) in a day, they smell/taste vaguely garlicky. But, I mean, people have been having sex for a long time, you know? If it were really that easy to make someone uninterested in having sex with you, we'd have had a lot of trouble propagating the species back in the times when people bathed once-a-year-ish.

As I've never once had someone's genital fluids on my tongue and wished they were sweeter, I don't really understand why "sweet" is supposed to be a positive there. (And I say this as a person who really loves sweets.) Staying hydrated is probably easier and more important for your smell/taste than diligently consuming pineapple all the time.

[starry3yedgrl.livejournal.com]

When you first start seeing someone it is understandable to feel paranoid about smell and appearance...I didn't always shower twice a day but if I knew sex was happening later when I was seeing someone new and I didn't feel quite so fresh I would shower again before my date.

I shower everyday, but there might be a day here and there that I skip it. On those days...if I know my husband and I will have sex later I would usually make it a point to shower since I should have anyway but if he were to start something and I hadn't showered that day, I would never stop him so I could go shower.

Having good hygiene is important, but part of being in a longterm relationship is being yourself and I don't think showering twice a day, using wipes and eating fruit specifically to smell better isn't really being yourself and not likely to be something you want to keep up forever. As you get more comfortable you'll likely slack off to a more manageable routine. Good luck!

[britt-pinkie.livejournal.com]

I personally shower once a day, but that's just because I always have. Sometimes, I'll skip a shower, particularly if I'm not going out or seeing anyone, but typically I shower once a day, or before going out somewhere.

As far as cleaning down there, I do use baby wipes, but typically only pre/post-sex. right now, my boyfriend and I are in a long distance relationship, but that will change in August, so I'll probably use baby wipes more frequently. I use the sensitive ones from Wal-Mart and they're pretty cheap and just keep things fresh down there after using the bathroom, too. Plus, wiping with them gets rid of all the extra little bits of toilet paper that tends to get stuck down there ;)

I usually don't use wipes right before sex, because, yes, they do give off a bit of a chemical taste and I know my boyfriend wouldn't want to taste that. But I use them afterwards and it's really nice to feel refreshed if I don't take a shower immediately thereafter. Good luck!