I (F18) was not very well educated on feminine hygiene, so I never really made it a point to wash down there. I’d use like bath & body works shower gels all over my body, and sometime in middle school I began paying attention and using that to wash down there, basically by just going over it with a loofah (separate from the one I’d use for the rest of my body).

I never really had much of a smell, though I always noticed some kind of smell (not one that anyone but me could smell, not super strong, just a scent that I really didn’t like because it made me insecure). Recently (past ≈1 year), I’ve switched over to using a dove unscented soap bar over my whole body and using clean wash cloths to wash myself, and using a separate clean wash cloth with that dove bar to clean just the outside (never inside).

I feel a lot more comfortable and confident with that routine, but I feel like the smell comes back within a few hours, and I don’t really know what to do. I don’t know if it’s just the normal, natural scent, because I’ve pretty much always smelled that way, but it makes me super insecure. It’s like somewhat musty, almost a bit like armpit sweat at times (ugh I feel so gross saying that), and I just really want to get rid of it but I don’t know what else to do. I’ve been told countless times to avoid products that say things about changing PH or scented products, but I don’t know what else to do, I feel like I’m doing what everyone says you’re supposed to do and I still smell a way that I don’t like.