Dear BeingGirl Experts,

I have a serious question. At school my friends and I were talking about personal things, and one of them said, well, do you smell down there (the vagina area)? and another one said that it doesn't smell if you clean it and take care of it. So how do you clean and take care of your vagina area?

And one more question: Is it bad to shave your pubic hair? Is there anything wrong with doing that? Thank you for your time.

Jen

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Dear Jen,

Each of us has our own unique vaginal scent. You know what yours is like. When it changes because of sweat or perspiration this can create an odor. This happens when perspiration comes in contact with bacteria on your skin. For this type of odor antibacterial wipes or washing this area with antibacterial soap and water should help. You just don't want to overuse these cleansing products. When you overuse them you can rinse away healthy bacteria and the bad ones will take over. Pubic hair grows to protect the vulva area from sweat and dirt. Because of this most girls choose just to remove the bikini line and trim the remaining pubic hair. Your bathing suit or bikini line is the line used as the guide for where to remove pubic hair. This is why it is often referred to as the "bikini line". BeingGirl has great information on how to shave the hair in your bikini line area you should read.

Hope this helps,

Your BeingGirl Experts