Health & Wellness

Q&A: I think my vagina smells kinda good (except when I have my period). Am I the only one?

I am sure you are not alone in liking the way you smell – in fact, it is sad that girls and women are told that the way their vaginas smell is somehow “bad” or “gross”! Body odor is a very individual thing, and no two people smell exactly alike. In fact, most women notice, as you have, that the smell of their vaginas may change throughout the course of their cycles. While a strong, noticeable odor can be a sign of an infection, having a “good smelling” vagina means that you are healthy, and that you appreciate one of your many unique characteristics!

It is cool to hear a sentence starting out with your liking something about your body, so good for you. I think that many girls have seen the “we want you to think you smell gross” commercials made by companies so many girls feel otherwise. I recently cringed at a commercial with a woman smugly sharing the fact she had finally found a way to take care of her vaginal odor. These commercials preaching that buying this pink bottled cleanser will make everything great. Ugh, I am over it. If your body is in good condition and healthy, you then should feel good about yourself. My guess is this just does not come up in normal conversation with your pals; just know you are not alone. And thanks for being open enough to actually like something about you right now; this is good for girls out there that have been programmed to feel otherwise.

I read this question and just wanted to scream, "Woo, you go, girl!" A lot of people aren't big fans of their own smells, but I think it's fab that you are. In some ways, vaginas had to be designed to smell good (at least subconsciously), otherwise who would want to get near them? So even though people's initial reaction might be to think the smell is gross, the smell/pheromones (chemicals that are secreted to trigger a response) of vaginas has to be attractive in some way. It's great you can sense that (no pun intended!).