We often use words hit and puberty together such as ‘hitting puberty’, ‘hit puberty’ etc.
I think it is very rightly said and relatable because indeed puberty hits you in so many ways.
Before you realize and understand the ongoing changes, another change happens.
It’s overwhelming!
Right?
While coping up with all the changes going on in our body, we must not put our hygiene at stake.
When I was a teenager, I had few classmates who never used to pay much attention to their hygiene and slowly everybody started disliking them.
Even today as a grown-up when I deal with teenagers, I feel that some kids are really ignorant.
This ignorance can harm your personality.
So here I bring you the top 9 feminine hygiene tips for teenagers that you must know to ace your hygiene routine.
Lets us begin
9 FEMININE HYGIENE TIPS FOR TEENAGERS
Hygiene is very important to start as early as possible and to kind of get into that routine.
1. TAKE BATH EVERYDAY
It sounds very obvious but some kids are very reluctant to take daily showers.
I know the school timings are way too early and may be due to shortage of time you are not able to take bath every day.
Or maybe you are too lazy to step into the shower early morning.
Either way, you will have to change your habit.
Especially once you hit puberty, your body tends to sweat a lot, if you don’t take a shower, the bacterias and germs will get suitable ground for breeding.
This will result in body odour and a whole lot of skin infections.
In summers, it is highly advisable to take shower two times a day because in summers teenagers sweat like crazy.
It becomes very important to clean your body with a good antibacterial soap or body wash.
Make sure you are not just cleaning your face and the visible parts, you need to clean every part of your body.
Once in a week use loofah or pumice stone while bathing to scrub off dead skin.
Often teens try to replace bathing with deodorizing which is not a good practice and should be avoided.
2. WEAR CLEAN CLOTHES
Just like bathing every day is essential, wearing clean and ironed clothes is equally important.
If you are bathing daily but are not wearing clean clothes, there’s no point in maintaining hygiene
Make sure that your clothes don’t smell of sweat.
Always wear a clean and ironed uniform while going to school.
Especially ensure that your socks are not stinking.
We all have encountered a situation where we are supposed to sometimes remove the shoes while entering the music room and there comes this weird smell of socks that spoils everybody’s mood. I am sure you would not like to be this kind of mood spoiler.
If you are sweating a lot on your feet, I would advise you to sprinkle some antifungal feet talcum powder before wearing socks. This will control the sweat to some extent and hopefully, your feet and socks will not stink.
Now we have talked enough about the cleanliness of outer clothes, let’s talk about the importance of cleanliness of our inner clothes as well.
As you are slowly stepping towards womanhood, there is one thing that you need to swear by and that’s maintaining good intimate hygiene.
A lot of women suffer infections that arise due to poor maintenance of intimate hygiene.
The first and foremost rule is wearing clean, sun-dried and cotton undergarments.
Sun is a natural sanitiser and drying your undergarments under sunlight kind of sanitize the clothes.
And why cotton?
Because cotton is a soft, lightweight and breathable material. Your skin can breathe.
Cotton absorbs sweat quickly allowing heat to escape the body and for you to stay cool.
Read more: Intimate hygiene tips for women
3. DEODORIZE YOURSELF
Do deodorize yourself but don’t replace it with bathing.
Some schools don’t allow students to wear strong perfumes and that’s good because strong perfumes and deodorants come with a lot of chemicals that can be harsh on your skin.
Use mild deodorants, antiperspirants designed for girls, especially on your underarms. It will control sweating and the resulting odour.
Smelling good does not necessarily mean that you are hygienic but anyways it adds up to your personality.
You will feel and smell fresh.
Remember do not overdo this because you may end up harming your skin.
Think wisely and use only when you feel the need.
Say if you are going to school and it’s sunny outside, you know that you have a long day ahead and you are going to sweat, then, of course, go for it but let’s say you are at home or its a winter season and you know that you are not going to sweat, then consider avoiding deodorants.
What I do is, after putting my clothes in the cupboard, I spray perfumes and deodorants all over the clothes and shut the cupboard immediately and it works perfectly fine for me. In this way, I feel I am not exposed that much to the chemicals and my clothes also smells nice.
You can try it out for yourself too.
Experiment and find out what works best for you.
4. TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN
The oil glands are very active during these years, if you do not take care of your skin properly you may end up having pimples and acne and a lot of other dermatological problems.
The biggest mistake teenagers do is that they play with their pimples.
Remember do not prick, poke, pick or prod a pimple because doing this can force the bacteria to penetrate deeper into the skin.
In fact, more bacteria and germs can be introduced from your fingers to the pimple which can make the condition even worse.
Here are a few steps that you must follow in order to have good skin
- Wash your face daily at least two times with a good face wash that suits your skin type or a mild soap.
- Moisturize your face and skin with a good moisturizer.
- Use scrub either homemade or just buy it from any local shop. Use it once a week. Scrubbing exfoliates dead skin and clear pores which is like a home for dirt and impurities.
- Avoid trying unnecessary makeup products on your skin.
- Avoid changing products too often.
- And most importantly eat clean. What you eat reflects on your skin.
5. MAINTAIN ORAL HYGIENE
A lot of teenagers suffer from dental problems like tooth decay and plaque.
The worst of all is bad breath.
Imagine you are talking to someone and the other person feels uncomfortable due to your bad breath.
It doesn’t feel nice.
Right?
Follow these tips to ensure good oral hygiene.
- Brush two times a day
- Floss your teeth
- Use mouthwashes for gargle after eating
- Don’t eat sweets just before going to bed
- Change your toothbrush every month
- Use tongue cleaners
Most schools have a regular dental check-up of students but if you don’t have this facility ask your parents to take you to the dentist for a regular dental checkup because sometimes you cannot see internal cavities and if left unattended these cavities can give you a severe toothache.
6. MAINTAIN MENSTRUAL HYGIENE
The biggest change that puberty brings is menstruation.
During the initial years, it can be a challenge to understand how to deal with menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
Importance of menstrual hygiene :-
- It ensures your intimate hygiene health is on point.
- Protects you from bacterial and fungal vaginal infections.
- Protects you from urinary tract infection.
- Protects you from skin rashes and irritation.
- It ensures our reproductive health remains fit and fine.
- Protects you from cervical cancer.
- Protects you from a very severe condition known as toxic shock syndrome.
- It can help us maintain self-confidence and feel good even when we are menstruating.
Here are a few tips that you must follow to ensure proper menstrual hygiene.
- Change your sanitary pads frequently, in about 6-8 hours.
- Dispose of the used sanitary napkins in the right way.
- Keep your pubic hair trimmed.
- Use intimate wash during menstruation.
So these were some basic tips.
A lot of girls find it difficult to manage periods at school and I completely agree with it and so I have made this dedicated article where I have shared the best tips to manage periods at school.
Read more:
Tips for maintaining menstrual hygiene
Period mistakes you are doing every month
7. WASH YOUR HAIR REGULARLY
The oil glands are overactive during these years as a result your scalp may feel oily most of the time. To get rid of that stickiness you need to wash your hair regularly with good shampoo and conditioner.
However I feel conditioner is not needed as a teenager but it’s all up to you if you feel the need, go for it.
At least wash your hair 3 times a week. Even if you are on periods. Don’t believe those period myths where it is said that you cannot wash your hair during periods.
Make sure you don’t develop dandruff and lice on your scalp.
I remember I had a classmate and she used to have lice on her hair and sometimes we could even see a few of them from the back partition.
Nobody wanted to sit with her because everybody was so petrified seeing that lice crawling in her hair.
And that’s so unhygienic.
Right?
If you suspect that any of your classmates have this lice problem and you are sitting with them, make sure you use some anti-lice shampoo which is available and recommend the same to your classmate too.
8. CLEAN YOUR NAILS PROPERLY
This is something which many teenagers neglect but thanks to the strict rules of school that they don’t allow kids to come with long and untidy nails.
Guys dirty nails looks so gross and in addition to that, there are high chances of you getting a stomach infection.
In Indian culture, we tend to eat with our hands so it is crucial that we keep our hands and nails clean.
Another thing is that sometimes stains of turmeric stay on our nails and as a result, the nails look yellow and dirty. It used to happen with me quite a lot of times.
For this either eat with a spoon or wash your hands with soap after eating.
Take care of your nails, do not apply a lot of nail polish at this age because over time your nails will become brittle.
Along with nails of your hands, give equal importance to the nails of your feet too.
You can use a used brush to clean the corners of the toes.
Do it once a week.
9. GET RID OF UNWANTED HAIR
Hair starts growing in unusual places after the onset of puberty but, do understand these hair are there for a reason.
Hair is not unhygienic, it is how we manage them that matters.
Let’s talk about hair on arms and legs
I would advise that if you are in your early teens or if you are a tween (10-15), do not start waxing, using a trimmer or hair removal creams. You don’t really need them.
If you are between 16-19, I will leave it up to you to decide.
Now let’s talk about hair on underarms.
Well, I think irrespective of your age, you should get that removed because underarms sweat a lot, that hair can trap sweat and bacterias which will result in bad odour.
Also if you are wearing a sleeveless top or something along the line of that, consider removing underarm’s hair.
What about pubic hair?
Pubic hair is important because it acts as a shield from unwanted bacteria. It prevents their entry.
As a teenager, you should not worry much about removing them, once you grow up you can decide it for yourself because it is a personal choice.
Having said that I do want to advise that you should trim your pubic hair especially before your period start.
Menstrual blood consists of cervical mucus, vaginal secretions, and endometrial tissues which sometimes can get trapped in pubic hair, which disturbs your hygiene.
It is very important to ensure that the area remains completely dry and moisture-free so it is advisable to trim your pubic hair before the period starts.
CONCLUSION
Hygiene is directly proportional to your personality. An unhygienic body can make your appearance look shabby.
It will also affect your confidence level when you stand among your peers.
Remember you don’t need fancy products to maintain good hygiene.
All the tips above are effortless to follow if you are really serious about your hygiene.
These small tips when followed regularly makes an impeccable difference.
I hope these tips would help you to overcome the hygiene challenges that a teenager face.
However, I believe everyone has a different body and have different hygiene issues.
Let me know what are the challenges that you face regarding your hygiene?