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If you’re feeling less than fresh after a workout or a particularly hot day, one solution (other than good ol’ ventilation) is using the best feminine wipes. Or whatever you want to call them: vaginal wipes, vulval wipes, personal wipes—you get it. There are plenty of reasons vulva owners like to carry various types of disposal cleansing cloths: If they’re on their period and experience leakage, if they’d like to use one post-intercourse, and even if they’ve been wearing one of their best sweatpants or workout leggings (you know the ones). Whatever the reason is—and that’s between you and your vulva—if you choose to use wipes, there are a few important things to know. So we spoke to gynecologists about the need-to-know info when buying and using feminine wipes.
First thing’s first: You don’t necessarily need wipes to keep your vulva and vagina clean. As you may already know, the vagina is a self-cleaning organ, and inserting any kind of cleansing product could mess with its pH balance, Jennifer Conti, MD, an ob-gyn and a medical adviser for the women’s health company Modern Fertility, tells Glamour: “Your vagina is naturally pH-balanced and doesn't need products to do that for it.”
Additionally, while we may experience sweaty or musty smells on occasion, these odors are totally natural (if the odor is more pungent or you’re experiencing unusual discharge, it’s advised you make an appointment with your ob-gyn or health care provider). Dr. Conti tells Glamour that our culture has perpetuated the idea that women’s genitals are “dirty,” which is absolutely not true. “Society teaches us to believe that our natural vaginal scent and discharge is abnormal such that we have created entire industries that perpetuate this harmful belief. Your vagina is not supposed to smell like geraniums or fresh laundry,” she says.
The terms vagina and vulva are often used interchangeably, but they’re actually totally different body parts. The vagina is the canal that leads to your uterus, while your all-encompassing vulva contains all your external organs like your labia, clitoris, the opening to your urethra, along with your vagina. When health experts say you shouldn’t use products such as douches, it’s because they’re inserted in your vagina. Whatever you use internally should always be body-safe and vagina-friendly, and douches are neither. If you use products internally, you run the risk of getting a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis, which is a condition that’s brought on by a pH imbalance (BV symptoms include white or gray discharge, itching and burning, and a fishy odor).
Using a product externally, however, is considered safer (just FYI, we’re using the term safer since all bodies are different and react to certain ingredients in different ways)—which is why gynecologists recommend feminine wipes over items like douches.
Online health care provider Medzino’s resident ob-gyn, Kim Langdon, MD, advises Glamour that the best feminine wipes are “hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, paraben-free, pH-neutral, and don’t contain oil or alcohol.” And don’t let marketing fool you: Beware of anything that says “odor-control” on the label. “Anything that say ‘odor-control’ is bogus if it has special chemicals to allegedly fight off odor,” Dr. Langdon says. With all that in mind, here are some ob-gyn-approved wipes for feminine care.
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Recommended by Dr. Conti, Maude’s hypoallergenic towels are fragrance-free, pH-balanced, and compostable. Just add water, and you’ve got yourself 10 wipes that are easier on sensitive skin. Reviewers love the compressed towels for traveling (no leaks!) and because they’re larger and more durable than standard wipes.
Rael wet wipes are alcohol-, paraben-, and artificial-fragrance-free, and are specifically designed for sensitive skin. Infused with botanical ingredients like aloe and camellia sinensis leaf extract, these wipes also feature grapefruit extract, which can help naturally offset any funky odors. Approved by Felice Gersh, MD, an ob-gyn and founder and director of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine, California, Rael body wipes are a great travel-friendly product when you’re looking for something that’s pH-balanced and natural, and has a safer odor solution.
Lola, a brand known for its organic and eco-friendly (and high-quality!) tampons, also makes cleansing wipes. Thanks to their all-natural ingredients, Lola’s 100% cotton towelettes are a safer solution when it comes to on-the-go freshening up. Corina Dunlap, the naturopathic doctor who helped create them, tells Glamour that the wipe “meets all of the criteria: clean ingredients, hypoallergenic, doesn’t alter the skin’s pH, no artificial fragrances—we use a gentle and natural honeysuckle flower extract that is very safe for topical use and is not a hormone disruptor—and it also doesn’t dry your skin out with repeated use.” The chic packaging doesn’t hurt, either.
Ob-gyn Jessica Shepherd, MD, recommends SweetSpot Labs wipes, as these pH-balanced wipes are unscented and free from glycerin, sulfates, alcohol, parabens, MIT preservatives, and phthalates. Plus, they’re vegan and cruelty-free. This 30-pack is convenient, and the wipes are biodegradable.
The Honey Pot, a brand whose mission is to create plant-based hygiene products, has all-natural wipes that are pH-balanced and free from chemicals, parabens, carcinogens, and sulfates. They’re also infused with soothing oats, moisturizing acai, and anti-inflammatory chamomile. This is another brand Dr. Shepherd recommends for people looking for a safer wipe.
Ob-gyn Sherry Ross, MD, tells Glamour, “I recommend my patients use Uqora’s pH-balanced Cleansing Wipes. I like that they are free of fragrance, alcohol, dyes, parabens, and anything that can disrupt the body’s natural chemistry. For those who are particularly sensitive, it’s really important to find cleansing wipes that are fragrance and alcohol-free. You can use Uqora’s wipes daily without worry of irritation.”
In a pinch, you can try using Kleenex tissues. Online health provider Pandia Health’s CEO and cofounder Sophia Yen, MD, tells Glamour that she recommends aloe-infused Kleenex for sensitive skin over any kind of formulated wipe since the tissues are generally considered safer for external use. Plus, the aloe, coconut oil, and vitamin E will leave skin supple and soft.
These wipes don’t contain any harsh chemicals like bleaches, dyes, or pesticides, and the fragrance-free formula is perfect for more sensitive skin. Ob-gyn and fertility specialist Lucky Sekhon, MD, recommends these plant-based wipes for a clean and safer option.
Yup, you can use these intimate wipes post-lovin’, and you can also use them post-gym, or during your period. These flushable wipes, recommended by Dr. Sekhon, can be used whenever you’d like a cleanup, and you don’t need to worry about any icky ingredients. Free from parabens, alcohol, chlorine, and dye, these pH-balanced wipes are unscented and formulated for sensitive skin. They’re also eco-friendly and biodegradable.
Cora Body Cloths are pH-balanced and free from harmful ingredients such as glycerin, fragrance, alcohol, parabens, sulfates, dyes, bleach, and phenoxyethanol. Recommended by Dr. Sekhon, they are especially convenient since they’re individually wrapped, which makes it easy to throw a couple in your purse, your gym bag, or even your wallet, and you won’t have to worry about compromising space. If you’re extra sensitive, just be aware that these are naturally scented with lavender.
Good Clean Love, known for organic, aloe-infused lube, offers personal wipes that are considered safer and effective too. Dr. Shepherd recommends these because they’re free of alcohol and parabens, and they’re hypoallergenic and pH-balanced. Just FYI, these are lightly scented with shea and cocoa, so if you’re hypersensitive to scents, these may not be for you!
“If you have a time where you need a quick refresh, these are wipes that stay on the ‘cleaner’ side of many of the existing products,” says double-board-certified ob-gyn Sarah de la Torre, MD, lifestyle medicine expert for women’s health platform Joylux. She says the hypoallergenic and pH-balanced formula is made with “99% water while being infused with aloe vera,” and is free of chlorine, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, lotions, and latex.
These wipes were developed by Dr. Hedieh Asadi and her professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Gunvor Ekman Ordeberg. They’re odor-neutralizing and come individually wrapped, perfect for on-the-go refreshing. And you don't have to worry about any of the bad stuff in them, as the formula is super gentle and suitable for all skin types.
Recommended by board-certified ob-gyn Melissa Gutierrez, MD these wipes are known for being anti-inflammatory. Aloe leaf juice, cucumber extract, chamomile extract, oat root extract, and marshmallow root extract all work together to soothe and freshen the vulva. These are also individually wrapped so you can just throw them into your bag.
Also recommended by Dr. Gutierrez are the Goodwipes Down There flushable wipes which are hypoallergenic and pH-balanced. They’re plant-based, biodegradable, and made to decompose more easily than some other options on this list.
While these aren’t technically wipes, as a bonus we threw them in for targeting ingrown hairs. These mini cloths are shaped like mitts and soaked with Fur’s Ingrown Eliminator Serum, which you can use after shaving. Post-hair removal, just swipe them around your pubic area to prevent and eliminate bumps, even out dark spots, and treat ingrown hairs.
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