WTF? Apparently bath bombs could be bad for your vaginal health
After a long day at work and battling through the bus commute home, there is no better feeling than dropping a gloriously scented, aesthetically pleasing bath bomb into a tub of hot water and having a good soak.
A long, bubbly, scented bath is top of the list when it comes to relaxation methods, so when we heard that bath bombs could be bad for our gynaecological health, we were less than pleased.
Apparently, the scented bath products could cause problems with the PH balance down below.
"It’s a good idea to avoid perfumed soaps, gels and antiseptics as these can affect the healthy balance of bacteria and pH levels in the vagina and cause irritation," Dr Vanessa Mackay, spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told The Metro.
‘Use plain, unperfumed soaps to wash the area around the vagina (the vulva), not inside it, gently every day. During your period, washing more than once a day may be helpful.’
"That’s why products like FemFresh market themselves as unscented – because anything heavily perfumed is likely to disrupt your vagina’s self-cleaning processes."
Although realistically, as the vagina is a self-cleaning organ, vaginal hygiene products aren't a necessity.
"Some people think that the perfumes in bath bombs can harm the 'good bacteria' in the genital area, allowing harmful bugs that might cause problems like thrush, urinary infections and cystitis to flourish," Jemma Batte, a doctor for Bupa UK, told Cosmo.
"So if you are prone to these problems, you may want to try using an unperfumed bath bomb instead of perfumes ones."
"There is no medical evidence that bath bombs actually cause thrush or urinary infections, so there is no clear medical reason not to use them."
So, bath bombs are probably a pretty safe habit to maintain unless you're already susceptible to PH imbalances, thrush and cystitis.
Thank goodness for that, our Saturday night in plans haven't been totally foiled.
