Since Marie (half of the RX Undies team) is a practicing physician, we thought we’d share her top six tips for maintaining feminine health.

1) Try to avoid wearing underwear made with synthetic or non-breathable material over the gusset (crotch). The gusset should be made from natural/organic material and the main fabric of the underwear should be breathable; mesh fabric is ideal). This ensures that moisture won’t be trapped when you exercise, sweat, etc.

2) Never wear pants that are too tight. Ladies, there needs to be a little breathing room and chaffing is never a good thing.

3) Machine wash your underwear with warm/hot water. Hot water is the best for disinfecting. Hand-washed clothes often aren’t washed sufficiently or rinsed well, and soap residue can lead to irritation and infection.

4) Don’t douche. Douching washes out normal flora giving other bacteria the chance to grow and disrupt the healthy balance. This can lead to unpleasant symptoms or infection. The vagina is a miraculous part of your body and can keep itself clean and balanced.

5) Use sanitary products made from organic/unbleached cotton. You don’t need cotton grown with the use of pesticides or that has been chemically bleached up against your sensitive lady parts. Pads don’t allow for air flow and can trap moisture near the surface of the skin, so use them sparingly.

6) Be careful with bikini-area hair removal. Marie recommends shaving with a sharp razor and a healthy shaving cream. Don’t use depilatory cream; you don’t need anything that is potent enough to dissolve hair entering your blood stream (eek). Marie routinely sees patients suffering from folliculitis from waxing (an infection in the hair follicle after the hair is ripped out, particularly from self-waxing). If you must wax, go to a professional and make sure the wax used doesn’t contain any harmful ingredients.