The Vagina series - Smell

Sex is (often) a fluid fest! The more the better for some. But the tastes and smells of these fluids are so important in our sexual enjoyment. Vaginal smells and flavours can really change how you feel about your own vagina or your lover’s, and impact your sexual experience.

Ever wondered why your or your lover’s vagina tastes bad but smells fine or vice versa?

The origins for these issues might differ and be more complex than the other. That’s why, in these mini vagina-series, we’re having a look at both separately: the flavour and the odour! Let’s start with the latter!

To each their own

It might not be on your immediate list of red or green flags, but smell is a hugely important part of partner selection. Every vagina owner has her/their own smell and taste. Though the taste of a vagina can vary immensely, 90% of taste is actually thought to be smell (*). So, if it’s not smelling right to you, there might be something up. It all comes down to a healthy or unhealthy vaginal microbiome which determines a lady’s scent.

(Not so) hot topic

Western society hasn’t been the nicest for our smells, has it? We’ve been socialised to associate certain vaginal odours with certain (mostly very bad and nasty) opinions. Think of all the “jokes” you’ve heard on TV or within your surroundings while growing up. Especially for a child or a teenager, these messages make stubborn imprints in the brain and are hard to shake when getting older.

To bring Pavlov into this discussion: let’s remember we’re all results of conditioned and reward-based training. E.g. if you’ve been brought up with the constant message that a vagina that has a smell or has a strong smell, you’re sexual arousal when smelling a vagina might be influenced in a bad way. This also works the other way around: if you’ve come to associate the smell of a woman’s vagina with great sex, you’ll learn to love and appreciate it more and it might be a turn on. If you’re entirely new to sex and vaginas or if you’ve had some bad experiences, this reward-trigger isn’t established yet. It’s important to be aware of this before placing any judgement or making unjust remarks. Just explore and discover a bit more!

Sometimes, a certain smell does operate as a red flag and signals something might not be all thumbs up down there. Let’s unwind the difference between a healthy vaginal odour and the alarming kind.

Healthy perfume

We’re not sugarcoating anything here. I mean, we wouldn’t immediately but it in a spray bottle and have Michael B. Jordan run a very steamy add for us, but healthy vaginal odour is definitely not unpleasant. There can be healthy “aromas of the sea” but if it goes further into the very fishy, rotten department, something’s up.

Many elements have an influence on our V-smell: what we eat, drink, smoke and in which stage of our hormonal cycle we’re at. Especially around the menstruation period, odours can be a bit “richer”. The pre-ovulatory and ovulatory phases on the other hand, are often associated with slightly weaker and more pleasant odours.

Unhealthy perfume

When the vaginal microbiome is off, this will most often express itself through scent. Some people acquired disruptive bacterial colonies early in life or after a certain point (often after having unprotected sex). Each of the microbial players in a vagina produces substances that interact and produce odourant molecules. Let’s take the triethylamine (TMA) molecule as an example. TMA causes the fishy odour in bacterial vaginosis but is also the actual fishy odour on a fish. This molecule is produced by rotting vegetation and our body really doesn’t like it and wants to get rid of it. The way our body tries to warn us about this, might be by altering the odour down under.

A bad smell does not have a single origin. There are many types of bacteria with a possible influence to make things go sour down there (literally). Some of the bad do’ers are: bacterial vaginosis, gonorrhoea (STI), trichomoniasis (STI), a “forgotten” tampon, overgrowth of lactobacilli or yeast infections.

Be careful though! Not all STIs are paired with a bad odour. Chlamydia, herpes and human papilloma virus (HPV) do not cause any funky odours.

So if you think that your or your partner’s smell is trying to tell you something, better be safe than sorry and make a quick trip to the doctor or your gynaecologist to have it checked out. I know, when a not-so-loveable smell down there is the reason you booked the appointment, you’re not super happy about spreading wide in front of their faces. But hey, it’s their job and you’ll regret not knowing if something serious is up.

Quick fix kit?

Unfortunately, there’s no magic potion you can drink to bring your vaginal environment from a fishermen’s hut to a five star hotel. There are however, many elements within your control.

Altering elements in your diet is probably one of the easiest things to do. The goal is to introduce more live fermented foods and probiotics to your meals. Focus on ingredients with high levels of lactobacilli such a natural yoghurts, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, etc. Not only your V will thank you, but also your gut in general.

You can also make a trip down to your local chemist or apothecary and get you some vaginal probiotics. On top of this, you can opt to additionally take prebiotic supplements (such as lactulose). This prebiotic feeds those probiotics. As I’m not in any way a certified doctor or chemist, I suggest you turn to a legit and established source for the best option for you. Again, there’s not “one fit all” solution in this case.

As mentioned before, the origin of a bad odour might be more severe (e.g. an STI) so it’s crucial to double check with your healthcare provider beforehand whether or not this might be the case. Only then the solution will be fit for purpose.

How high is smell on the “must have” list when selecting a partner?

The importance of smell (in general) should not be shoved under the table. In an interesting study, men and women were asked to rate the importance of smell in choosing a sexual partner (**). Fascinatingly, smell was the single most important factor in mate choice for a woman. For men, by contrast, being physically attractive and smell were regarded as being equally important.

On top of this, women considered smell as the most able to negatively affect sexual desire for a partner while males regarded odours in a more neutral way. Note that this study focused on smell in general and not just intimate smells, but nevertheless, it underlines the significance of any type of body odour.

Let’s talk about it (?)

When a loved one or bed partner is someone you’d really like to have round for another fun visit or if you just generally care about a person (even if it was just the one night), pointing out someone’s intimate smell can go wrong very badly, very quickly.

Nevertheless, it is very important to express your distaste or concerns towards such person. A V-owner might not even know that her smell is somewhat out of the ordinary. Especially for women and girls who haven’t had any experience with bed partners from the same sex, how are we to know what a “right” smell is and what not?

The fundamental approach here is: be gentle. You don’t want to lay on too thick that you’ve done your literal market research and that your current bed partner was the worst of all of them. You don’t want to harm someone’s confidence or self image.

Therefore, you might start by asking where your partner is in their menstrual cycle (as this can explain a lot) or when they last had a check-up for STIs or any other vaginal check-ups. Every relationship is different and every level of communication between partners to.

Unsure about how to approach such an issue? Feel free to reach out and we’ll figure it out together.

(*) Stoyanov GS, Matev BK, Valchanov P, Sapundzhiev N, Young JR. The Human Vomeronasal (Jacobson’s) Organ: A Short Review of Current Conceptions, With an English Translation of Potiquet’s Original Text. Cureus. Published online May 17, 2018. doi:10.7759/cureus.2643

(**) Herz RS, Cahill ED. Differential use of sensory information in sexual behavior as a function of gender. Hum Nat. Published online September 1997:275-286. doi:10.1007/bf02912495