- I have made videos and done podcast episodes
and talked about all sorts of different taboo,
but very normal things that come out of our bodies.
And I've made many episodes of the hormone diaries,
where I've gone into extreme detail
about my menstrual cycle and my period.
And yet there is one topic that I have been
too scared to touch.
And that a lot of people are too scared to talk about,
and that's discharge.
This video is sponsored by the Body Shop
in celebration of their Tea Tree skincare range.
They are a brand that I love,
I have used many of their products over the years,
and they're also really vocal about a lot of issues
that I care about around periods and menstrual health.
And they also work with the incredible
charity Bloody Good Period.
I just think the Body Shop are fab,
and so when they came to me asking to sponsor a video,
I was like, "What if it's a video about discharge?"
And they were like, "Yes, absolutely fine, go for it."
And so here we are.
Hello, my name is Hannah, if you're new here,
I make videos around sex and relationships and our bodies.
And if you haven't subscribed already
and would like to see more content from me,
then hit that subscribe button.
In this video, we're going to talk about what is discharge?
Why is discharge, how it might change
during your menstrual cycle
and how it's completely healthy and normal.
Right, I feel like we just need to break the ice
and I can feel some sticky discharge
in my knickers right now.
What is discharge?
Vaginal discharge is really any fluid,
that is not your period, that leaves the vagina
is discharged from the vagina, get it?
So it could be vaginal lubrication, day old sperm,
I was gonna say we've all been there,
but more accurate would be, some of us have been there,
or cervical fluid which is a big component,
and the one we're gonna focus on.
Generally, normal discharge doesn't have a strong
or unpleasant smell is white or clear,
is thick and sticky or slippery and wet.
Now I'm not a medical professional,
I am simply the messenger, so it's really important to get
to know your own body's normal patterns,
so that you're able to recognise when things differ,
and if you need to see a medical professional.
It may be a sign that something is up,
if your discharge has a strong, unpleasant smell
is thick and white, like cottage cheese.
It's green or yellow.
You have pain or bleeding.
You produce a lot more than usual, or you're itchy and sore.
Please don't Google any symptoms, go see your doctor.
But your vagina producing clear, white, slippy,
sticky discharge is normal, healthy and necessary
to vaginal health.
Imagine your mouth without spit,
that doesn't sound very fun, does it?
Discharge is the spit of the vagina.
So, why do we have it?
Why is discharge?
Discharge helps to keep out unhealthy bacteria and viruses.
The vagina is self cleaning and naturally acidic,
and so discharge helps to keep the whole area
healthy and regulated.
It also plays a key role in reproduction.
The cervix is the passageway from the vagina to the uterus,
and it kind of looks like a donut.
(cheerful upbeat music)
The cervix produces a cervical fluid,
which depending on the stage of your menstrual cycle
either makes it easier or harder,
for the little spermes to reach the egg.
Think of it as the Gandalf of reproduction,
during some parts of the menstrual.
You shall not pass.
(banging)
And then during the more fertile time
of the menstrual cycle, it's like, come in, come in
and make yourself at home, welcome, welcome.
Your cervical fluid changes throughout your menstrual cycle.
Tracking your own changes and patterns
will help you get to know your cycle better,
and when you're ovulating,
if that's something you want to know about.
The beginning of the menstrual cycle is the period,
so around this time you'll mostly find
bloody shredded uterus lining.
After the bleeding, cervical fluid is mostly absent and dry,
you may not even notice it.
Leading up to ovulation, which if we're looking at
an average 28 day cycle, (blowing a raspberry)
mine has never been this.
Ovulation happens around day 14.
So leading up to that oestrogen levels are on the rise
and cervical fluid becomes more sticky, white and creamy.
So the egg only sticks around in the fallopian tube
ready for fertilisation for about a day.
So this cervical fluid helps the little spermes,
survive long enough to wait for the egg to appear.
Normally the little spermes,
do not like the acidic environment of the vagina,
but this creamy cervical fluid helps to protect them.
And then around ovulation is when you get
the classic egg white discharge.
It's clear, sticky and wet, and there's usually more of it.
It's important to know that this type of cervical fluid
can't confirm ovulation for sure,
but it can give you a rough idea.
The egg white stuff is the easiest for the sperm to swim in,
and it also filters in the best sperm.
After ovulation oestrogen drops and progestogen rises,
and the cervical fluid becomes more sticky, dry,
and maybe absent.
And then we come back to menstruation
and the whole thing starts over again.
Many things can change ebb and flow
during your menstrual cycle, not just your discharge.
Your skin also might be something that is affected
by hormonal changes.
Like I said, this video is sponsored by the Body Shop,
thank you very much.
They are currently celebrating
their infamous Tea Tree skincare range,
which consists of a number of skincare products
and body wash, which are specifically tailored
towards blemished oily and blackhead prone skin,
AKA my skin, I'm not even kidding.
That is how I would describe my skin.
Now I have a very simple routine, wash body, wash face,
take makeup off, moisturise,
not necessarily in that order.
And honestly, other than my redness and the odd spots,
I have very lucky in the skin department.
And I have actually noticed my skin being a lot smoother
since lockdown and wearing less makeup.
Just an observation,
also, please don't sleep in your makeup.
On days where I do wear makeup for the last several months
I have been using and loving the Body Shop's,
camomile cleansing butter.
It just completely melts into my skin,
and melts all of my makeup off, leaving my face
nice and lovely and smooth.
Also, I was very happy to discover they introduced
a miniature 20 mils version.
So this is like perfect for if you're travelling
or if you're just out and about.
In the Tea Tree range, I have been really loving
the foaming cleanser.
Like I said, I haven't been wearing makeup most days,
but my face still gets dirty throughout the day regardless.
And I hate to admit it, but I have never been great
at washing my face in the evenings of no makeup days,
but I love this because now I actually know
what a clean and fresh face feels like, before bedtime.
And it feels so good.
Another product that caught my eye in the Tea Tree range
is the body wash because honestly I'm so here
for Tea Tree Body Wash, and my skin just feels
so refreshed after a shower.
And also in the range is the Tea Tree Oil,
you just apply it real quick and it can help
with those blemished areas.
The Tea Tree range is specifically tailored for skin
that has blemishes, blackheads, and oil,
and maybe your skin gets like that at different points
in your menstrual cycle.
So thank you again to the Body Shop
for sponsoring this video for your great products
and for champion causes that
are de-stigmatizing periods and discharge.
I will also leave a link in the description
to Bloody Good Periods campaign,
periods don't stop in the pandemic,
which the Body Shop are supporting.
You can find out more about the charity, their take,
what you need scheme and donate if you're able to.
I honestly didn't really think about discharge
until I was in my mid 20s when I came off the pill,
which kind of makes sense
because I was on the progestogen only pill,
which can turn your cervical fluid
into the post ovulation type, but all cycle round.
So I came off the pill and suddenly,
I was getting the creamy and egg white to discharge too,
which I hadn't experienced in like seven years.
But it was during that first year
of filming the Hormone Diaries,
that I started to notice changes to my discharge.
And I didn't talk about it in any of those videos,
because honestly I was embarrassed,
but hey, look at me now.
Now I wasn't tracking my discharge slash cervical fluid
at this point, so I can't talk about any patterns,
but every now and then I would notice that my vagina
would produce huge amounts of creamy discharge.
I could literally scoop it out of my vagina,
and I actually quite liked it after I got over
the initial shock of what on earth is this!
But it was kind of satisfying,
just like seeing it all come out, just like goodbye,
thank you for cleaning my body.
I now know that it's likely that whenever I notice this,
I was probably leading up to ovulation,
and I wish I'd tracked it because I love data about my body.
Why am I telling you about my creamy vagina?
Well, I want to normalise conversations around discharge,
I remember seeing this YouTube video of somebody
showing their discharge stained knickers on camera,
and just thinking, oh my goodness,
this is so groundbreaking.
Thank you so much for showing us all.
And it really felt like that video gave me permission
to talk about my discharge.
And whilst you absolutely don't need permission from me,
if you need that little extra nudge of acceptance
and curiosity, here is me giving you permission
to talk about discharge.
Even though it's not my permission to give.
Now, there is one final thing to clean up
and it is not your vagina.
How to clean your vagina.
Vaginas are self cleaning,
and discharge is a part of that process.
And it's the sign of a happy, healthy vagina.
It's not dirty, it's not gross, it's good and healthy.
If you're discharged does start to behave differently
than your normal, then do go to see a doctor about it.
Do not buy products advertised
as vagina cleaning miracles,
that will make your vagina smell like flowers.
Your vagina should smell like a vagina.
These products are there to fix problems that don't exist.
And in fact, it's very likely
that there'll be the culprit of problems
because they throw off your vagina's natural pH balance.
It's genuinely recommended to avoid
using vaginal douches scented wipes and vaginal deodorant.
So here's how you can clean your vagina and vulva area.
You can just simply use hot or warm water,
and your hands to gently clean your vulva every day
when you have a shower, if you do use products,
make sure they're plain and unperfumed soaps,
and that's all that really is to it.
Thank you for watching and thanks to the Body Shop
for sponsoring this video.
Talk about discharge with your friends, share your stories.
All right, you don't have to do that, but if you'd like,
you can leave your stories in the comments,
I would love to hear them.
Please give this video a thumbs up if you liked it,
and I will see you in the next one, bye.
That my vagina would produce huge amounts of,
(chuckling)
I was about to say cheesy, creamy, creamy, not cheesy.