

Okay, let me put something right on out here first. The "extra sweet" that is in this title is more like a play on words when it comes to the next holiday that's on the horizon. We all know that it's Valentine's Day. The reason why I think it's important to get that out into the open is because I am so over all of these articles that try to imply that there is something that we can do to make our vagina taste like a pineapple smoothie or chocolate ice cream. Anyone who has told you that lied. BIG TIME.
How To Make Your Vagina Taste Good
However, there are definitely things that you can add to your daily routine that will cause your vagina (and vulva) to be fresher, less acidic and can provide a hint of sweetness. That's what we're gonna get into on this fine day.
So, if your plans for V-Day are to be your partner's sweet thang, here are some easy hacks that will make your partner enjoy you, on a whole 'nother level. Ready?
10 Ways To Make Your Vagina Taste 'Sweeter'
1. Avoid the Following Foods
Who hasn't heard that pineapple juice can make your vagina taste sweeter? Yes and no. Again, the reality is that our hot pocket wasn't created to taste like a fruit salad, no matter what we do—so it won't. With that said, it is true that our discharge/natural lubrication can somewhat shift in how acidic or salty it is, based on our diet. That's because what we eat does affect our mucosal secretions.
That's why it's a good idea to avoid foods with sulfur in them like onions and garlic (for self-explanatory reasons, I'm sure); sugary foods (because it can throw off your pH balance); dairy (it can suppress your immunity and also throw off your vagina's pH); asparagus (it makes urine and sometimes discharge smell) and red meat (it tends to be high in saturated fat which can lead to bacterial infections). Avoid them for how long? Eh, if you're planning on a lot of oral action for Valentine's Day, going without these, starting the Tuesday prior, is a safe bet.
2. Drink More Water
We're made up of 60-65 percent water which is why we need to drink it on a daily basis. Water is good for us because it flushes out toxins; regulates our body temperature; helps to keep us regular; strengthens our immunity; helps to keep us in a good mood; keeps us hydrated; reduces breakouts and helps us to produce more saliva and lubrication—both are important when it comes to fellatio and cunnilingus.
Also, since water helps to remove bacteria, this is another way to keep your vagina extra fresh from the inside out. It can only get better if that water has a few mint sprigs in it or if you decide to consume some infused water from time to time.
3. Try Some Kefir
I think I've shared before that I've got a fungal sensitivity. As a result, I have had a few more yeast infections (not just my vagina either; one time I had one underneath my breasts that was hellacious) than the average person, along with a couple of bouts of tinea versicolor. Anyway, the last time that I had a yeast infection and got prescribed an antibiotic, I knew that I needed to take some sort of probiotic because drugs tend to wipe out good and bad bacteria; probiotics restore the good that was lost (so that you don't end up with a yeast infection all over again).
Something that can help you with this is kefir which is basically a low-fat fermented milk. Before you turn up your nose, at the end of the day, it's pretty much drinkable yogurt. What makes kefir so good for you is it can help to control your blood sugar levels, lower your cholesterol, improve digestion, control your weight and, it's got antibacterial and antifungal properties that will keep your vagina in great health. Since adding kefir to my regular diet, I've noticed that my vagina smells even more pleasant. Some other consumers have told me that their partners can taste the difference, in the best way possible, too.
4. Lay Off of the Coffee and Alcohol
No matter how much you like java or wine, about 48 hours going into Valentine's Day, you should probably lay up off of both of them. As far as coffee goes, the caffeine in it can actually deplete vagina of the vitamins and minerals that it needs to remain healthy. Not only that but it has a way of altering the odor of your genitalia—and not in a good way. Alcohol? While on one hand, it can increase your libido, it also has a way of dehydrating your system as well. No one wants a dry va-jay-jay. So, try and chill on the liquor in the days leading up to V-Day. Have it on the actual day instead.
5. Snack on Some Celery
Celery doesn't taste like much of anything. I think we all can agree on that. Still, it's a really good idea to have some in your fridge so that you can chomp on a few stalks, at least a couple of times a week. On the health tip, it's 95 percent water (which means it can help to keep you hydrated while flushing out toxins). Plus, celery contains a good amount of vitamins A, C, and K.
Also, the magnesium, iron, and calcium in it can neutralize acids within your system. Plus, celery has a good amount of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. As far as your vagina goes, because celery does contain vitamin C, it's able to keep the bad bacteria at bay. Also, the chlorophyll in celery will make your va-jay-jay smell more pleasant too.
6. Take Some Cran-Cherry-Apple Shots
Nothing can make your vagina taste just like it. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. That said, there are some fruits that contain nutrients that can make our vagina a little more delightful and appealing. Cranberries are loaded with potent antioxidants that will keep your pH levels balanced. Bing cherries also have antioxidants as well as anti-inflammatory compounds. Apples are awesome because the phytoestrogen phloridzin and its antioxidants help to increase blood flow to your vaginal region while also increasing lubrication. Just imagine what a combination of this is (go with 100 percent juice; the extra sugary kind will work against you rather than for you).
7. Play with Some Frozen Grapes
Something that is super stimulating when it comes to sex is playing around with temperatures in the sense of going from warm to cold. On the cool tip, how about bringing some frozen grapes into the mix? Because grapes have a thin skin on them and they are made up of 82 percent water, your partner can tease you with them, all over your vaginal area, without worrying about whether they will irritate you days later.
I'm telling you, a frozen grape on your clitoral hood will feel amazing for you. Then you both sharing the grape will taste unbelievable to you both.
8. Don’t Forget About Coconut and Cinnamon Oil
Back when I was gettin' it in, you couldn't get me to not have a mixture of coconut oil and cinnamon oil on a bed stand somewhere. Coconut oil is dope because it contains properties to keep your vagina drama-feeling-free and it's able to safely dilute the potency of the cinnamon oil. Cinnamon oil is awesome because it provides a warming effect and the oil itself is cinnamon-y and sweet. For the skeptics, no it doesn't burn. Just make sure to keep the "less is more" approach in mind. Anyway, if you want a gift that keeps on giving, this is a combo that is pretty unmatched.
9. Cop Some Flavored Lube
If you're not ready to take the step of basically DIY-ing your own tasty lubricant, there are plenty of flavored ones on the market that are safe to use whether you're planning on using it for oral sex or…all things sex. If you want a lil' help choosing a brand that best suits your personal needs and desires, Let's Talk Sex reviewed 12 different ones. You can check 'em all out here.
10. Add Some Rosewater…to Your Bath Water
Did you know that rosewater has the ability to enhance the flavor of things? This is why it's sometimes an ingredient in different kinds of sauces and desserts. Since the properties in rosewater are also really good for you when it comes to things like treating infections, soothing your skin and improving your mood, I bet you can see why I added it to this list of ways to make your vagina sweeter.
Adding some rosewater to your bath water allows you to gently cleanse your vagina. Then, if you add a little bit of it to your outer labia before slipping into something sexy, your vagina will smell feminine and inviting—the perfect combination for a pretty sweet 'n sexy Valentine's Day evening, if you ask me. Enjoy. Both of you. #wink
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Shutterstock
- Worst Foods For Your Vagina - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
- The Different Types Of Vaginas - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
- How To Increase Vaginal Lubrication Naturally - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
- What Your Vaginal Discharge Means - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
- Foods That Increase Vaginal Lubrication Naturally - xoNecole: Lifestyle, Culture, Love, & Wellness ›
- 12 Ways To Cool Down Your Vagina - xoNecole: Lifestyle, Culture, Love, Wellness ›
- The Best Fall Foods For Vaginal Health - xoNecole: Lifestyle, Culture, Love, Wellness ›
Devale Ellis On Being A Provider, Marriage Growth & Redefining Fatherhood
In this candid episode of the xoMAN podcast, host Kiara Walker talked with Devale Ellis, actor, social media personality, and star of Zatima, about modern masculinity, learning to be a better husband, emotional presence in marriage, fatherhood for Black men, and leading by example.
“I Wasn’t Present Emotionally”: Devale Ellis on Marriage Growth
Devale Ellis On Learning He Was a ‘Bad Husband’
Ellis grew up believing that a man should prioritize providing for his family. “I know this may come off as misogynistic, but I feel like it’s my responsibility as a man to pay for everything,” he said, emphasizing the wise guidance passed down by his father. However, five years into his marriage to long-time partner Khadeen Ellis, he realized provision wasn’t just financial.
“I was a bad husband because I wasn’t present emotionally… I wasn’t concerned about what she needed outside of the resources.”
Once he shifted his mindset, his marriage improved. “In me trying to be of service to her, I learned that me being of service created a woman who is now willing to be of service to me.”
On Redefining Masculinity and Fatherhood
For Ellis, “being a man is about being consistent.” As a father of four, he sees parenthood as a chance to reshape the future.
“Children give you another chance at life. I have four different opportunities right now to do my life all over again.”
He also works to uplift young Black men, reinforcing their worth in a world that often undermines them. His values extend to his career—Ellis refuses to play roles that involve domestic violence or sexual assault.
On Marriage, Family Planning, and Writing His Story
After his wife’s postpartum preeclampsia, Ellis chose a vasectomy over her taking hormonal birth control, further proving his commitment to their partnership. He and Khadeen share their journey in We Over Me, and his next book, Raising Kings: How Fatherhood Saved Me From Myself, is on the way.
Through honesty and growth, Devale Ellis challenges traditional ideas of masculinity, making his story one that resonates deeply with millennial women.
For the xoMAN podcast, host Kiara Walker peels back the layers of masculinity with candid conversations that challenge stereotypes and celebrate vulnerability. Real men. Real stories. Real talk.
Want more real talk from xoMAN? Catch the full audio episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don’t miss the full video drops every Wednesday on YouTube. Hit follow, subscribe, and stay tapped in.
Featured image by YouTube/xoNecole
My personal relationship with birth control pills is a bit of an odd one. Back when I first became sexually active (I started having sex with my first boyfriend a couple of months shy of 19), I took them for a couple of months, didn’t like how they made me feel, and so I quit using them altogether (and got pregnant almost immediately after). The rest of my adult life, I stayed off of the pill and pretty much only used condoms (and even then, not consistently — SMDH).
And yet here I am, now, all these years later, back on them again: surprise, surprise.
These days, it's for a completely different purpose, though. Now that I am in the hopefully latter stages of perimenopause (I’m not sure because my mother had a full hysterectomy at 29, her mother died at 53 and I don’t deal with my paternal grandmother because…chile… ) — although I have always had relatively easy cycles and I could definitely set my watch to them, about two years ago, my periods started to show up whenever they felt like it and it was damn near a crime scene once they did.
It was driving me crazy, and so, my nurse practitioner recommended that I take progestin-only pills to shorten, if not completely stop, my cycle: “After a year or so, we can wean off and see if you are entering into menopause on your own.” (Whew, perimenopause, chile.)
Although the first five months of being on this particular pill made me wonder if it was worth it to take this approach, I actually re-upped for another 12-month cycle because the extra progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone) has benefitted me in other areas as well because I am sleeping more soundly and my weight is more stabilized (by the way, when these things are “off,” they are signs of low progesterone levels). However, I did ask my nurse practitioner if, once I do decide to wean off of the pill, would there be any issues.
Her response is what inspired me to write this article because, until she said “post-birth control syndrome” to me, I had no idea there was such a thing. Anyway, if you give me a sec, I’ll explain to you what it is and why you should care if hormone-related birth control is currently a part of your life.
Yes, Post-Birth Control Syndrome Is a Very Real Thing
Okay, so it’s important to always remember that the way that birth control works is it “manipulates” your hormones so that you can significantly reduce your chances of conceiving. This means that taking them could result in some side effects including nausea; weight gain; headaches; irregular periods and/or spotting; increased stress; depression; blurry vision; breast tenderness, and/or a lowered libido.
That said, even though birth control pills are basically 99 percent effective (when taken correctly and consistently), if the side effects that you are experiencing are making you close to miserable, you should absolutely share that with your healthcare provider because…what’s the sense in preventing pregnancy when you don’t even feel up to having sex because you don’t feel good or your sex drive is shot? More times than not, your provider can find you another pill brand or option that will help you to feel more like yourself.
With that out of the way, think about it — if going on the pill can produce side effects, why would going off of it…not? And this is where post-birth control syndrome comes in.
For the most part, it’s what can happen to your body once you decide to come off of birth control. Typically, the symptoms will last anywhere between 4-6 months and, although the symptoms seem to present themselves most intensely as it relates to going off of the pill, any hormone-related birth control (like IUDs, injections, patches, the ring or implants) could produce similar outcomes.
Outcomes like what?
- Irregular cycles
- Breakouts
- Excessive gas and/or bloating
- Weight gain
- Anxiety and/or depression
- Fertility issues
- Migraines and/or headaches
- Shifts in your libido
- Sleeplessness/restlessness
- Hair loss
Whoa, right? And if a part of you is wondering, “Okay, if this is indeed the case, why have I not heard of this syndrome before?” It’s because it’s not a term that conventional method uses nearly as much as alternative medicine does. Still, it makes all of the sense in the world that if your body has to adjust to an uptick in hormonal intake, it would also need to adjust to removing those extra doses of hormones from your system as well. COMMON. DAMN. SENSE.
Anyway, if you were thinking about taking a break from birth control and taking all of this in has you feeling a bit…let’s go with the word “trepidatious” about doing so, I totally get it. There are some things that you can do to make experiencing post-birth control syndrome either a non-issue or a far more bearable one, though.
7 Home Remedies That Can Make Coping with Post-Birth Control Syndrome Easier
1. Take a multivitamin.Something that’s fascinating about what going off of birth control can do is it sometimes has the ability to lower your nutrition levels as it relates to certain vitamins and minerals; this is especially the case when it comes to vitamins B, C, E and minerals like magnesium, selenium and zinc. So, if you don’t currently take a multivitamin, now would be the time to start (along with consuming foods that are particularly high in those nutrients as well).
2. Up your vitamin D intake. Speaking of nutrient levels, a vitamin level that commonly drops after going off of birth control isvitamin D. This is hella critical to keep in mind as a Black woman since many of us tend to be naturally deficient in the vitamin as-is and vitamin D is important when it comes to fighting off diseases, regulating weight and keeping your moods stabilized (for starters). So, make sure that your multivitamin has vitamin D in it. Also make sure to consume vitamin D-enriched foods like fatty fish, eggs, mushrooms, yogurt and fortified orange juice.
3. Drink herbal teas. Since going off of birth control will cause your hormones to be all over the place for a season, consider drinking some herbal teas that will help to stabilize them. Black cohosh contains phytoestrogen properties, Chasteberry can help to level out your prolactin levels and green tea can help your hormones out by helping to balance out your insulin (which can sometimes directly affect them).
4. Keep some ibuprofen nearby. The headaches and migraines? Until those subside, you and ibuprofen are probably going to become really good friends; although I will add that ginger tea and inhaling essential oils like chamomile and lavender can help to ease migraine-related symptoms too.
5. Do some meditating. Waiting for your hormones to get back on track can be stressful as all get out. That said, something that can get your cortisol (stress hormone) levels to chill out is to meditate. If meditation is new for you, check out “7 Meditation Hacks (For People Who Can't Seem To Do It).”
6. Get massages. As if you needed an excuse to get a massage, right (check out “12 Different Massage Types. How To Know Which Is Right For You.”)? However, there is some evidence to back the fact that regular massages (somewhere around once a month) can help to lower your stress, boost your dopamine, increase blood flow and drain your lymphatic system so that you will have more energy.
7. Sleep/rest more. There is plenty of scientific research out here which says that sleep deprivation can throw your hormones out of whack — and since your hormones are already trying to stabilize themselves, you definitely need to get 6-8 hours of sleep and not feel the least bit guilty about taking naps sometimes too.
____
Post-birth control syndrome may not be the most pleasant thing about getting off of birth control yet it is manageable. So, now that you know all about it, you can feel more confident about taking a birth control break (or getting off altogether) — without the surprises that can come with doing it. Give thanks.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Unsplash