When Hygiene Becomes a Competition: Reacting to Viral Routines

In this episode, I'm reacting to viral TikTok feminine hygiene routines and discussing something I see far too often: fear of bacteria.Somewhere along the way, we've been taught that every smell, every discharge, every skin texture, and every microbe is a problem that needs to be scrubbed, disinfected, or eliminated. The result? Many people are using increasingly harsh products in pursuit of being "clean." But your skin and your microbiome aren't enemies.More often than not, loving your skin through gentle, nourishing care will reward you with less irritation, less odor, fewer breakouts, a healthier skin barrier, and a microbiome that can actually do its job. So let's talk about what these routines get right, where social media gets carried away, and why hygiene should support your body, not punish it.