• A typical vaginal pH sits between 3.8 and 4.5. Menstrual blood is naturally more alkaline, so pH tends to rise slightly during your period
• Scented tampons and pads can disrupt the bacterial balance and shift pH outside the healthy range
• Changing products every few hours and skipping fragranced ingredients supports a balanced pH
• Cora skips fragrance entirely so you don't have to worry about ingredients

Period products affect vaginal pH mostly due to what they contain, not which product you choose. Your vagina has a slightly acidic pH between 3.8 and 4.5, maintained by lactobacilli that fight off harmful bacteria. Menstrual blood is naturally more alkaline (around 7 to 8), so during your period, pH rises a little across the board. However, the bigger disruptor generally isn't your period itself. It's actually ingredients like added fragrance.

Scented tampons and pads can throw off your vagina's bacterial balance and shift your pH outside the healthy range, which can raise the risk of irritation, yeast infections, and bacterial vaginosis.

At Cora, all of our tampons, pads, and liners are fragrance-free, dye-free, and made with elemental chlorine-free processing.

Now that you know the disruptors, here are some low-effort steps that can help:

• Change tampons and pads every four to eight hours. Letting fluid sit longer creates room for bacterial overgrowth.
• Skip scented intimate products entirely. Sprays, douches, scented wipes, perfumed soaps, and scented period products can all disrupt your pH.
• Wash your vulva with water only, or with mild unscented soap. Your vagina itself is self-cleaning and doesn't need washing.
• Wear breathable cotton underwear and change out of wet or sweaty clothes promptly.
• Use barrier methods during sex if pH disruption is on your radar, since semen is alkaline.

A typical vaginal pH will rebalance itself once a temporary trigger is gone. If something feels off (off-color discharge, unusual odor, itching, or persistent burning), that's a conversation with a healthcare provider, not a Google rabbit hole.

• Vaginal pH is 3.8 to 4.5; menstrual blood temporarily raises it during your period, regardless of product type.
• Scented products are the bigger pH disruptor, and skipping them is the easiest preventive move.
• Cora's fragrance-free, dye-free standard takes the ingredient decoding off your plate.

Sources:

Are Scented Tampons and Pads Bad for You? | Cleveland Clinic

Vaginal pH Value for Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Vaginitis | PMC