Feminine hygiene products and black women's reproductive health: a review of health inequities, racialized marketing, and practice implications.

Feminine hygiene products (FHPs), including douches, washes, and deodorants, are widely marketed as tools for maintaining vaginal cleanliness and freshness despite evidence linking some products to adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Black women have historically been disproportionately targeted by FHP marketing and use certain products at higher rates, raising concerns about the intersection of vaginal hygiene practices, health inequities, and structural stigma. This review synthesizes historical, public health, clinical, and sociocultural scholarship on FHPs and Black women's reproductive health, with particular attention to the role of racialized marketing, cultural norms surrounding vaginal hygiene, and patient-provider communication. The literature suggests that FHP use cannot be understood solely as an individual health behavior but must be situated within broader historical, social, and structural contexts that shape health beliefs and practices. Greater attention to culturally responsive healthcare communication, evidence-based patient education, and regulatory oversight is needed to support vaginal health and reduce reproductive health inequities among Black women.