Let’s Talk About: Feminine Hygiene

The Tipping Point

Ladies, we’ve all been there. Digging through our usual emergency stash locations for a tampon because the regular stock is out. Well, recently on a chilly December morning, I was in this exact predicament. I checked my purse, car, field work backpack, camping backpack, under the bathroom sink, and could not find a tampon to spare. At 6:45 in the morning, I couldn’t even run to the store to grab a small box. I had to wait until 8am for Walgreens to open. 

I thought, this isn’t the first time this has happened, so while I’m completely out of tampons then today is the day. Today is the day I’m finally going to try the menstrual cup.

Why The Cup? And What Took Me So Long?

Waste

I have been a tampon user since about the age of 13 years young. It’s fairly common for a girl first starting her period to use pads, then to transition to tampons as she becomes more comfortable and familiar with her cycle. According to Statista, 34.1 million women in the U.S. used tampons in 2020.On average, women use 240 tampons per year, approximately 9,600 over the course of the average menstruating lifetime. Plus when you factor in all of the toilet paper wrapped around pads and tampons when thrown away, that’s a lot of material going into our waste stream. As someone who’s environmentally minded, I thought switching to the cup would be an easy way for me to reduce my impact. 

Dogs

Another reason for wanting to make the change is my dogs. In the past year, my dog Scout has helped himself to the bathroom trash and consumed two tampons. Any woman who has dogs has probably experienced this at least once before, or maybe a dog smelling or trying to eat her dirty underwear, it’s what they are drawn to! Well because tampons can expand, the threat of blockage in the dogs is a very real concern, luckily with used tampons it’s less likely. But you’re still out there scanning their poop afterwards to make sure it comes out. And if it doesn’t, it can be life threatening to your dog, and result in a costly surgery you might not have planned on.

Cost and Intimidation Factor

I’ve been considering using a menstrual cup for a few years now, probably two, but I’ve pushed it off. Mainly because of the intimidation factor, how to properly use it, what if it leaks, etc. And also, while of course the cumulative cost of buying tampons is much higher than the one time purchase of a menstrual cup every few years, it was always easier for me to justify the $7 box of tampons I needed to last me the whole month than spending $40 on a cup I was afraid to try. 

But ultimately, I was afraid to use tampons for the first time too! And girls our age weren’t talking about it, and social media wasn’t really as prevalent back then nor as resourceful as it is now. So if 13 year old me could figure out how to use a tampon from the diagram in the octuple folded instruction sheet, then 26 year old me could conquer the menstrual cup. 

An Honest Review From a First Time Menstrual Cup User

The instructions on my generic brand, drug store menstrual cup were no more advanced than the ones on the tampon insert from when I was 13. But I’ve seen enough instagram posts from down to earth influencers that show, not in real use of course, the basics on how it works. Fold flat, then in half, and insert. You do have to get up in there with your fingers more so than a tampon so be prepared for that. 

Not going to lie, I had the darndest time telling at first if it had expanded properly. I’d heard that giving the cup a little twist after inserting it can help it expand fully and seal, but it doesn’t twist as easily as I thought. I gave it a little tug to see if there was a vacuum, meaning it had properly expanded and sealed, and it seemed fine. I needed to shower anyway so after inserting the cup I hopped in and by the time I finished my shower, I could barely notice the cup. 

After 24 hours, I was sold, a complete convert! The fear of toxic shock syndrome was gone, I could go up to 12 hours without having to take it out (which proved helpful while out at dinner that night) and after a few times taking it out and reinserting I was able to more quickly recognize if it was properly set. 

So if you’re like me and have been on the fence about giving the cup a try, this is your sign!

Avoid, Minimize, and Mitigate

As mentioned above, there can be a lot of waste associated with your cycle. That said, it’s hard enough being a woman on her period, the last thing we need to do is shame others for choices they make regarding their own bodies. Shaming and bullying isn’t acceptable in my world, even if you claim it’s for sustainability and the environment. 

But if you’re open to trying something new to reduce your impact, a helpful way to evaluate your choices is to run them through the avoid, minimize, mitigate sequences. It’s like the reduce, reuse, and recycle mantra that we use in the regulatory and permitting world. So let’s go through this with the various menstruation options we’ve talked about so far.

1. Avoid

You can actually avoid a period. While I didn’t talk about it in this post, there are several birth control options that have the ability in some women to either eliminate periods or cause them to be less frequent. (Disclaimer, for the sake of this discussion I’m saying period to refer to the bleeding part of a woman’s cycle, also called menstruation). For example, when I had the arm implant for 9 months, I only had a period for the first two months then stopped having periods until it was removed. Additionally, when on the pill you can skip the sugar pill week and move right into the next pack to skip your period. Always talk to your doctor before starting any birth control to figure out what’s right for you and become educated on any associated risks or side effects. 

Choosing Different Products. If skipping your period all together isn’t for you, there are ways you can avoid creating waste from your period. The menstrual cup is the option that results in the least amount of waste because it’s a reusable product that you wash in between uses and boil to sanitize between periods. With the proper fitting cup, there is no leaking so no need for panty liners. Additionally, period underwear are also a great menstruation product to eliminate waste as they are reusable, but from what I’ve read in reviews, most women use them in combination with some other product like tampons throughout their period. 

2. Minimize

If you’ve decided the menstrual cup isn’t the right option for you, or you’re not ready to give it a try just yet, no worries! There’s other ways to minimize the impact from your period.

Product Quality. As science emerges and consumers become more demanding for corporate transparency, we now realize how harmful menstrual products can be, particularly tampons. There’s no regulations that require companies to disclose the ingredients in a tampon, and they have been found to contain harmful chemicals. Additionally, as they are made of cotton, tampons require a lot of water for production. Choosing organic tampons is a safer choice for the user and for the environment by excluding harmful chemicals from the product and supporting more sustainable farming practices. 

3. Mitigate

Growing up I only saw commercials for one period product, playtex. It was either playtex tampons or generic tampons. But now with social media and increasing consumer demand for diversity, there are so many more companies offering menstrual products. Purchasing power allows us as customers to support and elevate businesses that share our values, like sustainability and humanitarian efforts. Companies like Lunette, OrganiCup, DivaCup, Lola, and many others donate period products to those who can’t afford them both domestically and abroad. Whether you’re sticking to tampons or willing to try the cup, you can make a change to support a business that gives back. 

Closing Thoughts

I absolutely plan to continue using the menstrual cup, I’m so happy I ran out of tampons on that cold morning to finally give me the push I needed! That said, I also plan to continue buying organic tampons for emergency situations, backup, and for my female friends that come to visit who might need them. I hope you found this blog post helpful and informative, if you did, please share it with your friends!