By Hi everyone! I’ll start this by saying, if you are a guy, I would flip to the next post. Unfortunately I don’t think this will be the right content for you. Going full-on girls club here.
I think every gal has at least once thought about how much waste tampons and pads accumulate. And it sucks that to be a girl – we have to be a culprit of this!
In addition to how much waste I’m producing during my time of month, I also started looking at the ingredients in my tampons. “WTF is polyethylene?!” Should I be buying organic cotton vs. regular cotton?
My friend Katie and I were chatting over Instagram about our feminine care. Yep, we’re talking tampons, menstrual cups, the whole shebang. She started to use a cup eliminating all waste associated with getting your period. I wanted to know – how was it really going?
Sometimes I hate reading for a long time (especially looking for recipes and they write paragraphs before getting to the directions…) Out of all of my research, I found these to be the most surprising.
- Cardboard tampon applicators are often recyclable, plastic applicators are not.
- Apparently using a cup has been life changing and peer sustennials say that it’s “changed their life!”
- Organic cotton uses 71% less water and 62% less energy than conventional cotton.
Information from the video below.
What is the difference between organic and regular cotton?
What is a typical tampon actually made of?
What are my sustainable feminine care options?
How much can I save by incorporating zero-waste care?
Which zero-waste brands would we recommend?
Katie explains in the video below that her experience so far using the Saalt cup as a zero waste option. She said the company did an awesome job teaching her how to use it via packaging instructions and videos on their website. She ordered it online for $29 and even received 10% off her order using the email promo listed here from their site.
How To Buy: Saalt.com
We haven’t tried these Thinx period underwear yet but we love the idea for the end of your flow when it’s super light. Think about how much cotton is wasted toward the end having to replace your tampon every couple of hours to avoid TSS risks? While not much is being absorbed? The Thinx website in general has so many great resources for women and education on a wide array of feminine topics.
If you’re wondering, it’s exactly as it looks. This zero-waste period underwear technology totally absorbs your period. And you can easily wash them.
How To Buy: Thinx.com
These reusable pads from Rael are organic cotton and are machine washable.
How To Buy: Rael
What about period pain?
We figured period pain also buckets under “feminine care.” It comes alongside of it, right? I stopped taking birth control a little over a year ago due to some symptoms including anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, etc. Plain and simple, I wasn’t feeling myself.
All of those symptoms are now gone (thank goodness) however my real period came back. Did you know it’s actually a “fake” period on birth control? If you’re interested in that topic, or feel you have symptoms that are making you beside yourself, check out the book “Beyond The Pill.”
So here I am now with unfortunate, debilitating pain when it’s my time of month. It sucks. Only extreme in the first couple of hours of getting it. I’ve been in search of pain relief and while I think Ibuprofen is super effective, I’ve learned that it’s not the best for your gut. Which can impact your mood, and trigger so many other things.
I was REALLY excited to find this plant-based, all natural period pain relief supplement from Semaine Health. Their supplement holds 9 super-powered plant extracts and minerals that lower the inflammation in your body when you need it the most. Without any synthetic fillers.
Use CHRISTINASEMAINE for 40% off your first bottle!
How To Buy: Semaine Health
That’s a wrap! I hope these resources allow for a more educated decision when you think about the sustainable feminine care plan for you. I say this in the video below – but it’s a total journey for yourself! No need for any extreme limits or harsh barriers for yourself. For me, I now bought a Saalt cup and I LOVE IT.
Huge thank you to Katie Grilli for joining me in celebrating sustainable feminine care!
Cup Love
Since posting this on Instagram yesterday, I’ve gotten some true love for the cup. I wanted to share so you can hear from even more girls (in addition to Katie) on how happy they are that they made the switch.
Here’s a chat about the above with my great friend, Katie Grilli. iMovie cut my head off for some reason in this 🙁
Tampon Ingredients 5:30 Pad Ingredients 9:30 Sustainable Options List 11:10 Cost Breakdown 14:50 Cup Recommendation 18:10 Period Underwear Recommendation 29:20 Reusable Pad Brand Recommendation 31:18 Semaine Health Plant-Based Period Pain Relief Recommendation 32:00 Cup pH Balance Explanation 37:45
Last but not least, here are all of the sources for the information above.
