I'm probably going to do a more detailed video on this in the future but I think it's so important to spread the knowledge of healthy and organic products when we're talking feminine care/hygiene products.
For years, like many women who didn't know better, I've been using brands like Always, Kotex, Bodyform etc and had no idea the types of processes these products go through when being made as well as the materials used to create them. I just never bothered to check or do my research, I think part of me assumed that these big brands had women's best interest at heart, in terms of our health but boy was I wrong. Some of the chemicals used in pads and tampon are setting us up for all kinds of disorders, imbalances and even cancer!
Ladies, we have to take this seriously.
When you take into account the bleach used in cotton for tampons and pads (dioxins) as well as the fact that the mucus membranes in our vaginas easily absorb pretty much anything which will ultimately enter the bloodstream, it's really alarming that not much is being said about these dangers! I mean, are they even teaching this in schools?! They definitely weren't when I was in school and I went to an all girls school. Shameful.
This Q&A with Dr. Maggie New definitely goes into much more detail about all of this. But I believe in sharing knowledge whenever I can.
Although our tendency is to walk into a store and go for the brands we know and are accustomed to straight away, when it comes to health, particularly feminine health I think now more than ever we should be reading ingredients, researching terms we don't know and their potential health risks.
All of this was inspired by wanting to make more of a cognitive effort to ensure that I am enlightened (almost to the point of being hyperaware) in my consumptions, intake and energy -especially as I ascend to my thirties.
I was at Walmart recently looking for pads and spent about 5-7 minutes going through the shelves and only seeing those same brands I mentioned before, somewhat losing hope in finding something new and then suddenly, I look up in the left hand corner and spot this...
I had never heard of this brand before but after reading the back of the box I was really intrigued and it definitely helps that they use ORGANIC cotton and that they are same price (maybe even cheaper in some cases) as some of the leading brands. So, no excuses, girl!
Check out more health conscious brands below, and a lot of them have great initiatives that support other women around the world, as well as the environment:
Just period.
Seventh Generation
L.
LOLA
The Honey Pot Company
Rael
TOTM (UK-based)
Honest
Femly
Kind Organic (UK-based)
OHNE (Tampons only and UK-based)
More brands here: Cosmopolitan
Check out this article on how feminine care/hygiene brands are changing the game: How New Affordable Feminine Care Brands Are Revolutionizing the Industry
We owe it to ourselves and our futures to live better and educate our young girls about how to do so as well.