WTF is in my tampon?

I didn’t get my period until I was nineteen, yes, you read that right, nineteen. I will address that in another journal entry, but because I was on the older side, I initially thought about what was really in my tampons.

I never bought the scented kind, because I didn’t think that seemed very natural (remember I grew up in a household that was super health conscious, my mom even had me in cloth diapers in the eighties, which was unheard of). Thank you, Linda.

Anyways, it wasn’t until the last few years, that I really decided to dive into it more. A conversation sparked last week when Cameron (Freckled Foodie) and I were cleaning out her products, so I thought I’d address it here, as well.

The color white has been associated with clean, and therefore, many of our products are dyed white, but with that comes…chemicals and toxins.

As Cameron and I went through some of her items, we got to talking about cotton, and the chemicals that go into products we use everyday.

Paper Towels

Toilet Paper

Cotton Balls

q-tips

Pads…and most importantly, tampons.

Over 90% of the cotton made in the United States contains glyphosate, which is an herbicide that is used to kill weeds…therefore, cotton that isn’t organic most likely contains traces of glyphosate. Glyphosate is toxic to our body because it’s considered a carcinogenic.

Dioxin is another chemical that is used to bleach the products and it’s considered one of the most dangerous chemicals (even in extremely small amounts).

Something else to consider is that the plastic applicators also contain toxins such as BPA, which are harmful to our health, as well.

The vaginal walls are like a sponge, and absorb anything we put inside of them, and that then goes directly into our bloodstream. These toxins have been linked to infertility, endometriosis, thyroid issues, and can disrupt hormones. If your only option is to grab a mainstream tampon, don’t fret, but if you can switch over to organic tampons to use consistently, I would definitely recommend it!

Two brands I trust are Cora and Lola and the other alternative is using a menstral cup like the Ruby Cup

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions!

x - Lauren

Sources:

The Toxin Solution by Joseph Pizzorno

Goop