This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
You are already most likely aware of toxins in your food and environment. You know of the burden our bodies bear each day trying to eliminate these toxins and how by eating more organic foods and using non-toxic household cleaning products, etc that you make this process easier on your body. And you might even be using some natural beauty alternatives like the ones I show you how to make. But have you ever thought about those tampons you use each month?
To be honest, this was something I hadn't even given an iota of thought to until I read about it in some blog post a few years ago. Then it hit me with a sickening feeling that here I thought I was being all clean and helping my body to heal by eating so well. Yet each month I was potentially causing my body to work a lot harder to heal than I thought.
This is why tampons can be troublesome: our vaginal walls are highly permeable which means anything we put in it can be absorbed through the mucus membrane directly into our bloodstream. This can be a good thing if you have to get medicine in, but can be a negative thing if you put something bad in. And unfortunately, 90% of the non-organic cotton in the US is contaminated with glysophate (also known as the dreaded Round-up). So that means if you use most of the normal brands you can find in any drug store, Target, Wal-mart, etc, you are probably subjecting yourself to chronic exposure to a chemical that raises your risk for cancer, reproductive issues, neurological issues, and immune system issues. Add to that other chemicals, fragrances, bleaches, and odor neutralizers that the companies don't even have to disclose.
If you are avoiding eating conventional pesticide-laden food and spraying your weeds but yet using half a box of tampons, well, you get the picture, right? Using one every so often is most likely fine, but if you use a bunch each month, that's repeated exposure that just adds to the toxic burden your body already faces.
So what are your alternatives? There are a number of organic tampons on the market, so you could always switch to those, or you could use organic or cloth pads. But honestly, I have totally fallen in love with a completely different option, which is the menstrual cup. This is a reusable silicone cup that you insert in your vagina and it collects the blood until you empty it (which for some of you can be all day). Trust me, I was completely skeptical at first, but one reason I tried it was because I get pretty heavy periods and I needed something that worked better than tampons (besides the whole pesticide/chemical thing). Plus I was looking for a more eco-friendly, sustainable alternative than throwing out a number of tampons each month, but the idea of wearing cloth pads just wasn't my cup of tea. I tried out a number of brands of menstrual cups but the Lunette cups are my absolute favorite.
These colorful cups are reuseable, inexpensive if you compare the price to what you'd spend for the equivalent amount of tampons you'd use (they say these should last several years), only cost around $40 USD, and don't contain any BPA, phthalates, or heavy metals. They do have a bit of a learning curve to get them to sit correctly inside of you, and to be honest it took me a few cycles to get it where I felt 100% confident every single time I wore them that it was sealed, but now that I have it down I wish I had had these freakin things since day 1 back in high school. You only need one, so it's definitely not a big investment.
Depending on your flow, you can wear these all day long without removing them. I personally am a “lucky” one who has to remove it a lot (yay for heavy periods) but it's really no big deal. I was a bit afraid that it would be a movie murder-scene every time I removed it but it's not too messy. I like too that I can wear them overnight without worrying about the dreaded toxic shock that tampons can cause when you wear them longer than 8 hours. (wow, I sure am down on tampons, aren't I? Don't mean to sound that against them, I just wish I had known about other options like cups earlier).
I reached out to the people at Lunette to see if they'd be willing to do a giveaway and they were more than happy to – so for a chance to win your choice of cup AND a bottle of their cup wash, enter below! If you are like me and never win anything, you can just buy one – Model 1 is for light-med flow or for those who have not yet had intercourse and Model 2 is for med-heavy flow or for those who have been pregnant before. At just $43 for the cup and some cleansing wipes it's a great deal for the peace of mind that you aren't putting toxic things in your body AND are helping out the environment (and your wallet).
I also want to note that other than the affiliate links above and giveaway below, I was not compensated in any way to do this post. I just felt this was one of those things I owed the world to share about since I love my Lunette cups so much. Rarely do I find something that has changed my life so much for the better, and this is just one of those things….
Giveaway ends Friday March 11th at 11:59 pm MST. US or Canadian Residents only. Enter the giveaway here:
This post includes affiliate links. This means I might receive a small amount of compensation if you purchase something through one of the links. This does not mean the price will be any greater for you, in fact, I might be able to negotiate even better prices and discounts for you. The compensation I receive helps me pay for the cost of running this blog and bringing you all of this free information. Thanks in advance for supporting me!
