Ladies! As you know, having your period can not only be a horribly uncomfortable time. Sadly, with many of the products that are on the market, managing your period needs can also be very expensive, bad for your long-term health, and bad for the environment. In this article, I’m going to give you the rationale behind why I chose to find alternative products for my feminine hygiene and tell you about three of my favorites.

Protect Your Bank

According to Pandia Health:

• Tampons. If one tampon is used every 6 hours and 4 tampons are used every day, we are looking at 20 tampons for every 5-day menstrual cycle totaling 9,120 tampons in your life. If one box costs $7, and there are 36 tampons per box, the cost for a lifetime equals $1,773.33. Don’t even get us started on the cost of the pricier Organic tampons…
• Panty liners have been estimated to average $443.33 per lifetime (5 panty liner per cycle, with each box of 36 costing $7).
• Ruined panties. Nearly all women leak during periods, sometimes causing permanent stains on underwear. If one ruined period panty costs $5, that equals $2,280 for 456 periods.

Protect Your Health

“The vagina is a highly permeable space: Anything we put inside can easily be absorbed through the mucus membrane and then into our bloodstream where it may present a toxic burden to the body. Chronic exposure increases our risk of cancer, causes oxidative stress and metabolic changes, and disrupts our endocrine system.” 

Maggie Ney, N.D via Goop

Another issue is that many of those products are loaded with toxins that can make our menstrual symptoms worse, wreck havoc on our hormones, and make us more susceptible to reproductive diseases like cervical cancer.

Protect the Environment

Being an environmentalist and a health nut, I had to do something about these period products I had been using. I just ordered June for the first time and I love it. I haven’t tried any other brands before.I ordered a small since I’ve never had a vaginal birth and it’s perfect. I normally use Super Plus tampons and I am shocked that I can keep this in for the entire day without needing to empty it. My flow is super heavy. I can’t believe how many hours it last.

June Cup

Surprisingly, using the June cup is super easy. I didn’t have any issues getting it in. I was a bit squeamish at first but I got it on the first go. I was actually shocked at how easy it was because I never used a diaphragm and this was a totally new experience for me. I wish I had tried this years ago. It would have made all my traveling much easier. 

Thinx

Recently, on the advice of a friend, I also started using Thinx period panties. I used them a backup method to the cup on my heavier days and on my lighter days by themselves. I have also used them by themselves during times when I knew I might not be able to change the cup in a sanitary environment. With my heavy flow, they last about 8 hours and they don’t feel wet against my skin at all. The best part is, no smell.

Use my referral code Diane753 to get $10 off your Thinx order!

However, if you’re not ready to switch to June or Thinx, Lola is a great option for sustainable feminine products. According to Tax Free Period, a person may use as many as 16,000 tampons in a lifetime. Each year in the U.S. alone, approximately 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons end up in landfills, where plastic applicators can take centuries to biodegrade. Our bodies and the earth deserve better.

With the cup and the Thinx panties, I have saved so much money because these are washable reusable items that I will not have to replace for a very long time.

LOLA

One more thing that keeps my life a little more stress-free is my LOLA subscription! I’ve had this subscription since last year and I love it. At the beginning of COVID, I hadn’t tried June or Thinx yet and was still solely using tampons and the occasional maxi pad. Periods don’t stop for pandemics so it was great to have one less thing to worry about. I pay $9 for this custom box of 18. I get super and super plus cause that’s my life. 🤣

They’re made from 100% organic cotton too!!! 💯 LOLA is a socially conscious company that advocates for women, especially against the period tax. ✊🏾

I try to buy environmentally friendly products 99% of the time so I get non-applicator tampons. Plus, I travel a lot when there’s no corona so I have always prefered the compact size. You can get them with applicators if you want though.

They also have pads and other feminine products like lube, condoms, wipes, you name it. Which is great for me because I don’t think I’ll be needing many tampons or pads going forward.

I hope these thee things help you achieve menstrual liberation and help you save a few coins. Let me know what you think in the comments if you try any of these.

Peace and Love!