be kinder to your vagina

Every time you use conventionally made tampons, you are potentially inserting a whole cocktail of dangerous chemicals into your vagina from; bleach (that give most tampons that glistening white glow), pesticides, GMO’s, viscose, to rayon. Given that your vagina is the most absorbent part of your body – this should be a cause for concern for every woman who cares about her health and future fertility, globally.

What Can All These Undisclosed Ingredients Do To Your Vagina?

Sanitary towel users are not exempt from the issues surrounding toxic chemicals either, as many of the same chemicals are also used to manufacture regular sanitary towels, which can still be absorbed by your vagina. As the same bleach that is used on tampons is also used on sanitary towels too, which can as with tampons, create toxic dioxin and other disinfection-by-products (DBPs) that according to Dr. Mercolamay be linked to;

  • abnormal tissue growth in the abdomen and reproductive organs,
  • immune suppression and
  • hormonal and endocrine disruption.

For those not sure whether these chemicals are ever really an issue, here is a powerful graphic provided by Time Of The Month organic sanitary towel and tampon providers, demonstrating quite clearly how high street brands shed inside us compared to their own organic chemical-free tampons:

TOTM tampon shedding in vagina

The reason companies have been getting away with not needing to disclose the ingredients used in making female sanitary towel and tampons for all these years, is because in the EU female sanitary products are regarded as needed for ‘cosmetic use’ and so little regulation or disclosure is deemed necessary for this category of goods. When women’s sanitary products should really be classified under ‘medical devices‘, as items that fall under this label are subjected to stricter regulations and are deemed vital for a person.

But don’t wait for the EU to change it’s stance and to understand that women need sanitary wear for more than cosmetic reasons, my best advice in the short term to protect your lady bits from the damage that these dangerous chemicals can do (and to ensure you stay fertile), is to switch to certified organic sanitary towels and tampons. As then you know nothing artificial or toxic is used during manufacturing as it is prohibited by the companies that certify such products as organic, which in this case for TOTM products is GOTS.

TOTM – Delivering Vagina Friendly Sanitary Options Conveniently & Discreetly

I have been using the same brand of organic sanitary pads for almost 8 years, so it was great to get to sample a new range from TOTM. What caught my attention about this specific company is that they were very active and passionate about spreading the message of ‘being kinder to your vagina’ and that we all become #periodpioneers. I think one way we could further their message is to tell a friend about the importance of using healthy sanitary towels and tampons. This could be guy friends and girl friends as all can help spread this important message to one another.

From the TOTM range, I sampled the day and night organic sanitary pads and their super non-applicator tampons as well as their super applicator tampons, and was really happy with how all of them performed. No leaks, no fragrance to irritate my lady bits, and extremely comfortable!

I also really liked their subscription service. As when life is so busy you can often forget to get your monthly sanitary items in time for the big event. So with Time of The Month you can sign up to their uber convenient subscription service that will ensure your chosen sanitary items are delivered on the same day of each month. Also, delivery is free for UK residents that order 2 or more products. You can also change your order before it arrives at any point, and also cancel at any point. Making it much easier to not get caught out without healthy sanitary tampons and pads.

They also deliver your organic sanitary items in a discreet way, leaving no one knowing mother nature has delivered your monthly ‘gift’, and removing the need for others to feel they need to be on guard in your presence. Or is that just me that becomes a hormonal roller-coaster when I have my period?! 🙂 haha.

You can also take being discreet one step further with TOTM by buying their neat little organic cotton zip bag to store your sanitary tampons and pads in to keep them clean in your handbag and to help when you need to nip to the toilet to change yourself if you work in a busy open office.

TOTM – Doing Good For The Planet As Well As Your Vagina

TOTM the brand your vagina would choose

Choosing to support organic in all forms, and not just food, is the smartest thing we can do for the planet and is a way of securing a healthy planet for our children and their children. And by supporting organic sanitary tampons and towels is another step you are doing in ensuring this happens. As we all vote with our money, with every single purchase we make in fact.

  • Did you know? Regular cotton crops, that make up many regular tampons and pads, is actually considered the worlds dirtiest crop due to it’s heavy use of pesticides. This is not only bad for the planet, but also immediately detrimental to the health of the workers on these farms that inhale these chemicals daily.
  • Did you know? Also, that to make one regular sanitary pad, up to 4 plastic bags worth of plastic is used? There is just no need for more plastic to end up in landfill, when better plastic-free sanitary pads are available from companies like Time Of The Month.

At present, the wrappers of the applicator tampons are made from paper making them better for the planet as they can be recycled, but the wrappers of the non-applicator tampons and the pads are not currently biodegradable because of the technical specifications required.  Nevertheless, TOTM have stated;

“Our products are 95% biodegradable (across the range) and are significantly more environmentally responsible than our mainstream competitors.  We do all we can to ensure as little environmental impact as possible and we work with our suppliers to improve things wherever possible.  For example, whilst compact applicator tampons are proving extremely popular we have resisted the temptation to offer them because of the waste that plastic applicators represent – we are, however, looking to develop bio-plastic applicators and hope to have good news on this soon.”

But given they are so much healthier in many ways than leading brands, I can’t stress how much good you will do for your health by switching to organic chemical-free sanitary wear. As your lady bits don’t need no toxins! And to address the many women who might be saying that that the TOTM products are slightly more expensive than what they are used to paying,  here is my present stance on this.

In the long run you will be paying with compromised health if you don’t invest in organic sanitary wear products. As the chemicals they apply to regular sanitary pads and tampons have already been proven to be dangerous to health and are labelled as toxic if you were to buy them off the shelf alone. So, I hope you can see switching over to organic sanitary tampons and pads as an investment for good health. To then address the increase in costs, why not instead just work at removing one habit that is costly to your pocket and health – like say the daily sugary chocolate bar, crisps or coffee you buy?

As there are always ways around these supposed ‘issues’ in my opinion. But it also depends on what is important to you, and hopefully this blog post has helped you to question what is important to you when it comes to the sanitary products you currently buy. As for me personally speaking, my health will not be compromised by people who haven’t adequately tested their products and who do not choose to inform the public of what truly was used to make their products, as is the case with many leading manufacturers of female sanitary towels and tampons.

*This is a sponsored post

Written by: Amy Morris Head Natural Nutritionist and Founder of Great Health Naturally.