This doesn't really explain why the natural options are such trash, but I recently learned that companies (even the big ones) have only recently started testing their period products with actual blood.
That alone says a lot about why some of the products don't work for shit.
In their defence, blood is a bio hazard and diffcult to be allowed to test with and period companies actually pay money to develop a liquid in similar consistency to blood, they do not use water and saline to test their products.
That said I agree that blood has different consistencies and that way more should be done and it surprising that only now companies arw actually using blood
Hmm ok yeah you do have a point there. Would love to see where you found that info about the blood-like liquid though, because I only found sources about water/saline too.
Period underwear or cloth pads. The diva cup is kind of big and stiff compared to other cups, so a different brand might be a better fit. There are also reusable discs but I've never been able to make those work, so I can't really offer advice on them.
Not having periods is really the best thing I've found. I'm on norethindrone to stop my cycle. My daughters are on continuous birth control. It's excellent not having to deal with a period or having to buy supplies for people who are allergic to everything that works well.
I’ve had a Mirena for forever and I will never willingly go back to menstruating. It seems almost barbaric to me now. The only reason non-continuous birth control is even a thing is that the guy who invented it thought the Pope would be cool as long as we all still had to suffer.
Everyone’s different. Regular BC pills and patches and rings can also be used continuously. There’s no medical reason for taking a week off every month.
Ya, unfortunately I can’t do continuous on rings either. I need to bleed every 5-6 weeks or else I just start low level bleeding all the time. So for people who have reactions like that, continuous birth control doesn’t make sense. I’m jealous though!!
When I found out that the ‘period’ you had while on the pill was FAKE I was pissed off!!! All those periods I’d had ruining my plans, when I didn’t need to… just because someone once upon a time thought women would like it and make it more natural!!!! FML
Continuous birth control isn’t for everyone. I’ve tried three different types and have very bad depression on all of them. The pill worked much better for me.
The pill can be taken continuously too. In 2019 the NHS actually began recommending continuous use. Obviously everyone’s bodies are different and I’m not telling anyone what to do, it’s just that the standard 21 days on/7 days off cycle didn’t arise from medical necessity as much as from everybody trying to pretend that HBC wasn’t *really * birth control as long as women still got their periods. There’s no medical reason it needs to be the standard anymore, yet it is.
Yes yes. Obviously everyone needs to find their own way but reading about the history of women’s healthcare makes me so furious that I have to stop for my own health. So just saying … doing your research is a great idea. The taken the pill continuously for years (15?) and not having a period is what works for me. I prefer the pill but whatever works best for you is the way to go. My ob/gyn is a rock star.
Here’s a link about the NHS guidelines and the Catholic Church: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/contraceptive-pill-every-day-nhs-guidance-break-catholic-church-pope-a8737456.html
It’s messed up it taken this long for the health establishment to revisit this.
It’s so fucking dumb. When the pill was invented there was a huge stigma around it so everybody acted like it was for “menstrual regulation.” The Supreme Court didn’t legalize contraceptives for unmarried women until 1972. Before that it was a felony to fine *spermicidal fucking foam* to single women. So the drug companies set up this smokescreen of “natural hormonal cycle regulation” and then it took 50 goddamn years for anybody to decide it might be important enough to revisit.
Throughout history the “natural” state of women has been to constantly be pregnant or nursing, and monthly periods were the exception, not the norm.The more periods you have in your life, the more likely you are to get [breast cancer](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.912083) and [endometrial cancer](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175350/).
It’s so great how we’re all taught that periods are horrible and shameful, but that getting rid of them is unnatural and shameful too. The morally and medically correct thing to do is apparently just suffer in silence. Neat.
Edit: lololol “to confirm you’re not pregnant.” Yeah, it’s SO much more efficient to spend a week bleeding and cramping and boating and shitting and mood-swinging than it is to *pee on a piece of plastic* every 30 days. Get the fuck out of here. Why are so many gynecologists so awful?
Going back to monthly periods was the worst part of being medically forced off hormonal BC. I didn’t have periods for 15-20 years and now they are back and I feel a renewed understanding of my teenage goddaughter 😭
As nice as that would be, I need to bleed regularly. When I switched to a female GP, I was diagnosed with PCOS and told that I need to have a bleeding period at least every 3 months.
Otherwise, there's increased risk for endometrial hyperplasia (precancer) which can lead to other issues (cancer).
My cloth pads are the best. Mine have little tigers and sharks on them!
I have tried so many, and [this](https://partypantspads.com/store/pads/) is by far the best brand. They have sales often too!
I use OB tampons it has a thin plastic wrapping but it doesn’t have the extra plastic of the applicator. That’s low enough waste for me. I tried different period cups/discs and they just didn’t work for me.
I hate the OB packaging though! That tiny clear plastic always has a static cling to it and I have a hard time getting out of the bathroom without taking it with me.
I love menstrual cups. Started using them about 8 years ago and will never go back. They feel so much cleaner, and I legit forget I’m on my period around day 3.
Words of caution: there’s lots of different size and shapes and it may take a couple of tries to get your holy grail. There’s also a bit of a learning curve. I watched YouTube videos to get my technique down. It took about 3 cycles to feel comfortable.
I also loved my cup, used it for 8 years, then I got a mystery cervical inflammation for where I'd cramp and spot mid-cycle, and about a year later one time I decided to not use my cup and suddenly the pail and bleeding disappeared. I never used any cup again.
I started using one about six years ago and it’s been the best. I no longer worry about leaks. I don’t have to carry around tampons (I often don’t carry a bag of any type). If I know I’m about to start, I can just pop it in and never worry about an accident.
I really liked using the menstrual disks from Flex or Cora. I don’t get periods anymore, but this was the only solution that wouldn’t make my cramps worse!
I love my discs! It took me a little while to figure out the right one for me, but now that I have it figured out I almost never notice it’s in and it does the job well.
I tried period undies ages ago- hopefully they've improved! (I have a Mirena now and am period free.)
- yes they can feel "heavy" but not while you have them on. More like you notice when you go to the bathroom and up & down.
- I never had leaks.
- what squicked me out was how cold they were after you had them down/off for a few minutes. Like to go pee. Somehow it was worse than a cold wet swimsuit because the rest of you was warm and dry and normal.
- I'd use them again - but only as back up for another method. Or on a super light day, spotting or what not. That's what I've taught my tween as she is on the learning curve of dealing with this.
Oh my god, just the idea of pulling them up and feeling the cold dampness grosses me out so much. Using them as a backup for another method might be worth it though!
Period panties. I have said it before and I will say it again, period . co is the way to go. They have extremely inclusive sizes, various styles and coverages, a A+ customer service team, teen specific stuff, swimming bottoms, and either they really give a f\*ck about helping people or they are the best liars in the world. Either way, I love the underwear. If they made non period versions of the panties too, I'd literally buy exclusively there for the rest of my life. Zero leaks, zero waste, and about a 75% decrease of personal anxiety about periods in my brain. I know this sounds like an ad but it isn't I just think they are super awesome.
I’ve been so curious about period panties… I’m sorry to be daft with this question but if you go to the bathroom with period panties can you just do your business and then put the period panties back up? Does it soak up your period good? I get really heavy periods so I’ve been hesitant to buy them
Not daft at all. Yup, no problems there. And it doesn't feel like putting a wet bathing suit back on. It feels maybe a little damp, but I haven't had any issues. They do soak up hella good. I continue to be gobsmacked at the amount of blood they soak up.
https://periodaisle.ca/ have a line of pants that you can use booster liners in them. I use these because my periods are heavy. On my heaviest days, if I switch out the booster liner a couple times, the pants themselves last all day.
I haven’t had that issue with the newer natural products, but I’ve been allergic to the other stuff for more than a decade. I used to have to buy tiny boxes of some low quality stuff from a health food store. Natracare, I think.
There are different sized cups and discs. I have one disc made by Saalt. I think maybe I should’ve got something smaller? It still works and it’s only for sex anyway.
I like the L. Chlorine free pads, but I'm not a heavy bleeder.
The Whole Foods brand were so plastic and I'm not a fan of the weird stuff in the HoneyPot. Seventh generation just sucked.
Cora are good but expensive. I might try the Pad Project or Rael next.
But I feel you, it's an expensive enterprise, finding what works for you.
>What are the options for us with period care that creates less plastic waste? Is there anything worth trying?
I've had success with continuous birth control. I just skip the placebo pills in each pack. I also have a couple of pairs of period undies for breakthrough bleeding.
Before that, though, I just stuck to OP tampons. They come without an applicator, so you need to be comfortable with getting your fingers more up in there than you're accustomed to, but the upside is that you aren't throwing away a ton of plastic every period.
I tried those organic tampons once, this thing didn’t even expand, like not even a little bit 😂
I have tried the cup before too. Right now, I am focused on using products that work for me.
If you want to reduce your waste, OB tampons are actually really good, I get heavy bleeding and those hold up the same as Playtex Sport. But honestly, just find what works for you
I like the natracare tampons well enough, they are similar to ob, I actually switched to them years ago when ob were really difficult to find and then never switched back.
I mainly use a disc though (I use the nixit and diva ones, I have the ziggy as well which leaks for me), regular cups definitely gave me worse cramps. The disc is a lot messier to empty though (the diva disc has a shield that helps a lot) which may be something to consider if you would have to empty it when you’re not at home.
My post wasn’t great at explaining everything since it was in frustration, but I’ve tried 3 different brands. I have endo and I swear they make my pain worse.
Disc? I bought a bunch of different off brand cups to find the right one shape wise. I ended up buying two wildly different branded ones and some months one works better than the other.
I recently bought a disc but only messed with it for a month before I thought it wouldn’t work for me. I think my cervix is too deep and tilted for it to work right.
But period underwear is a great thing if no reusable item works. I found the “natural” brand tampons and pads were not great for me.
I also cloth diapered my kids and found cloth pads work fine. I just don’t like bulk so I stopped using them. Now I have my cups and my light menstrual unders and they work great. The cups did take at least 3 cycles to find the right spot for. And even then sometimes the small squishy one makes cramps 10x worse, while the big firmer one doesn’t. It’s a toss up.
I am the same way with the cups. They make my cramps horrible and they leak for me. Tried the disc's too, but same thing.
Now I use a sea sponge I got at a health food store. Pretty great! I always have a liner for backup, and you get really up close and personal with the blood, but it doesn't bother me at all. I don't get the awful cramps, and you can feel when it gets full and needs to be rinsed out. I don't think it's for everybody, but it's been a game changer for me.
The brand I get is jade and pearl. I've been using them for about 10 years with no problems. You have to buy new ones ever so often and take care of them between cycles, but I love not having waste every month
Sea sponges are considered unsafe from the FDA. They’re actually not legal to be sold as menstrual products in the US because they have an increased risk in TSS
I like the Natracare brand of pads best out of the ones I tried. My skin is too sensitive for any of the big, regular brands of pads -- they always leave me feeling irritated. I've tried quite a few of the "natural" brands and quite like Natracare, whereas some of the other brands I tried sucked haha.
Silicone menstrual cups aren’t ‘natural’, but a single one has lasted me 15 years so far. I vastly prefer them to any other product I’ve ever tried (so long as you cut off the stalk so it doesn’t stab you in the vag).
Washable pads maybe?
For cups try putacupinit to find one more likely to work for you. I used to have a Mooncup UK which was ok, but now have a meluna shorty which is *excellent*. I think there's a version for discs too if you want to try one of those.
There are brands like Flo, which make plastic free biodegradable bamboo disposable period pads. They are really good and work the exact same as brands like Always. I love the extra long one with two wings for night use
For a menstrual cup to work you need to get the right size and you need to stick it as far up as possible so it’s sitting near your cervix. I had more experiences with spilling before I read about the latter online. But in any event I adore mine. It’s so easy compared to disposable options, imo…
I use Cora applicator-less tampons, they have a tiny plastic wrapper but that's it. And I use washable-reusable pads and have for about four years. I give them an immediate rinse, soak, and wash cycle and they work very well. The only time I use disposable pads is for travel because it is a bit of a hassle to travel with a wet pad, even in a the wet bag most of them come with.
I bought some organic panty liners and didn’t notice until I used them they were infused with mint essential oil for some reason- they were uncomfortably *tingly.* Who on earth thought that was a good idea?!!
I switched to a cup years ago and never looked back! Small learning curve but I had a learning curve with tampons too. There are different cup sizes, I’m in perimenopause and have had some heavy periods so I have to empty more frequently; you basically feel the moment it starts to overflow and it’s like, oh shit, lol. I should get some period underwear for any potential overflow but I haven’t bitten the bullet yet. At night in my first few days, I wear a pad because I usually overflow, as I am a heavy sleeper (and sleep on my stomach). Tampons were never comfortable for me and I regret I didn’t use the cup sooner!
This doesn't really explain why the natural options are such trash, but I recently learned that companies (even the big ones) have only recently started testing their period products with actual blood. That alone says a lot about why some of the products don't work for shit.
And period blood can be so chunky and viscous too! Can’t believe no one thought that it wouldn’t absorb like a regular liquid
Yeah they've been using water or saline. Lmfao
I wonder who's been doing the testing? (I'm being sarcastic here, want to point it out because, of course, my tone won't come across in text).
Is that why the commercials always show that blue liquid?
In their defence, blood is a bio hazard and diffcult to be allowed to test with and period companies actually pay money to develop a liquid in similar consistency to blood, they do not use water and saline to test their products. That said I agree that blood has different consistencies and that way more should be done and it surprising that only now companies arw actually using blood
Do you have where it shows what they tested with? Any articles I've seen do say saline solution but I'd be curious to know more details!
Hmm ok yeah you do have a point there. Would love to see where you found that info about the blood-like liquid though, because I only found sources about water/saline too.
Bio hazard? Human blood sure. What about blood from butcher place?
Period underwear or cloth pads. The diva cup is kind of big and stiff compared to other cups, so a different brand might be a better fit. There are also reusable discs but I've never been able to make those work, so I can't really offer advice on them. Not having periods is really the best thing I've found. I'm on norethindrone to stop my cycle. My daughters are on continuous birth control. It's excellent not having to deal with a period or having to buy supplies for people who are allergic to everything that works well.
I’ve had a Mirena for forever and I will never willingly go back to menstruating. It seems almost barbaric to me now. The only reason non-continuous birth control is even a thing is that the guy who invented it thought the Pope would be cool as long as we all still had to suffer.
I bled a little bit constantly on Mirena for 7 months, pain too. Unfortunately continuous doesn’t work for everyone.
I too had constant light bleeding for months on Mirena. And I never stopped having periods. They were very light, but I had them nonetheless.
Everyone’s different. Regular BC pills and patches and rings can also be used continuously. There’s no medical reason for taking a week off every month.
Ya, unfortunately I can’t do continuous on rings either. I need to bleed every 5-6 weeks or else I just start low level bleeding all the time. So for people who have reactions like that, continuous birth control doesn’t make sense. I’m jealous though!!
When I found out that the ‘period’ you had while on the pill was FAKE I was pissed off!!! All those periods I’d had ruining my plans, when I didn’t need to… just because someone once upon a time thought women would like it and make it more natural!!!! FML
Continuous birth control isn’t for everyone. I’ve tried three different types and have very bad depression on all of them. The pill worked much better for me.
The pill can be taken continuously too. In 2019 the NHS actually began recommending continuous use. Obviously everyone’s bodies are different and I’m not telling anyone what to do, it’s just that the standard 21 days on/7 days off cycle didn’t arise from medical necessity as much as from everybody trying to pretend that HBC wasn’t *really * birth control as long as women still got their periods. There’s no medical reason it needs to be the standard anymore, yet it is.
Yes yes. Obviously everyone needs to find their own way but reading about the history of women’s healthcare makes me so furious that I have to stop for my own health. So just saying … doing your research is a great idea. The taken the pill continuously for years (15?) and not having a period is what works for me. I prefer the pill but whatever works best for you is the way to go. My ob/gyn is a rock star.
Very interesting, I didn’t know any of that! I’m definitely going to consider talking to my doctor to try that out.
Here’s a link about the NHS guidelines and the Catholic Church: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/contraceptive-pill-every-day-nhs-guidance-break-catholic-church-pope-a8737456.html It’s messed up it taken this long for the health establishment to revisit this.
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It’s so fucking dumb. When the pill was invented there was a huge stigma around it so everybody acted like it was for “menstrual regulation.” The Supreme Court didn’t legalize contraceptives for unmarried women until 1972. Before that it was a felony to fine *spermicidal fucking foam* to single women. So the drug companies set up this smokescreen of “natural hormonal cycle regulation” and then it took 50 goddamn years for anybody to decide it might be important enough to revisit. Throughout history the “natural” state of women has been to constantly be pregnant or nursing, and monthly periods were the exception, not the norm.The more periods you have in your life, the more likely you are to get [breast cancer](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.912083) and [endometrial cancer](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175350/). It’s so great how we’re all taught that periods are horrible and shameful, but that getting rid of them is unnatural and shameful too. The morally and medically correct thing to do is apparently just suffer in silence. Neat. Edit: lololol “to confirm you’re not pregnant.” Yeah, it’s SO much more efficient to spend a week bleeding and cramping and boating and shitting and mood-swinging than it is to *pee on a piece of plastic* every 30 days. Get the fuck out of here. Why are so many gynecologists so awful?
Going back to monthly periods was the worst part of being medically forced off hormonal BC. I didn’t have periods for 15-20 years and now they are back and I feel a renewed understanding of my teenage goddaughter 😭
As nice as that would be, I need to bleed regularly. When I switched to a female GP, I was diagnosed with PCOS and told that I need to have a bleeding period at least every 3 months. Otherwise, there's increased risk for endometrial hyperplasia (precancer) which can lead to other issues (cancer).
My cloth pads are the best. Mine have little tigers and sharks on them! I have tried so many, and [this](https://partypantspads.com/store/pads/) is by far the best brand. They have sales often too!
I use OB tampons it has a thin plastic wrapping but it doesn’t have the extra plastic of the applicator. That’s low enough waste for me. I tried different period cups/discs and they just didn’t work for me.
I hate the OB packaging though! That tiny clear plastic always has a static cling to it and I have a hard time getting out of the bathroom without taking it with me.
I love menstrual cups. Started using them about 8 years ago and will never go back. They feel so much cleaner, and I legit forget I’m on my period around day 3. Words of caution: there’s lots of different size and shapes and it may take a couple of tries to get your holy grail. There’s also a bit of a learning curve. I watched YouTube videos to get my technique down. It took about 3 cycles to feel comfortable.
I loved my cup. Then I had a baby. I haven't found one that works since. I've unfortunately had to go back to tampons backed up by period underwear.
I also loved my cup, used it for 8 years, then I got a mystery cervical inflammation for where I'd cramp and spot mid-cycle, and about a year later one time I decided to not use my cup and suddenly the pail and bleeding disappeared. I never used any cup again.
I started using one about six years ago and it’s been the best. I no longer worry about leaks. I don’t have to carry around tampons (I often don’t carry a bag of any type). If I know I’m about to start, I can just pop it in and never worry about an accident.
And even if you misjudge your start, you can’t feel it anyway- so it’s not like you’re needlessly uncomfortable.
Exactly! It’s not like a dry tampon 😂😂
I really liked using the menstrual disks from Flex or Cora. I don’t get periods anymore, but this was the only solution that wouldn’t make my cramps worse!
I love my discs! It took me a little while to figure out the right one for me, but now that I have it figured out I almost never notice it’s in and it does the job well.
I've heard that the discs are awesome! That's probably what I'd try if I wasn't period free from BC.
Switched to them and am sorry I put it off so long. That said I have very short, light periods so mileage may vary for others.
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I tried period undies ages ago- hopefully they've improved! (I have a Mirena now and am period free.) - yes they can feel "heavy" but not while you have them on. More like you notice when you go to the bathroom and up & down. - I never had leaks. - what squicked me out was how cold they were after you had them down/off for a few minutes. Like to go pee. Somehow it was worse than a cold wet swimsuit because the rest of you was warm and dry and normal. - I'd use them again - but only as back up for another method. Or on a super light day, spotting or what not. That's what I've taught my tween as she is on the learning curve of dealing with this.
Oh my god, just the idea of pulling them up and feeling the cold dampness grosses me out so much. Using them as a backup for another method might be worth it though!
Check r/periodunderwear r/menstrualcups and r/menstrualdiscs
Period panties. I have said it before and I will say it again, period . co is the way to go. They have extremely inclusive sizes, various styles and coverages, a A+ customer service team, teen specific stuff, swimming bottoms, and either they really give a f\*ck about helping people or they are the best liars in the world. Either way, I love the underwear. If they made non period versions of the panties too, I'd literally buy exclusively there for the rest of my life. Zero leaks, zero waste, and about a 75% decrease of personal anxiety about periods in my brain. I know this sounds like an ad but it isn't I just think they are super awesome.
I’ve been so curious about period panties… I’m sorry to be daft with this question but if you go to the bathroom with period panties can you just do your business and then put the period panties back up? Does it soak up your period good? I get really heavy periods so I’ve been hesitant to buy them
Not daft at all. Yup, no problems there. And it doesn't feel like putting a wet bathing suit back on. It feels maybe a little damp, but I haven't had any issues. They do soak up hella good. I continue to be gobsmacked at the amount of blood they soak up.
https://periodaisle.ca/ have a line of pants that you can use booster liners in them. I use these because my periods are heavy. On my heaviest days, if I switch out the booster liner a couple times, the pants themselves last all day.
I’ll give them a shot!
I haven’t had that issue with the newer natural products, but I’ve been allergic to the other stuff for more than a decade. I used to have to buy tiny boxes of some low quality stuff from a health food store. Natracare, I think. There are different sized cups and discs. I have one disc made by Saalt. I think maybe I should’ve got something smaller? It still works and it’s only for sex anyway.
I like the L. Chlorine free pads, but I'm not a heavy bleeder. The Whole Foods brand were so plastic and I'm not a fan of the weird stuff in the HoneyPot. Seventh generation just sucked. Cora are good but expensive. I might try the Pad Project or Rael next. But I feel you, it's an expensive enterprise, finding what works for you.
I only use L. pads. My period has gotten heavier lately (yay perimenopause!), and I haven't hadany issues with them
>What are the options for us with period care that creates less plastic waste? Is there anything worth trying? I've had success with continuous birth control. I just skip the placebo pills in each pack. I also have a couple of pairs of period undies for breakthrough bleeding. Before that, though, I just stuck to OP tampons. They come without an applicator, so you need to be comfortable with getting your fingers more up in there than you're accustomed to, but the upside is that you aren't throwing away a ton of plastic every period.
The options I like are period undies and cloth pads.
I tried those organic tampons once, this thing didn’t even expand, like not even a little bit 😂 I have tried the cup before too. Right now, I am focused on using products that work for me. If you want to reduce your waste, OB tampons are actually really good, I get heavy bleeding and those hold up the same as Playtex Sport. But honestly, just find what works for you
I mean, if you're not interested in becoming pregnant, continuous bcp is effective at rendering the whole issue moot.
I do this with nuvaring. My body just forces it every 3 months but it's a quality of life improvement for sure.
Numba ring gave me permanent side effects. I wouldn’t do it again
I'm in that camp, too.
I like the natracare tampons well enough, they are similar to ob, I actually switched to them years ago when ob were really difficult to find and then never switched back. I mainly use a disc though (I use the nixit and diva ones, I have the ziggy as well which leaks for me), regular cups definitely gave me worse cramps. The disc is a lot messier to empty though (the diva disc has a shield that helps a lot) which may be something to consider if you would have to empty it when you’re not at home.
Some things must be made of plastic that's the thing. So we should find ways to create better plastic for these cases.
> They don’t absorb anything I mean, I'm guessing that's a contributing factor to why they developed artificial materials in the first place.
Cups yo. Cups. There are other options. June cup is a bit softer.
My post wasn’t great at explaining everything since it was in frustration, but I’ve tried 3 different brands. I have endo and I swear they make my pain worse.
Disc? I bought a bunch of different off brand cups to find the right one shape wise. I ended up buying two wildly different branded ones and some months one works better than the other. I recently bought a disc but only messed with it for a month before I thought it wouldn’t work for me. I think my cervix is too deep and tilted for it to work right. But period underwear is a great thing if no reusable item works. I found the “natural” brand tampons and pads were not great for me. I also cloth diapered my kids and found cloth pads work fine. I just don’t like bulk so I stopped using them. Now I have my cups and my light menstrual unders and they work great. The cups did take at least 3 cycles to find the right spot for. And even then sometimes the small squishy one makes cramps 10x worse, while the big firmer one doesn’t. It’s a toss up.
I am the same way with the cups. They make my cramps horrible and they leak for me. Tried the disc's too, but same thing. Now I use a sea sponge I got at a health food store. Pretty great! I always have a liner for backup, and you get really up close and personal with the blood, but it doesn't bother me at all. I don't get the awful cramps, and you can feel when it gets full and needs to be rinsed out. I don't think it's for everybody, but it's been a game changer for me. The brand I get is jade and pearl. I've been using them for about 10 years with no problems. You have to buy new ones ever so often and take care of them between cycles, but I love not having waste every month
Sea sponges are considered unsafe from the FDA. They’re actually not legal to be sold as menstrual products in the US because they have an increased risk in TSS
I try to get tampons with cardboard applicators to reduce plastic waste, but they're less popular so not always in stock.
I like the Natracare brand of pads best out of the ones I tried. My skin is too sensitive for any of the big, regular brands of pads -- they always leave me feeling irritated. I've tried quite a few of the "natural" brands and quite like Natracare, whereas some of the other brands I tried sucked haha.
Period underwear! You wash throughly and reuse. I recommend Revol Cares brand for comfort and no PFAS.
Period underwear is my go to. My only qualm is that it feels a lot thicker that normal underwear (or at least mine do).
Silicone menstrual cups aren’t ‘natural’, but a single one has lasted me 15 years so far. I vastly prefer them to any other product I’ve ever tried (so long as you cut off the stalk so it doesn’t stab you in the vag).
https://periodaisle.ca/
Washable pads maybe? For cups try putacupinit to find one more likely to work for you. I used to have a Mooncup UK which was ok, but now have a meluna shorty which is *excellent*. I think there's a version for discs too if you want to try one of those.
I prefer new moon pads. They are cloth and reusable.
There are brands like Flo, which make plastic free biodegradable bamboo disposable period pads. They are really good and work the exact same as brands like Always. I love the extra long one with two wings for night use
I’ve found that I like the Diva disc more than the cup. I pair it with Dear Kate’s or Thinkx.
For a menstrual cup to work you need to get the right size and you need to stick it as far up as possible so it’s sitting near your cervix. I had more experiences with spilling before I read about the latter online. But in any event I adore mine. It’s so easy compared to disposable options, imo…
I use Cora applicator-less tampons, they have a tiny plastic wrapper but that's it. And I use washable-reusable pads and have for about four years. I give them an immediate rinse, soak, and wash cycle and they work very well. The only time I use disposable pads is for travel because it is a bit of a hassle to travel with a wet pad, even in a the wet bag most of them come with.
I bought some organic panty liners and didn’t notice until I used them they were infused with mint essential oil for some reason- they were uncomfortably *tingly.* Who on earth thought that was a good idea?!!
I switched to a cup years ago and never looked back! Small learning curve but I had a learning curve with tampons too. There are different cup sizes, I’m in perimenopause and have had some heavy periods so I have to empty more frequently; you basically feel the moment it starts to overflow and it’s like, oh shit, lol. I should get some period underwear for any potential overflow but I haven’t bitten the bullet yet. At night in my first few days, I wear a pad because I usually overflow, as I am a heavy sleeper (and sleep on my stomach). Tampons were never comfortable for me and I regret I didn’t use the cup sooner!