Dear Fit,
I was at the health-food store and noticed chlorine-free tampons made with organic cotton. They cost $5.99 for a box of 20, and the ones I buy at the grocery store cost $6.99 for 40. Are they worth paying almost twice as much?
—Trying to Save a Buck
With the economy the way it is, I can understand you looking for places to save money. To find out if chlorine-free tampons are worth the splurge keep reading.
Chlorine-free basically means the cotton is whitened without the use of the chemical chlorine. The problem with using chlorine for bleaching is that dangerous toxins known as dioxins are the by-product. Studies show that dioxins collect in the fatty tissues of animals and humans, and even low levels of exposure can lead to cancer, endometriosis, birth defects, and reproductive disorders. It can also irritate your skin, so if your lady parts are sensitive, chlorine-free is definitely the way to go.
Another plus is that chlorine-free tampons are often made solely with organic cotton, and contain no polyester, rayon, plastics, or other synthetic ingredients. Organic cotton is grown without pesticides, so it's safer for the farmers who grow it, safer for the environment, and also safer for you. Since a woman will go through about 11,000 tampons in her lifetime, it's worth the splurge to decrease you exposure to chlorine and other chemicals.
Versace
Rebecca Taylor
La Redoute
Fit - I have to ask...how do I send you questions?
1I love Natracare!!
Not a fan of the applicator, but the tampon itself is the best next to OB for me.
Although, I now use the DivaCup menstrual cup.
2NOT worth the cost, to me!
3That price is a bit steep for only 20 tampons. I have never had a problem with the ones that I use so I will stick with those.
4Chakra - what is Divacup?
5I use only chlorine-free tampons for the reasons you said, Fit. Yes, it's more expensive, but not SO much more expensive that I can't afford to do it if I cut back in other areas. Like eating organic food, I consider it a worthwhile expense to keep me healthier.
6I as well use a DivaCup. Will NEVER use tampons again. A menstrual cup is a reusable cup usually made of latex or silicone. I believe Diva brand is silicone. There are some great web resources to help decide if/which cup you should use. There is a great livejournal group that helped me decide. I highly recommend a cup.
7I love natracare tampons, I became allergic a few years back to my normal OB brand I thought my only alternative was pads. These dont irritate me one bit!
8I vote DivaCup too!
9I dont use them anyways, gives me worse cramps and back pain
10omg reusable? sorry, period blood I want out and gone, I do not want to friggin reuse something, UGHHH sorry it just grosses me out
11omg reusable? sorry, period blood I want out and gone, I do not want to friggin reuse something, UGHHH sorry it just grosses me out
Um, isn't that what soap is for?
I use the Keeper - same concept as the DivaCup.
Thanks for bringing this topic up, original poster.
12Menstrual cup, FTW!!!! I use the Keeper and I will never go back. Any woman that can get over their hesitance to use a cup and finds one they love will NEVER go back to tampons.
You do have to do a little research into the different brands, and you may (like me) end up buying one and not liking it and doing some more research and switching to a different brand.
But once you find one, that's it. No more buying tampons. No more dryness from tampons. No more sticky grossness if you use pads or if your tampon leaks... it is a MILLION times better.
There is a GREAT Live Journal group devoted to menstrual cups. I don't know if I'm allowed to link it, but if you Google you will find it very easily.
13I've never seen the organic chlorine-free tampons, so I just use the regular ones. I've never had issues with them...I always use the lightest absorbency ones so I change them often. That way, they aren't in there as long and they don't seem to irritate me as much.
14I'm with mamasita on this one. I'll stick with my Tampax.
15Diva cup for me! At first I thought it was gross, but now I can't imagine ever going back to tampons, pads or other disposable goods, which are far more costly for your wallet, health and the environment.
16Yet another vote for the DivaCup! I've been using one for almost 8 years now and would never go back to tampons.
Here's a link: http://www.divacup.com/
I've also seen them in my local grocery store in the same section as pads etc. are sold.
I paid $40 for mine. Using a conservative estimate of spending $7 a month on pads and tampons before, I save $44 in my first year using it alone, and I've been using mine for over 5 years!
I've used the Keeper before but it's stiffer and is natural rubber so it can't be boiled to sterilize. The DivaCup is soft silicone. I found it a lot more comfortable.
Plus I never have to worry about carrying 'stuff' around with me at that time of the month. It's awesome when I'm traveling and camping.
17I've tried tampons and a menstrual cup. I can't use them. I'm too sensitive.
18I tried the Instead cup about ten years ago & could never get it to fit right. It looks like the Diva cup has a different shape, so maybe the results would be better for me. But for now I'm taking Seasonale, so I don't have to bother with my period (and the eight day long migraine) as often.
19I have not stuff chlorinated cotton up my "hoo-haw" in years. Dioxins are bad news for your body and the run-off of the processing for the environment. $6 for 20 is worth it to me. However I did go to an undergrad that regularly had re-usable menstrual pad making workshops so I have had a bias for more natural womens' products for a while. This includes sea sponges.
20Divas for sure! I understand that people might be grossed out about it at first, but honestly, there is nothing un-hygenic or unclean about it. Far too often companies convince us that our bodies are disgusting and unclean unless we use some disposable product, but it's just not true. Cups are way better for your body, no strange chemicals, better for the environment and your wallet, super convenient.
21Things there can be rather sensitive for me, too, to the point I can't use tampons every time. I'd love to switch to chlorine-free, but I'm a bit afraid that I just won't be able to use them if they don't come with the wonderful Tampax applicator and the lightest absorbency format - I can't even think of using a cup for that reason. Do you guys have any chlorine-free brand to recommend??
22I use the Diva Cup, but when I wore tampons, I used Natracare. When I had "chemistry problems" making the switch to Natracare made a huge difference.
23Another vote for the diva cup. Much less cramping, much lighter flow, and I change it twice a day, when i'm home to clean it out. No need to worry about emptying it in a strange bathroom or not having soap to clean my hands. I also love that i'm not taking up half a weekend bag with tampons or pads when I go on a trip (my flow was such that I used 5-6 tampons a day.
24Another vote for the Diva Cup!
25I vote for the Diva Cup. I will never go back to tampons and pads.
26i don't use tampons. i use maybe one a year... why is it so popular over there? what's wrong with always?
27Diva cup ftw!!! I can't believe all the crap I put up with, using tampons. It's awesome on light days especially, when a tampon is too much (pulling out a semi-dry tampon is torture!). You don't have to worry about TSS because silicone cannot grow the bacteria, and the soft silicone won't give you the little microscopic tears that tampons do. I've left mine in accidentally for over 24 hours, no problem!
28These are the only ones I use! Of course I'm going to pay the one or two extra dollars for chlorine free tampons. Our bodies are like sponges, can you imagine your body absorbing (especially in "that" area) all of those harmful dioxins? No thank you!
29Diva Cup sounds good, but it's not for me. I much prefer tampons. Unfortunately my mother is extremely old-fashioned and would freak out if she found out I used tampons. Plus they're kind of pricey. So when I'm at home I stick to pads. Hate them, hate them, hate them.
30I left my DivaCup in a hotel last year and have just been buying tampons because I keep forgetting to order a new one! I am heading to the site to get another right now (thanks op for reminding me). They are seriously life-changing, so another vote for DivaCup!
31If you're spending hundreds of dollars per year to buy organic food, why would you debate a few extra dollars per month to avoid directly injecting the byproducts of the chlorine bleaching process into your body? Tampons bleached without chlorine, like Seventh Generation's, are widely available and mean you don't have to worry about what you are putting into your body.
32Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.