Non-Applicator Tampons

[just]

Why are non-applicator tampons so unpopular in the US? I've lived in SE Asia, East Asia, Western Europe and US. Access to non-applicators are much more limited in the US from my experience.

It's really weirdly upsetting not to be able to buy your preferred tampons right now. I know I should transition to a cup or something, but since I've being using non-applicators for all of my life, it's weird that I can't get it any around me for the last 3-4 months.

ETA: I'm searching mostly for OBs in the US and I know there's a more wide-sourced tampon shortage which is probably reshifting inventory to applicators - all makes sense!

[wanderingback]

I don’t know the specific answer but I’m sure it has to do with money. Applicator tampons were invented first, then the non-applicator ones. I don’t know why in the US, the main tampon companies, other than OB, typically don’t spend their money on non applicators. I’m guessing market research has shown they’re not as popular here? When I lived overseas I def missed being able to access the ones with applicators.

I know there are a lot of newer menstrual product companies, often sold online, maybe see if any of those offer non-applicator options?

[konapoppy]

I have found there to be a shortage of cardboard applicator options, which is frustrating too.

[basilosaurus]

Want there an ob shortage a little while back? Within the last year I believe. I stockpiled here in MY and when I went to the states while living in Thailand.

I know there was outcry when they announced they were discontinuing it. They quickly changed course.

I wouldn't say they're easy to find in sea, though. I had a surprise 13 day cycle while in Myanmar. For the first time in my life I had to wear giant maxi pads. Ugh. Where I live now I really can only get ob and ob only at one specific pharmacy at only one branch. And forget tampons with applicator! I don't think I've ever seen them although I only passively pay attention as I have preferred ob for a couple decades.

I've learned my lesson and have some squirreled away in every conceivable bag I might use.

[Pibs]

I've had a hard time finding OB, but I've found some other brands that are applicator free at a local/independent pharmacy and grocery stores that aren't a nationwide chain.

[basilosaurus]

Nov 27, 2022 22:46:42 GMT -5 Pibs said:

I've had a hard time finding OB, but I've found some other brands that are applicator free at a local/independent pharmacy and grocery stores that aren't a nationwide chain.

I'm pretty sure Kotex has a version. Or used to. I bought it at publix maybe 4 years ago?

Natracare is one I've seen at small organic independent shops, but I just googled and walmart seems to carry them. 

[statgirl]

just you have PM.

[jamaicam]

I have also found amazon own brand non-applicator ones. So much better for the environment that applicators, especially the plastic ones

[fumbalina]

I wish there were more options, but I believe it is because most Americans don't even want to consider touching other parts of their body either.

[dancelnow]

I believe it’s because of the American aversion to touching our own bodies. Non-applicator require you to get up in there which so many women are afraid of.

[zelda25]

I have no issues with my own body--not squeamish about that at all. I just never had any luck with OB--needed more "smoothness" to get it in all the way. OB just got stuck halfway in and made me miserable.

[wawa]

Nov 28, 2022 13:26:52 GMT -5 dancelnow said:

I believe it’s because of the American aversion to touching our own bodies. Non-applicator require you to get up in there which so many women are afraid of.

I dont' think it's that simple at all, especially since this level of squeamishness is stereotypical of mostly older generations who don't menstruate anymore.

Or do you know a lot of people your own age or younger who are afraid of their own vaginas?  (it's always possible this is yet another inadvertent bubble I live in thanks to careful social curation on correlated topics)

[pixy0stix]

Nov 28, 2022 15:09:34 GMT -5 wawa said:

Nov 28, 2022 13:26:52 GMT -5 dancelnow said:

I believe it’s because of the American aversion to touching our own bodies. Non-applicator require you to get up in there which so many women are afraid of.

I dont' think it's that simple at all, especially since this level of squeamishness is stereotypical of mostly older generations who don't menstruate anymore.

Or do you know a lot of people your own age or younger who are afraid of their own vaginas?  (it's always possible this is yet another inadvertent bubble I live in thanks to careful social curation on correlated topics)

Anecdotally, this is the reason I've been given a lot for people not wanting to switch to non-applicator brands whenever the topic comes up. I think that might have been changing in recent years with the rise in popularity and availability of menstrual cups, etc.

[dancelnow]

Nov 28, 2022 15:09:34 GMT -5 wawa said:

Nov 28, 2022 13:26:52 GMT -5 dancelnow said:

I believe it’s because of the American aversion to touching our own bodies. Non-applicator require you to get up in there which so many women are afraid of.

I dont' think it's that simple at all, especially since this level of squeamishness is stereotypical of mostly older generations who don't menstruate anymore.

Or do you know a lot of people your own age or younger who are afraid of their own vaginas?  (it's always possible this is yet another inadvertent bubble I live in thanks to careful social curation on correlated topics)

Not just confined to the oldies. Even my 12yo step daughter thanks to mom’s influence.

[Deleted]

As soon as I started using non-applicator tampons, I never went back. They are so much easier to get into the right spot.

[wawa]

Nov 28, 2022 16:10:42 GMT -5 dancelnow said:

Nov 28, 2022 15:09:34 GMT -5 wawa said:

I dont' think it's that simple at all, especially since this level of squeamishness is stereotypical of mostly older generations who don't menstruate anymore.

Or do you know a lot of people your own age or younger who are afraid of their own vaginas?  (it's always possible this is yet another inadvertent bubble I live in thanks to careful social curation on correlated topics)

Not just confined to the oldies. @@@@deleted

oh jeez.  Welp, it's natural selection that my fundamentally unfiltered self has no lasting relationships with people who are funny about body parts...I forget sometimes that my sample is not representative of....anything.

It's funny because my mom started me out with applicators and then was like, "as soon as you get the hang of those, I suggest you upgrade to ob's.  they're just better"  So I did.  and they were (at least for me and my anatomy) and I've never looked back.  (I mean, I tried cups.  but three cups later I gave up)  Sometimes I hand one to somebody looking for a emergency tampon and they occasionally stare at it for a second, but nobody ever hands it back.  I always want to ask "so....it's better, right?" but then I bite my tongue because my coworkers do not want to have that conversation.  But like, outside of anatomical mismatch, they're better!  They fit in women's pants pockets, their packaging is durable without being bulky so the 3 tampons hiding at the bottom of every bag i own don't end up with shredded wrappers, they don't leak for me no matter how I contort, they don't produce a ton of trash, and they don't start poking me as they expand like the old school cardboard applicator tampax.

I mostly use period undies with tampons on heavy flow days only so I can ration them carefully so I've never run out. But this reminds me to pick up a box or three next time I see them in the store, because many days I DON'T see them.

[Deleted]

Nov 28, 2022 16:37:14 GMT -5 wawa said:

Nov 28, 2022 16:10:42 GMT -5 dancelnow said:

Not just confined to the oldies. @@@@deleted

oh jeez.  Welp, it's natural selection that my fundamentally unfiltered self has no lasting relationships with people who are funny about body parts...I forget sometimes that my sample is not representative of....anything.

It's funny because my mom started me out with applicators and then was like, "as soon as you get the hang of those, I suggest you upgrade to ob's.  they're just better"  So I did.  and they were (at least for me and my anatomy) and I've never looked back.  (I mean, I tried cups.  but three cups later I gave up)  Sometimes I hand one to somebody looking for a emergency tampon and they occasionally stare at it for a second, but nobody ever hands it back.  I always want to ask "so....it's better, right?" but then I bite my tongue because my coworkers do not want to have that conversation.  But like, outside of anatomical mismatch, they're better!  They fit in women's pants pockets, their packaging is durable without being bulky so the 3 tampons hiding at the bottom of every bag i own don't end up with shredded wrappers, they don't leak for me no matter how I contort, they don't produce a ton of trash, and they don't start poking me as they expand like the old school cardboard applicator tampax.

I mostly use period undies with tampons on heavy flow days only so I can ration them carefully so I've never run out. But this reminds me to pick up a box or three next time I see them in the store, because many days I DON'T see them.

This is what I don’t get! As a teenager I was SO self-conscious to be carrying around tampons for fear that someone would see me digging around in my bag or whatever. It’s so easy to slip an OB in your pocket (even the tiny pockets the patriarchy has seen fit to give us), or palm one.

[BlondeSpiders]

Nov 28, 2022 14:48:39 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

I have no issues with my own body--not squeamish about that at all. I just never had any luck with OB--needed more "smoothness" to get it in all the way. OB just got stuck halfway in and made me miserable.

This is me; I need the smoothness of the applicator to help me out. Plus, I have short stubby fingers that can't always get the job done.

And I am extremely comfortable with my body, at 50. But when I'm in a public (tiny) bathroom, I have no desire to cram my hand up inside and bleed all over it. Because then I get to A. pull up my pants with bloody hands (yes I can dab them with TP, but they are still bloody) and B. walk out to the communal sinks looking like I just gutted a fish. No thanks.

[definitelyO]

I only used OB as an adult. Like them so much better and their smaller size. But I did get the weird looks when someone would ask for a tampon and I'd pull one out...

[onomatopoeia]

Nov 28, 2022 14:48:39 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

I have no issues with my own body--not squeamish about that at all. I just never had any luck with OB--needed more "smoothness" to get it in all the way. OB just got stuck halfway in and made me miserable.

This is me.  I used to use OB in my younger days, they were great. Then I stopped having a period for 17 years (I changed BC which eliminated them). Now that I'm getting them again OB just doesn't work for me anymore. It actually took me a while to find a tampon that did, and unfortunately the one that does has a plastic (not cardboard) applicator.  

I've been thinking about trying a cup, I just haven't pulled the trigger on that.

[wawa]

Nov 28, 2022 18:27:01 GMT -5 BlondeSpiders said:

Nov 28, 2022 14:48:39 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

I have no issues with my own body--not squeamish about that at all. I just never had any luck with OB--needed more "smoothness" to get it in all the way. OB just got stuck halfway in and made me miserable.

This is me; I need the smoothness of the applicator to help me out. Plus, I have short stubby fingers that can't always get the job done.

And I am extremely comfortable with my body, at 50. But when I'm in a public (tiny) bathroom, I have no desire to cram my hand up inside and bleed all over it. Because then I get to A. pull up my pants with bloody hands (yes I can dab them with TP, but they are still bloody) and B. walk out to the communal sinks looking like I just gutted a fish. No thanks.

Yeah, I had a whole post written suggesting that it's less "ew vagina" and more "bloody fingers in public bathroom" for most people who could use applicatoeless and don't want to, but deleted it because I was just guessing.

Ime, it's definitely not a whole two handed fish gutting experience though but it's a pretty personal decision!

[sent]

I always bought OB at Target and drug stores. I didn't realize they also were harder to find now. I swear my anatomy changed over the years and they're actually hard to apply with fingers that don't work 100% like they used to so I no longer buy them or any brand. Funnily enough, I remember seeing them in the bathroom when I was 11 and we went to visit Germany. That simple image of the "ob" letters never left my mind so when I was old enough, I bought them because I was so curious what they were. So.much.better and I never went back to applicators after that.

[jeaniebueller]

Nov 28, 2022 18:27:01 GMT -5 BlondeSpiders said:

Nov 28, 2022 14:48:39 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

I have no issues with my own body--not squeamish about that at all. I just never had any luck with OB--needed more "smoothness" to get it in all the way. OB just got stuck halfway in and made me miserable.

This is me; I need the smoothness of the applicator to help me out. Plus, I have short stubby fingers that can't always get the job done.

And I am extremely comfortable with my body, at 50. But when I'm in a public (tiny) bathroom, I have no desire to cram my hand up inside and bleed all over it. Because then I get to A. pull up my pants with bloody hands (yes I can dab them with TP, but they are still bloody) and B. walk out to the communal sinks looking like I just gutted a fish. No thanks.

Wait they don’t have strings? Prior to my ablation my period was like a crime scene so I’m with you on not wanting to do that

[mysteriouswife]

Nov 28, 2022 21:47:24 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Nov 28, 2022 18:27:01 GMT -5 BlondeSpiders said:

This is me; I need the smoothness of the applicator to help me out. Plus, I have short stubby fingers that can't always get the job done.

And I am extremely comfortable with my body, at 50. But when I'm in a public (tiny) bathroom, I have no desire to cram my hand up inside and bleed all over it. Because then I get to A. pull up my pants with bloody hands (yes I can dab them with TP, but they are still bloody) and B. walk out to the communal sinks looking like I just gutted a fish. No thanks.

Wait they don’t have strings? Prior to my ablation my period was like a crime scene so I’m with you on not wanting to do that

This is my issue too. I have tried OB and have never been able to not leak with them. Do they have a super plus? I have only found regular. I would be happy to ditch an applicator. They are hard for me to use since I broke my hand

ETA: I regularly remove the tampon from the applicator

[AJL]

I appreciate that people want to us non-applicator tampons for whatever reason. I am not one of them. I have zero squeamishness about my vagina, but I have a belly that gets in the way of me trying to maneuver around enough to put a tampon in. The plastic applicator ones are just easier for me. Also, I bleed so much that I really don't want to come away with bloody fingers/blood under my fingernails in a public restrooms.

This is, honestly, a personal preference issue. I totally get the issue of added waste in landfills, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it because I'm using plastic applicator tampons.

[pixy0stix]

Nov 28, 2022 21:47:24 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Nov 28, 2022 18:27:01 GMT -5 BlondeSpiders said:

This is me; I need the smoothness of the applicator to help me out. Plus, I have short stubby fingers that can't always get the job done.

And I am extremely comfortable with my body, at 50. But when I'm in a public (tiny) bathroom, I have no desire to cram my hand up inside and bleed all over it. Because then I get to A. pull up my pants with bloody hands (yes I can dab them with TP, but they are still bloody) and B. walk out to the communal sinks looking like I just gutted a fish. No thanks.

Wait they don’t have strings? Prior to my ablation my period was like a crime scene so I’m with you on not wanting to do that

They have strings, lol!

I've been using OB forever. I've came away with bloody fingers from other tampons, too.

The over dramatic posts about why people don't use them make me laugh. Do what makes you comfortable, but it's a tampon that functions just like all the others. It either works for you or doesn't. Ok. Got it.

[basilosaurus]

Nov 28, 2022 22:20:34 GMT -5 mysteriouswife said:

Nov 28, 2022 21:47:24 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Wait they don’t have strings? Prior to my ablation my period was like a crime scene so I’m with you on not wanting to do that

This is my issue too. I have tried OB and have never been able to not leak with them. Do they have a super plus? I have only found regular. I would be happy to ditch an applicator. They are hard for me to use since I broke my hand

ETA: I regularly remove the tampon from the applicator

They do have super plus and ultra, although anecdotally I find that obs are slightly less absorbent so super plus may be more comparable to plus. And yes, of course they do have strings. It's only when inserting that you have to get up in there.

I actually found obs much easier to use than an applicator. I'd struggle with the angle and depth and often had to adjust manually anyway. I couldn't manage a cup nor a diaphragm when I briefly attempted that method, so this is likely a me problem.

Theoretically it's less messy because it's below the dam, so to speak. In practice, yeah, I get why that's not reality for many.

Hey, wouldn't you know. We all have unique anatomy and preferences. Now if only corporations could figure that out!

[fumbalina]

Nov 28, 2022 15:09:34 GMT -5 wawa said:

Nov 28, 2022 13:26:52 GMT -5 dancelnow said:

I believe it’s because of the American aversion to touching our own bodies. Non-applicator require you to get up in there which so many women are afraid of.

I dont' think it's that simple at all, especially since this level of squeamishness is stereotypical of mostly older generations who don't menstruate anymore.

Or do you know a lot of people your own age or younger who are afraid of their own vaginas?  (it's always possible this is yet another inadvertent bubble I live in thanks to careful social curation on correlated topics)

Anecdotally, the women who are comfortable getting up close and personal are my age and older. All the younger women I know are much more squeamish.

If I am using a tampon I do prefer OB but mostly I use my June cup or my Lunette. Depending on where my cervix is sitting. I have been for over ten years now.

I find that applicator tampons are not constructed well and end up sitting too low for comfort. I honestly only see the multi pack with super and super plus these days. I do have a heavy flow but I prefer the smaller ones for comfort and change them every two hours or so

This is way too much info lol

[isabel]

There's a lot of speculation in here about why American women won't use non-applicator tampons... I mean, obviously there's marketing and research that goes into this, but on an individual level, it's pretty tough to influence that. Women use what's available and that's largely brands that have applicators. I never used non-applicator tampons because the ones with applicators were readily available and what I was used to using. I can't say I really gave it any thought.

I have used a cup for over a decade now though.

[ECB]

I've been very sad over the OB shortage. Applicators make it harder for me to get it in the right spot! Tried using a cup years ago - after 5 months and constant issue, gave up and went back to OB.