WARNING: Do not read ahead if you are uncomfortable with vagina, sex and period talk.
The road to sustainability started with easy tasks and rapidly grew to so much more. I've always followed a green way of living – recycling, picking up litter, choosing to walk – but I was interested in more. I researched the most sustainable toilet paper, paper towels, baby wipes. Then I thought: What about tampons?
I quickly Googled "sustainable tampons" and came up with reusable tampons, cloth pads and DivaCups. I only recently started using tampons and never wanted to turn back to a pad. I didn't like the sound of a reusable tampon either – wouldn't it hurt if you're a little drier in there than usual? And DivaCups...these have always seemed strange to me! I am not a girl who is particularly familiar with my vagina. I don't enjoy sticking my fingers in there, and typically have great difficulty in doing so. I developed vaginismus – a condition that causes my vagina muscles to involuntarily tighten when putting in a tampon, fingers, a penis... – because of my anxiety over my vagina; it took 2 years of failed attempts to lose my virginity to the love of my life. So I told my boyfriend, "I want to be sustainable, but there are some things I won't be able to give up, tampons being one of them."
On a day of March boredom (probably sitting in class), I started researching sustainable hair products. Once realizing how simple the switch was, I donated my shampoo and conditioner to a family member who wasn't interested in homemade hair products and set to work on my recipe for No 'Poo methods. This is when my green living took a turn. I started using completely natural hair products, substituted toothpaste with coconut oil and have been using a homemade mouthwash. Once again, I found myself researching alternative menstrual products, determined to reduce my everyday waste, and came across a SEA SPONGE! This blew my mind. How was I expected to stick a sponge up my vagina?! Well, I researched for hours that day, texting my mom every fact about sea sponge "tampons" I came across.
In the end, I was convinced. My flow isn't as heavy as some, but I do go through a tampon about every 3-5 hours, producing a lot of non-degradable waste. They are also shockingly unhealthy for your body. The most common risk, toxic shock syndrome, always put me on edge, but I could never keep a tampon in for the full 8 hours without leaking, so it wasn't something I had to worry about too much. But then I read that using these products can cause cervical cancer, problems with fertility and many other risks due to the chemicals and materials used, not only in tampons, but in most disposable feminine hygiene products.
Sea sponges are completely sustainable, reusable (for 3-6 months), biodegradable and void of chemicals and inorganic material. The more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea. Sure, I would have to shove a sponge up my vagina and then wash the sponge out in the sink, but this meant I could go through my whole cycle without trying to hide the bloody evidence in my boyfriend's family's bathroom trash bin, using unnecessary amounts of toilet paper to bury everything. Through more research, I found they also absorb significantly more than a super tampon.
So I took the plunge. I ordered the medium size from Jade and Pearl, and they were in my possession before my next period started.
Day 1 – Obsessed. I had to trim the medium size slightly to make it more comfortable, but after wetting the sponge and pushing it in, I couldn't even feel it! I discovered it's a good idea to squeeze out all excess water from the sponge before insertion, otherwise warm water will be dripping down your leg and onto your pants during the process.
I got to my boyfriend's that night and wanted to wash it out, so I took it out (easy!) and ran the sink. TAKE NOTE: If a sink has any sort of clog, DO NOT WASH THE SPONGE IN THERE! Forgetting my boyfriend's sink is very clogged, I hid in the bathroom for about ten minutes in fear his mom or brother would come in to find a sink full of oddly coppery water. I now wash it in his tub with no issues.
The first day of my period, I am always exhausted. Sometimes I'll sleep for 18 hours throughout the day and never quite wake up. This cycle, I fell asleep at 3am, slept through my morning classes and woke up at 2pm! Which brings us to...
Day 2 – Unfortunately, I left the sponge in the whole time I slept. It was quite full and leaked a bit once I sat down on the toilet. I took it out, washed it, and....couldn't get it back in? I thought maybe my insides were rejecting having something in there for fifteen hours, so I left it out for awhile. When I got back to my dorm room about an hour later, I tried again to no avail. I wound up trimming it a little more, to about the dimensions of the small size.
After the small size went in successfully, I came across another problem I didn't have the first day. It seemed as though the sponge was very slightly soaking in some urine, which I don't quite understand. I read that sometimes your lips are in a position where the urine shoots up a bit, so to adjust them before you pee. I tried this, but the sponge still took some in. I'm not sure if this is sanitary, but now I just squeeze my vagina muscles to get out the excess.
Next problem: I COULD NOT GET IT OUT!! Even though I had taken it in and out multiple times the day before, I could not even find it. I could feel where it was, but when I went to pinch the sponge, I wound up pinching my skin. I freaked out a little but my boyfriend came to the rescue and was able to scoop it out. Thankfully, it was not very full, and he was very understanding! I researched this problem and found that women sometimes sew dental floss through the center. My period usually stops at night, so I left it out for the rest of the night.
Day 2 turned out to be slightly frustrating, but I was determined to find ways to fix my problems rather than give up.
Day 3 – Because I am a late night person, had 200 pages of Harry Potter to read (thank you college) and also decided to watch The Martian with my boyfriend, I did not go to sleep until 6am. Because of this, I woke up at 10am for my 10am class. Nervous I'd have the same problem as the previous day and in quite a rush, I dashed to the bathroom to get the sponge in. It went in smoothly. Walking to class, however, it was very noticeable in there and although I was already very late, I made a pitstop in the bathroom to push it up higher, and I couldn't feel it for the rest of the morning.
Upon getting back from my two classes, I wanted to try taking it out again (the first time since it got "lost"). I struggled, but grabbed some lube and pulled it out just fine. After this, I sat down to write this incredibly long blog post that probably only I will read.
I'm still debating whether I want to use the dental floss method. It seems a good idea, but if lubing up my fingers works, I'd rather stick with that. I read of some horror stories of the floss ripping the sponge in half in the vagina, making it even more difficult to get the pieces out. Overall, this has been an incredible experience. I'm getting to know my vagina better and am more comfortable with it. After a year of sex, I still struggled with the beginning – it was painful – and in the past 3 days of manually putting something in and out of my vagina, sex has become so much easier and much more enjoyable.
And the best outcome of this is the sustainability! Sea sponges are regenerative (Spongebob...a Time Lord?!), and when harvesting, only the top is cut off. This allows the sponge to regrow. I'm thoroughly enjoying this option because of the eliminated health risks, sustainability, and familiarity it brings. Definitely recommend!
UPDATE:
Day 4 – My period is gone!!! I only experienced very, very light spotting. Since I got my period at age 12, I have been prone to periods lasting a week long, so this was an incredible and surprising relief!
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