If you\u2019re like most women, for as long as you can remember you\u2019ve used the same pink box of tampons. It was the brand your mom stocked in your house when you were a teenager, and what you continued to buy out of pure habit once you went off to college and were responsible for your own drugstore runs.<\/p>\n
And \u201cwhat\u2019s in your tampon?\u201d isn\u2019t exactly a common question. It\u2019s funny because we talk about everything with our friends: men, food, our other friends, travel, sex, family, bosses, crushes on our bosses. But we never really get around to talking about each others\u2019 vaginas. That, for some reason, seems too crude for general banter.You probably assumed the tampons you\u2019ve been using were made of cotton\u2014after all, they look like cotton, they feel like cotton, they must be cotton, right? Wrong!<\/p>\n
As it turns out, the FDA doesn\u2019t require feminine care brands to disclose a comprehensive list of ingredients on their product packaging. So, what have we been putting in our bodies month after month for all these years? Most tampons are made out of a mix of synthetic fibers like rayon and polyester. But even more concerning is that the fibers can be treated with all sorts of chemicals and packed with additives before being stitched into tampons: there\u2019s fragrance, and chlorine, and dye (oh my!). Pair that information with the fact that your vagina is the most absorptive part of your body (even more than your mouth or your skin!), and you\u2019re probably saying: how can this be?<\/p>\n