The tampon has been around for about 90 years. Since then, there have been new products such as the period cup, designed to help women cope with their monthly visitor, but now a new tampon design could be a game changer for period care.
First reported by Yahoo Life, two women have designed a “spiral” shaped tampon called the Sequel, which they say is the first time in 90 years that the tampon has been changed in a big way. The change eliminates the discomfort and leakiness of the original tampon and makes women everywhere more confident.
Sequel’s Spiral tampon design
Two Stanford University students, Amanda Calabrese and Greta Meyer, first developed the helix design for a class project in 2018.
A major problem with traditional tampons is that they’re prone to premature leakage, according to Calabrese and Meyer.
“We saw the prevalence of this choice to use a combination of products and that was the main insight that led us to (redesign) the tampon due to premature leakage,” Calabrese told Yahoo.
In traditional tampons, liquid is drawn straight down resulting in the tampon becoming unevenly saturated. With the new spiral design, as Sequel posted on Instagram, the liquid will be drawn around the circumference of the tampon, letting the liquid absorb equally.
“Why not give (the menstrual fluid) a walk around the circumference, slow it down, give it longer to be in touch with the tampon and absorb more evenly,” Meyer told Yahoo.
With Meyer and Calabrese’s design, there’s no more discomfort of removing a dry, unevenly saturated tampon and there’s no leakage unless the tampon is completely full.
The idea is that no more leaks means that there’s no more fear of staining clothes.
The product recently became FDA-approved and is expected to be released as early as 2024.
How has period care changed over the years?
The past decade has been revolutionary for the category of feminine hygiene products as more products are available than ever before, as reported by The New York Times. It’s becoming less of a taboo topic.
Here’s a timeline that shows the progression of feminine products:
- 1919: The first sanitary napkin, or pad, under the brand name “Kotex,” was released to consumers, per Smithsonian.
- 1934: First invented in 1929, Tampax tampons were patented in 1934 and made an appearance in the industry for the first time.
- 1937: Menstrual cups were invented and made of rubber to collect menstrual fluid, rather than absorb it like previous products did, according to the Journal of Women’s Health.
- 1980: Pads began to have wings and adhesive to stay in place.
- 1995: Period underwear was first marketed by a Vancouver-based company called Lunapads, per the Guardian.