The History of Menstrual Care Products

When you're pulling away the plastic of your pad and applying it with the adhesive side to your underwear, or when you're changing your tampon on those heavy days, do you ever wonder how our ancestors used to manage their menstrual flow? Surely they didn't have cotton pads with adhesive wings or menstrual silicon cups that held the blood in. The truth is, they didn't. Even though we sometimes complain about our menstrual products now, and sometimes justifiably, we would be shocked to find how women of the past managed their period. So let's start from the beginning.

In ancient Egypt, women used softened papyruses. They would roll them into a convenient size and use them as tampons. A sea over, the ancient Greeks had the same idea; they used a microorganism found in the bottom of the sea. It was a sponge, and they used it like a tampon. These sponges repealed some bacteria but attracted others, so it was not particularly sanitary for women to use. The modern types of these sponges last about six months and hold more blood than a regular tampon. 

This time, an ocean away, Native Americans used buffalo skin like we would use a pad. Others around the world reportedly used types of moss, grass, or cloth. So in a nutshell, the ancient world relied on natural materials as makeshift pads or tampons to manage their flow. These products, while not very similar to our modern ones, show us how our ancestors had the same ideas formulating in their minds.

Nothing serious changed in the mediaeval era. Periods like the ancient years were considered evil, something unholy and dirty, so menstrual products pretty much remained off the markets and in the hands of the individuals. The women of the past were creative with scrap and linen fabrics or, in general, cloth pads from absorbent materials that could be washed and reused; many also just bled freely on clothes. That is why they wore heavy underwear to cover the stains. 

In the Victorian era, we see the first manufactured and marketed menstrual care products. In the 1850s, the sanitary apron made its first appearance. It was basically a garment that was held with rubber bars over the buttocks to stop the flow from getting on clothes. It looked like a regular short apron, just without the torso part. But the most important invention that dominated the menstrual care scene for a while was the 1896 sanitary belt by Johnson and Johnson. This belt that held towels and fabrics with clips so they didn’t slip down the waist was an ancestor of the sanitary pad. Johnson and Johnson wanted what all women wanted: a slick but strong and absorbable product that saved them wash time but was also comfortable. 

With the 20th century also came the bloom of the period care market. During the war, nurses saw that cellulose (a type of natural fibre) was much better at holding fluids than regular cotton. 

bandages that were used until then.From this observation, a company called Kotex brought sanitary napkins to life in 1918. In general, reusable period products were and are very good for us and also the environment, but take a lot of work to clean and maintain. After that, in the 1920s, the cotton pads dominated, even though they were only a string of cotton held up by a belt. In 1933, tampons made their first appearance and have stayed in the limelight ever since. They were first manufactured by a company called Tampax, and they were found to be much healthier than pads, which inevitably came into contact with the faecal mutter in the back.

In the 1930s another famous product made its first appearance, the menstrual cup. It was made out of rubber, medical-grade silicon, latex, or elastomer, and it held up about an ounce, far more than its tampon competitor. Modern menstrual cups are either disposable or reusable, and the latter, if cared for properly, will last up to ten years. Each one can be worn up to 12 hours at a time, and unlike many other menstrual products, it has never been linked to TSS (toxic shock syndrome, caused by toxins).

In the 40s and 50s, the industry tried and failed to create and popularise some ideas. Like the first disposable pads that did not do well at the time since people preferred tampons. Also, in the 1940s, following the trend of tampons, companies tried to create tampons that didn't need an applicator but failed. Finally, in the 1950s, the adjustable sanitary belts were made with a pocket napkin to keep in moisture, but they were only released to the public in the 1960s. 

Adhesive strips finally appeared in the 1960s in America, but they didn't revolutionise the industry quite yet, as people's favourites remained unchanged with the tampons, the sanitary belts, and also the menstrual cup. In the early 1960s, the Padette was also first introduced. It promised coverage, and it was made for the lighter days. It was made like a pad, but much smaller and slicker, seemingly very targeted to people with smaller flow or lighter days. 

In the 1970s, the panty liner, or ‘panty kinis’ as they were called, appeared in the market. They were primarily marketed to teens, and they were bikini bottom style pants that held pads in place. In general, holding pads in place was a major problem of the time, and many companies tried to win over the buyers by solving it, but no one would make the top of the industry quite yet and solve it until the adhesive pads. These would first appear in the decade as 'stick on sanitary napkins’. 

The 1980s and 1990s were decades of general improvements. They improved designs, put wings in pads, and made other advancements, particularly in pads, to increase comfortability. At that time also appeared the sanitary pants, which promised to hold pads in place yet again and no leaks. In 1995, the interlabial pads came to life in the hands of manufacturers, and they are a product that has stayed in the market ever since. They are a pad but also a tampon, a hybrid of shorts. Which promises to catch the flow and regulate it. It was reintroduced in 2008 and it is made to handle period flows with big gushes. 

Finally, in the 21st century, things are pretty much stable with the established favorites. Menstrual cups, pads, and tampons, but we also see the all-in-one period panties in the 2010s, which offer extra padding and layers of fabric and are a substitute for pantyliners but also reusable. Reusable and environmentally friendly really was the word of the decade, as now the menstrual care industry was following a 'save the world’ policy. Climate change and overall environmental problems concerned the public, so industries also adapted. 250 to 300 pounds of pads and stuff will be thrown away by a woman in her lifetime, so biodegradable pads and organic tampons are now the stars of the market. Along with them, cloth pads, period pants, and overall reusable products that last for years, not hours, like menstrual cups. 

Written by Aggeliki Rigalou

References 

1. Caterbow, A. (2019). A short history of menstrual products and materials used. Plastic and Toxic Free Period. https://ptfperiod.info/2019/09/30/a-short-history-of-menstrual-products-and-materials-used/

2. Stein, E., & Kim, S. (2009). Flow: The cultural story of menstruation. New York, St. Martin’s Griffin. https://doi.org/10.1080/00497878.2011.537994

3. (2023, November 7). The History of Period Products. Alliance for Period Supplies. https://allianceforperiodsupplies.org/the-history-of-period-products/

4. (2024, January 5). The History of Period Products: From Censorship to Autonomy. The Women's Organization. https://www.thewomensorganisation.org.uk/the-history-of-period-products/#:~:text=In%201896%2C%20Johnson%20%26%20Johnson%20invented%20the%20sanitary,clips.%20Courtesy%20of%20the%20Victoria%20and%20Albert%20museum