Hey, this is Amanda and Kim from Put A Cup In It,
and we're here to talk to you
about the new Tampax Menstrual Cup.
* music *
It was a huge surprise when we were contacted
about Tampax coming out with a cup.
What kind of cup would a big company like Tampax,
which is owned by P&G — which is an even bigger company,
what kind of product would they come out with?
And was it going to be something
that was a quality product?
Was it going to be something just
to throw their hat in the ring?
There are lots of questions
and excitement surrounding the whole thing.
There's a lot of emotions here.
This first video is all about
kind of just Tampax making a cup.
It's sort of a big deal.
So I want to talk about that,
and also let you know how we were involved in this
and how we weren't.
And then our review, how it actually worked,
which I'm sure you're all curious about,
will be in our second video,
so make sure that you watch that video next
and take a minute to subscribe to our channel,
since we have all kinds of menstrual cup information.
But this one's kind of a biggie.
We share pretty much all of your initial hesitations,
because we had all of the same feelings
when we first learned that Tampax was making a cup.
But we are really impressed with what they came out with,
and how they address some of the pain points
that current menstrual cup users have.
One of the really exciting things
about having a brand like Tampax come out with a cup
is that it lends credibility to the concept.
Because there are a lot of people who are very comfortable
and familiar with Tampax as a brand,
and they're more willing to try a cup
because it's from a brand that they know and trust,
and that they may not associate with some of the things
that they typically associate with a menstrual cup,
which is simply that it's an alternative product.
And that's one of the reasons we were so nervous
about the cup itself working,
because if you have all of these people introduced
to the cup through a big brand like Tampax
and lending credibility to the concept,
if the cup doesn't work well for the people who try it,
it gives cups in general a bad name.
So we definitely had initial hesitation
that the cup itself would be designed well.
We will say, just like full disclosure,
that they brought us to their headquarters in Cincinnati
to meet their research team,
and their marketing team, and lots of people.
Knowing the thought and the research
that Tampax actually did put into the cup
helped put our minds at ease.
It was exciting.
The research that we saw go into this made us comfortable
and appreciative of their position coming at this.
And we also, I should mention,
got to meet some other people
in the menstrual cup space who were invited.
So we met It's Just Kelli, who's a big YouTuber
and does lots of menstrual cup reviews
and period product reviews.
We also met Miranda
from Slashed Beauty. Yup.
I love her Slashed Beauty.
I've been watching some of her videos.
So we were actually brought in to give them our opinion
on their messaging and their marketing,
and we definitely want to expand on that in this first video.
Before we go any further,
we are going to show you what it looks like.
So this the cup packaging, and it's a very big box.
This is the starter kit.
So they will sell two sizes.
And this one is a starter kit which has one of each.
It also comes with some wipes,
which we'll have some thoughts about.
But this is what it would look like when you buy it online
or if you find it on store shelves.
And it shows you the smaller cup in the window.
The larger cup is sort of hidden.
You would have to turn it to the side
to actually see the larger cup.
And it's got huge branding, Tampax Cup,
so you know it's from Tampax.
They tell you exactly what you get,
two cups, a little carrying case, and some wipes.
And this is that starter kit again.
We're thinking of this as people who have never seen a cup,
but who are seeing it on a store shelf.
So what they've done,
they have to put a lot of information on the packaging.
So they're suggesting to size your cup,
choose your cup, by flow.
That's something we take issue with,
so it's not our favorite part of the cup itself.
We prefer that you pick by size,
'cause it needs to stay in place and be comfortable.
Yeah, flow is definitely secondary to a good fit.
So now we're coming to the back of the box.
Mm.
Yeah, womp womp.
We're not too far into this review,
so you won't yet hear all the things we love about this cup
and what we saw go into it.
But one of the things that we did voice our opinion about
and that we're sad to see still on the existing packaging
is that this says it's made by women for women.
We feel that by including for women
feels a little, or a lot, exclusionary
and isolating to anyone who's not a woman,
or doesn't feel very womanly.
And on the back it does say it's co-designed
with a female OB-GYN.
And I think that again, you can say that.
That's not exclusionary,
but just all they had to do for us would've been
just cover this little thing up that says for women.
Yeah, just the removing that.
I think that covers it right there.
Going back on our positive side,
just this little sidebar right here is helpful
for anyone who doesn't even understand how a cup works.
They do have more instructions inside.
Obviously, there's a lot to using a cup.
If there weren't, we would not have a job.
So it's wash your hands first, fold your cup,
and then it shows it insert it already
into the vaginal canal with a very simple line drawing,
and that just gives you the basics of how a cup works.
And it gives you the use for up to 12 hours max,
which we're happy that they are acknowledging.
You can safely wear a cup for up to 12 hours.
I think we were a little nervous
that they would undercut that
out of extreme caution as a huge brand.
But they do give you full credit, just like any other brand,
up to 12 hours, so that's why you would use a cup.
Agreed, I'm really happy to see that.
And also, the little diagram on the side,
I like how it feels familiar, again, to tampon packaging.
So we're unboxing this live.
It says, thank you for choosing the Tampax Cup.
We hope you have a wonderful experience.
So that's kinda nice.
So are we opening this?
Yeah, we're opening.
So inside, you'll see the cups, the case,
and there are some wipes in here.
Whoop.
Again, we have thoughts on these.
The case is egg-shaped with nine holes in the bottom,
so there's plenty of air flow,
so no moisture's going to get trapped inside.
And this case, it is designed to be able
to hold both cups if you have them, which is really nice.
* case clicks *
They call it convenient pocket-size.
Well, you're not carry a Tampax case in your pockets
whether they're normal-sized or not.
* laughs *
If you have a significant other who wears cargo shorts,
this is pocket-sized.
* laughing *
Or if you wear cargo shorts, this is pocket-sized.
* laughing *
On to the rest of the packaging.
It has the blue watercolor.
And we did express a little concern about the blue.
It's reminiscent of the old marketing
where you would drop the blue liquid onto the pads,
and I think we're beyond that.
And I don't think that they did that on purpose.
But yeah, it does have a bit of a sterile feel,
which may give some comfort to some.
So personal preferences.
This is what they look like.
And we will go into much greater detail into our review.
But we should go more about the design
and the research of these particular cups
to explain some things that you may already be noticing
such as on the larger, heavy-flow cup, it looks pretty wide.
And the rim is pretty pronounced.
And with the smaller cup, it is also pronounced,
but not as much.
And the smaller cup is fairly petite.
Although, I'd say it's closer to some
of the smaller size twos out there
than it is the most petite options.
Just to give a quick comparison,
this is a popular menstrual cup brand,
and the rim, this is their size two,
and this is the Tampax large.
And then this is the small.
These are roughly the same size.
The Tampax Cup is made of medical grade silicone.
It's fairly thick-walled.
The rim is maybe at the very end slightly thicker,
but not terribly so.
It has good size air holes.
They're very easy to clean.
They're not too small, but they're also not so big
that you would worry about any sort of leakage.
One of the things they did here with the shape,
which was really fascinating,
we've seen bullet-shaped cups before, that's not new.
But this particular cup has a very wide rim.
It's sort of morning glory shaped.
It's very triangular.
And the reasoning behind this
is because the very bottom portion of the vagina
is where you can actually feel your cup.
And once you get past that,
you stop having some of that annoying sensation
that we typically get if our cup's too long,
or if the stem is irritating us.
And so that's why the very bottom of the cup is narrow.
And it goes wider to give you the capacity.
And also, the rim is even wider than that
because it helps pull the cup up.
And what they found doing MRIs,
they did them after extended wear,
is that it actually sort of sucked the cup up a little.
That sounds a little scary, but it's really not.
There's nowhere for it to go.
But it does help it stay in place.
And it keeps it from pressing on the bladder
the way that some cups do with a different shape.
And again, it keeps it from having any irritation
at the opening of the vagina.
And lengthwise, this cup is really right
where we want it to be in both sizes.
Because some of the cups that are out there
tend to be even longer than the average cervical height.
And Amanda and I have been saying that for years,
that some of the cups that are out there
are just too long for the average menstruator.
What we learned from Tampax--
It is the coolest graph.
They actually put up a graph during their presentation
about what went into designing this cup.
There are brands that are longer
than the average cervical height that we already suspected,
and it shows where it is.
And they made sure that the Tampax Cup was at least
as short as or shorter than that average cervical height.
So they had the data to back up
what we've known for a long time
just based on anecdotal evidence
from everyone we've ever talked to
who said that some of the cups they tried
were too long for them, and that was really nice to know.
And they did do a test that they would have people push,
like press, like as if you're having a bowel movement,
to see because one of the issues with cups
along with the bladder pressure issue,
when you're having a bowel movement,
the cup can move down,
and the Tampax Cup, instead of moving down, moved back up.
So they did these MRI images
where they actually had people do this
while being scanned to see what happened inside.
So these are just things that other brands,
frankly don't have the budget to do.
And so we're really impressed
with the research that they did to give the people the,
as they said, they didn't invent the cup.
They know they didn't invent the cup,
but they're trying to address some pain points
that they have the ability to address that not everyone can.
We're just guessing at this stuff,
like what feels good and what doesn't.
Trying to invent something, or reinvent something
that wouldn't apply bladder pressure,
they have what they call the SoftCurve base.
And it's just more tapered than most of the other cups,
which really makes it kinda pointy looking,
but there's a reason for that.
Again, it's pointy at the base
to prevent that bladder pressure, and it does work.
We'll get to that in our review.
And it's more flutey, morning glory,
as Amanda said, shaped at the top.
Tampax Cup also has extra grip rings
that extend all the way down the stem,
which is solid, by the way, it is not hollow.
The game changer here is that this is, again,
brought to you by a brand that people trust.
So I think that the work that they've put into this
and putting it behind their brand,
they didn't come out with this under a sister brand either,
they put this directly under the Tampax umbrella.
So they believe in it.
Again, their team is very passionate about this.
And it's really comforting
and exiting to see what they put into it,
and what this might mean for menstruators everywhere.
So they also come with these Always Wipes.
* crinkling *
We feel that people who choose a menstrual cup
typically choose it
to make a healthier choice for their body,
and we don't feel that this fits quite in line with that.
And not to mention that any of these fresher wipe things
that are scented have this unstated idea
that you need freshening.
We do have natural odor which varies from day to day,
and throughout our cycle,
and also just what we're doing actively.
So to say that any of this normal odor is a bad thing
and that you should be treating it with perfume,
those are not ideas that we personally prescribe to.
If you just happen to have a personal preference,
that's one thing.
Personally, I find the scent to be pretty strong,
so
I would never use this.
One other thing that I don't like about the wipes
is that I feel like it's confusing
to package it with the cup,
because I feel like people are going to assume
that it's meant to clean the cup.
I think we said as much during our meeting with them
when they asked about some of these issues.
A lot of menstrual cup users use cups
because they want to be more conscious about their waste,
and again, this is something that creates more waste
and is a one-time use, plastic-wrapped product.
So and I don't think that Tampax was necessarily
coming out with a cup to be eco-friendly.
I think they were really coming at it
to address another option for people who have periods,
and that they wanted to take a turn
at seeing how they could make a cup.
And in that respect,
I think that they did do what they set out to do.
They did a great job with their instructions.
Yeah, so I love lots of things about this.
One, it says, you got this, relax, breathe.
We tell people that all the time.
But the other thing I really love is that they're very thoughtful.
And one of the things is on removing a cup,
people, I think they get the pinching the base,
but they think that maybe pinching the base,
and then you just pull it on out and you're good.
But this specifically says
to pinch the base of the cup, not the stem,
and while pinching, pull the cup out of your vagina,
which is really important.
You have to keep that suction released,
and so I love that they thought that through.
In regards to trimming the stem,
it says that you may want to trim the stem
and never trim the stem while wearing.
Believe it or not, we have had people ask us that.
Every one of us remembers looking through the pamphlet
when we first tried a tampon,
and a lot of us probably were
using Tampax tampons at the time.
So it's almost a little nostalgic
to see a Tampax Cup pamphlet.
And so there's something kind of nice
about this being a Tampax kinda thing.
So yeah.
I find this whole thing so exciting.
Again, we had our hesitations,
but the more I think about it,
the more I'm in awe of the fact
that a company as large as Tampax,
I mean, I started out with Tampax tampons,
and just * sigh * that a company this large
has put so much thought into it,
it's sort of, not that I need validation,
but it sort of validates
all of the passion and excitement that we feel for it.
Or at least, it does for me to know that someone this big
sees the value and importance.
We want to add, and if you're still with us,
bless you, 'cause this is a long video,
we want to add that it's not to take away
from the other boutique brands,
because there's room in this market
for so many cup companies already,
and it's continuing to grow.
And whether all the cups that are coming out
are good or not, that's up for debate.
We certainly don't think all
of the brand new cup brands are great.
But a lot of the ones who are key figures right now,
they're good cups, and Tampax is also a good cup.
But let's say you find out about menstrual cups
from seeing a Tampax Cup,
could be successful for you and it could not,
but regardless, if you switch from another brand to Tampax,
or you discover Tampax
and find another brand that works better for you,
that's the beauty of cups.
This is not going to kill the menstrual cup industry
by being a Tampax brand cup that everybody ends up buying,
no one buys the boutique brands, and the industry dies.
I don't see that happening at all.
What is it?
The rising tide floats all boats,
or rises all ships or whatever?
I'm not good
with my analogies,
but we in the industry knew that people are going to be alarmed
when they find out that Tampax is coming out with a cup.
I'm sure brands are going to be a little nervous.
But I don't think that needs to happen.
I think that there's room enough for everyone,
and this only widens the scope of users
and benefits everyone in the long run.
It benefits Tampax, it benefits the smaller brands.
And again, I think that's just good for people
to have choices and to know about their options.
This will hopefully bring that more to the mainstream,
and that has always been our goal.
So we didn't hesitate, as long as the cup works well
and was designed with thought, which it has been,
to work with Tampax on this project.
And our thoughts on the Tampax Cup or any other cup,
that doesn't change our belief
that there's not one cup that works for everybody.
That's why we exist.
That's why we spend so much time listening
to people's feedback about different cups.
That's why we test so many different cups.
There isn't just one that's going to fit everybody,
and this is just another tool that may fit someone
who hasn't found a cup that's work for them.
When we had our meeting with Tampax,
they definitely listened and understood a lot
of the concerns that we had regarding some of the packaging,
and some of the things that we talked about in this video
that we didn't exactly love.
We're hopeful that in their next iteration
when they come out with new packaging
and things that for a bigger company
take a while to accomplish,
that they can address those
and do a little bit of a better job on that side of things.
But as far as the cup goes,
we're really happy with the product that they designed.
Thank you so much for watching.
Please look to our other video,
which is the actual review of the cup
and what we think about it and its function.
And leave us comments if you have them,
questions, like, and subscribe.
That good?
Sure.
All right, so I'm going to hit this button,
and check on our * bleep * kids.
Yay.