Girl talk – Period Questions Answered

Hey Cuties! If you follow me on Instagram you know I LOVE PERIODS I know I know, sounds crazy right but there is a serious reason I promise.

Today I’m sharing some current things that have totally changed my period game, why I have learned to love (and not hate) this time of the month + my go to product of choice all in partnership with Always. I’m also answering some of your feminine health questions that you submitted & sharing what I learned on my visit to Always / Tampax HQ. Geez thats a lot, are you ready? Let’s do this!!!

Let’s Talk Confidence

For me confidence comes from being comfortable – comfortable in your own skin, comfortable with yourself, comfortable in your close and the list goes on. That comfortability can be driven by body acceptance, outfits, moods or your time of the month.

Let’s face it, it’s easy to let your confidence waiver on your period. It’s no secret I live my life somewhat in the spotlight – I share my life online with all of you, I dress differently in a way that makes me stand out and people stare, and I do crazy things like running around New York with a big bouquet of balloons, all things that can attract attention even when I don’t feel like being looked at. If you’re not feeling your best when any of those things are happening, it can be hard to want to step into the spot light. For the record, I’m not AT ALL complaining this is totally a life I choose AND LOVE but that doesn’t mean I have days where I don’t want to be so seen like period days. The old Courtney (meaning the Courtney from 3 months ago before learning what I’m going to share today) would change the way she dressed on her period to avoid leaks, accept that she had to feel less comfortable for a bit and ultimately let her period drive her days but not anymore.

My Period History

I’ll be real, I have a reallllly heavy flow, always have, always will. I quickly became anemic after starting my period because I was loosing so much blood on a monthly basis. I was really self conscious and embarrassed about it when I first got my period around 13 – I was bowling and wearing denim shorts from pac sun with a tiny little tiger on the back butt pocket. I made a make shift pad out of paper towel from the bathroom and waddled my way down the bowling lane, playing it cool until my mom picked me up. Later on, I remember my friends asking me for a tampon and laughing when I handed them a super plus or ultra size one that I had to change every two hours. I learned to make a joke out of it, quoting mean girls (THANK YOU TINA FEY) saying it’s not my fault I have a heavy flow and a wide set vagina to warrant a laugh and ease my embarrassment.

Because of this heavy flow, I was always a tampon girl through and through: changing them every two hours, legit setting alarms to help remind me, hiding the giant packages under the hem of my shirt when I went to the bathroom in class, and never EVER thinking I could wear only a pad without being wildly uncomfortable. These were habits I created at 13 and kept up til earlier this year when a visit to the P&G (makers of Always and Tampax!) HQ rocked my period world but more on that later.

My Feminine Health History

As you guys know, I have my fair share of health issues (more in this post) and one of them has been with feminine health. For as long as I can remember I suffered from chronic yeast and UTI (urinary track infections) – another thing I was reallllllly embarrassed of my whole life, in fact I only became comfortable talking about it when I moved to NYC and met my new best friend, Lex, who had experienced the same health issues. That’s one of the reasons I’m sharing all this is so that if you’ve experienced what I’ve experienced, you feel less alone. I’m allergic to over the counter yeast infection meds and was getting so many UTI’s (about 1 a month, 12 a year) that I became immune to the prescription medication for it from taking it so much, and had to turn to alternative methods for fighting off infections aka NOT FUN. Anyways, all this to say that I’ve recently learned the benefit and importance of switching between tampons and pads during your cycle, which is how I learned about Always Infinity.

Here’s what I DO!

Now I work from home most days so obviously it’s a lot easier to be changing your tampon / pad on the reg in your home than the average girl at an office or sitting in a classroom. For my work from home days I hang out in an always infinity pad (no tampon) and it works SO WELL. With Always Infinity I feel zero wetness, have experienced no leaks, because it can hold up to 10 times its weight leaving me confident enough to rock a yellow romper even on my period! At night I now use a size 5 Always Infinity pad. The Always sizing system allows you to choose a pad based on your panty size and flow so I can use a different product during the day and at night. Before this I would wear a Non-Always pad + Non-Tampax tampon at night, setting an alarm every 2 and a half hours to wake up in the middle of the night and change, I would sleep on a towel and sometimes still wake up with leaks or wetness basically I got NO sleep during my cycle. The longest Infinity pad, size 5, is all that I need to get through a whole my usual 7 hours of sleep without leaks or feeling wet.

Why Always Infinity

Always went out to create a pad that has zero feel, is weightless, dry and comfortable all day like that’s so comfortable you’ll forget you’re even wearing it. It’s safe to say THEY DID IT. Even me, with my heavy flow, can rely on Always Infinity, a pad that has increased my comfort level and improved my confidence during my period. I wish I knew about Always Infinity before! If you’re new to the period life, or have accepted that it’s going to be the worst few days of the month TRY ALWAYS INFINITY. I promise you’ll be able to feel the difference.

Period Questions Answered

So many of you wrote me questions while at Tampax / Always HQ, so I’m excited to answer those now based on what I learned.

Q: I have daughters, when do most start their periods

A: Girls start their periods when they have enough body weight to support a pregnancy, the average age is somewhere between 11-15. I started at 13.

Q: How do I help my daughter when she starts her period

A: When they start, they’ll probably feel a waiver in their confidence (90% of girls feel this way) – be sure to create a supportive and educational environment and try to take the pressure off. Make it known that this is SO normal, and even a cool thing that bonds all women together and makes us stronger. This is what my mom did and it really helps, her best friend even threw a period party for her daughter which can be embarrassing depending on who your daughter is, but I probably would have loved this for two reasons:

all my friends would have known I started, I wouldn’t have had to tell them and
it would have celebrated a really scary time to ease my nerves but this depends on how the girl is.

Also the doctor we spoke with at the HQ mentions most girls start with pads.

Q: Is vaginal discharge and it’s texture tied to fertility or ovulation?

A: Yes! The more clear / sticky discharge you experience the more you ovulate. This isn’t the best method to track this, the experts suggest doing so with a tracking app or the help of a doctor.

Q: Does working out change your period?

A: Sometimes yes, if your weight or lifestyle changes your period might change. Cramps are essentially a your uterus that is working as a muscle and contracting, so some women with higher muscle mass or that are naturally more muscular experience more cramps. I’m built like my dad (a former pro defensive football player) and have had crazy leg muscle mass since birth, I also rarely work out but my cramps are crazy bad. It’s because my muscles are more than the normal gal, so I’m having crazy muscle contractions that create unbearable pain.

And there were a range of cramps questions!

Q: How do I treat cramps naturally?

Q: My cramps are CRAZY BAD is this normal? Should I see a doctor?

Q: Any way to treat cramps without a pill?

A: Cramps are not fun – I know I get it, I have them crazy bad so you’re not alone. Here are a few things I’ve learned that can help. Working out a few days before your period and the first few days of your period sounds like the worst thing ever, but really can help – I swear. Even just walking can help. For me a heating pad under the back of my legs drastically will help reduce my cramps and pain. If you don’t have a heating pad you can fill an old sock with rice and heat it for 2 min or heat a water bottle – just be careful not to use a material that can burn you (like metal).

Fun Facts that I’ve Learned about Periods

Pads VS Tampons – As I stated above, I use both tampons and pads and I think it’s important to have lineup of a period products that allow me to go about my day without having to worry about leaks or being uncomfortable. If you’re not much of a pad girl, you haven’t tried infinity. I was that girl; pads were NOT MY FRIEND until I tried to Always Infinity. The revolutionary technology pulls liquid to the center of the pad and compresses it to leave you feeling dry and comfortable with less leaks. Short answer is I use and love both Always Infinity and Tampax
Your Vagina isn’t round – CRAZY RIGHT? It’s actually shaped like a sleeping bag, flat but changes shape depending on what’s in it. As a result, a round tampon (like most tampons) that offers 360 coverage may actually create side leaks! But a flat tampon, that wings when it expands out into a stingray shape like only Tampax ones do will help conquer leaks.
Size Matters – Always pads offer different size selections that you should totally explore because they might change everything. Most gals don’t wear the same dress size as they do when they started their period, but they wear the same pad size – like what. As a result, stats show that 60% of women are wearing THE WRONG PAD SIZE and 4/5 experience leaks. Changing to a larger pad size (I use a 4 or 5 when I sleep) because of my but size has changed everything for me especially at night. You HAVE to make sure you’re wearing the right size, and always products have a great size chart on the back of their packaging.
As you age, so does your period – It’s totally normal for your period to change as you age, length, texture, flow are all things that may alter over time and due to a variety of factors. Due to this, exploring different pad / Tampa sizes is necessary during your lifetime.
Women are tougher than men (lol) – okay we like knew this, but on average a women’s uterus is 3 times more sensitive than a man’s testicles. This is a fact I’ve used against Paris who tells me to eat a banana when I have cramps – eye roll.
Technology Matters Always and Tampax have revolutionary technology that is far superior to the competitor. Switching to Tampax & Always has really changed everything!!!