A brief history of menstrual hygiene. How in the Middle Ages they coped with menstruation, without sanitary pads
Sometimes, in a completely unexpected way, we may be interested in the history of things - the whole path from their origin to the current level of development. In this case, an entertaining, popular science service called " History of things"and where you can find out a lot of interesting facts about the objects of our usual environment...
I found this site when, together with a friend, I wondered: “How before women solved hygienic problems during menstruation"?
Girls, can you imagine? How happy are we now, having in our daily life an unlimited number and widest range of pads and tampons for all occasions?
You see, recently my friend’s gynecologist forbade her to use tampons - he said that this particular option for maintaining hygiene was contraindicated for her. Of course, Irina listened to her doctor, but this prohibition resulted in kitchen outrage from the awareness of the approaching inconveniences. Word for word, and suddenly, we became preoccupied with the problem of gaskets in “prehistoric times.” We were really interested in how women got out of this monthly difficult situation earlier, including in the Middle Ages in Europe - when it was believed that washing was harmful to health, and even earlier, when a person was not very familiar with clothes.. .
In general, we went online and didn’t find the details we were interested in, but we did find some information about gaskets. So I'm sharing.
- IN Polynesia and some African tribes they preferred to take the “easy” path and instead of inventing pads or tampons, they simply “isolated” women from the tribe during menstruation. For this purpose, special huts were built, where the woman stayed throughout the entire period of her “ill health.”
- The first hygiene products for menstruation were not pads, but something like tampons.
Babylon- they built rolls from soft papyrus or more accessible, but also tougher reed.
Rome- they combed and rolled the wool into balls, which served as modern tampons.
Japan- for similar purposes, they rolled balls from thin sheets of paper, or folded the paper in the form of a gasket and attached a scarf to the belt, which held the gasket in the intended place.
Europe- they made pads from fabric, attached them to the skirts as best they could, there were a lot of skirts, so blood stains with this approach were invisible, poor women, instead of pads, simply tucked the hem of their petticoats and shirts between their legs.
Eskimos- gaskets made from reindeer moss and small bark shavings.
Rus- pads made of hay, which were fitted to the belt, since underwear had not been worn before, or “pudendal ports” - trousers, which were worn only on critical days, and these trousers absorbed discharge. - The first gaskets began to be sold only at the beginning of the 20th century; they were constructed from soft fabric with high absorbent characteristics.
Then gaskets appeared from cellucotone- a product invented for dressing wounds and remarkably absorbing moisture. - In the 30s of the 20th century. there was a release to the market first tampons, created from cotton wool and threads, which gave the tampon its shape and “tail”.
The entire subsequent history of the development of the sanitary napkin business includes work to popularize sanitary napkins (ladies did not buy them for a long time, as they were embarrassed) and to improve the structure, fastening, storage, filling and other things. Achievements of these scientific developments and made the life of a modern woman quite comfortable and convenient on any day of the menstrual cycle.
Articles about the female body.
Very interesting article.
Excerpt about menstrual hygiene. And there is still a lot of educational stuff.
“The vulva is not ideal for menstruation, evidence of which is the fact that over its centuries-old history, humanity has never come up with an impeccable hygienic option for women.
Let's take a brief look at the history of menstrual hygiene. For centuries there have been the most various options hygiene. One of the oldest methods is seclusion (i.e. isolation) of menstruating women from society. This was very common in Polynesia and among African tribes. Each settlement had a special menstruating hut in which women were required to stay during their menstruation. Why was this done? In a nutshell, it comes down to isolating menstruating women to ensure their greatest safety. However, was this the only goal? Here is a quote from one historian: “... since the clothes of women of that time did not completely hide their condition, such a woman would become an object of ridicule for others, if even the slightest trace of her illness was noticed on her, she would lose the favor of her husband or lover. Thus, we see that natural modesty is based solely on the awareness of one’s shortcomings and the fear of not being liked.” So, the lack of basic hygiene products in ancient times forced a woman to be isolated during menstruation. The advent of menstrual hygiene products made seclusion optional, but the need arose to develop hygiene products, the main task of which was both to ensure the absorption of secretions and to hide the woman’s condition from others.
In ancient Egypt, papyrus was used, from which rich Egyptian women made tampons. Papyrus was very expensive, so ordinary Egyptian women used linen that was washed after use. Byzantium also used tampons made of papyrus or similar material. Such tampons were hardly comfortable, since papyrus is very cruel.
In ancient Rome, pads were used, and sometimes wool ball tampons were used. There is evidence of the use of tampons in Ancient Greece and Judea. But, apparently, the most common means of hygiene in ancient times were reusable pads made of one or another material such as canvas, fabric, silk, felt, etc.
In medieval Japan, China, and India, feminine hygiene was very high, many orders of magnitude better than in Europe. It was in Asia that disposable pads first appeared. Asian women used disposables paper napkins folded into an envelope. Such an envelope was held with a scarf attached to the belt. Later in Japan they began to make menstrual belts (if the author is not mistaken, they are called “Vami”), which were a belt with a strip running between the legs. A napkin was placed between the band and the vulva: the belt was reusable, the napkin was disposable. Outwardly, such a belt somewhat resembled an inverted basket. Every intelligent Japanese woman should have been able to make such a belt for herself.
In Polynesia, specially prepared plant bark, grass, and sometimes animal skins and sea sponges were used. Indian women in North America apparently did approximately the same thing.
In Europe in the Middle Ages, feminine hygiene was at its lowest level. Commoners, for example, simply used shirttails or petticoats tucked between their legs. In Russia in the 17th-18th centuries the so-called “pudendal ports,” i.e., something like tight-fitting pantaloons or long panties (ordinary panties were not worn then) made of thick material - menstrual fluid was absorbed directly by the ports, which were located under extensive skirts.
It should be noted that in the Middle Ages, menstruation was a rare “guest” for European women. Menstruation began then at the age of 16-18 years, and stopped at the age of about 40-45 years. Since there were no contraceptives, many women were almost constantly in a state of pregnancy or lactation (during breastfeeding, menstruation is usually absent). Thus, many women could have only 10 - 20 menstruation in their entire life, i.e., as many as modern woman on average it takes a year or two. It is clear that issues of menstrual hygiene were not as pressing for European women then as they are now. However, by the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the problem of menstrual hygiene for American and European women was already extremely acute.
In America and Europe at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, they used reusable homemade pads made of felt or canvas, which after use were folded into a bag, then washed and reused. Some adopted the Chinese method using paper envelopes. In cases where it was impossible to carry a used pad with them or saving the pad seemed impractical, women burned it in the fireplace. The custom of burning gaskets in the fireplace did not arise by chance. The fact is that the toilet became widespread only at the end of the 19th century (although it appeared two centuries earlier). Before the advent of the toilet in England (and in many European countries), women peed in pots while locking themselves in a bedroom or other room; After urination or defecation, the pots were taken out by servants or the woman herself. Therefore, changing menstrual hygiene products was also carried out in the rooms, since there were simply no special toilet facilities then. Note that in those days almost any living space was equipped with a fireplace. Therefore, it was easier to burn the gasket in the fireplace rather than throw it in the trash. This was especially true when a woman was traveling - in this case, apparently, it was easier to sacrifice a reusable pad rather than carry it with her for a long time. The fireplace was used for this purpose. At the end of the 19th century in England, there were even special portable crucibles for burning gaskets - for those cases when there was no fireplace at hand!
The habit of wrapping used pads in paper or newspaper and throwing them in the trash began only in the 70s. XX century with the widespread use of disposable pads - before that, as we see, they either saved the pads for later washing, or burned or threw them away. However, reusable pads were inconvenient for women, not only because of the unpleasant washing process (which maids did for the rich) but also because of the need to collect used pads during menstruation.
For additional protection, aprons were used, worn in the manner of underwear, i.e. they additionally protected the outer skirt from contamination. Quite a long time in the 10s - 30s. XX century (or even longer) in America (possibly in Europe) menstrual panties were used, called briefs or bloomers (the origin of the names is unclear, they are not translated into Russian). Tampons, like disposable pads, were virtually unknown in America, Europe and Asia at that time.
Significant changes occurred during the First World War. Then the French nurses in military hospitals noticed that the material cellucotton (something like cotton wool made from cellulose), developed by the American company Kimberly Clark, which was widely supplied to Europe for military purposes, perfectly absorbs menstrual flow and began to use it, in fact creating the first homemade, but disposable, pads in Europe.
This discovery had a significant impact on the further development of menstrual hygiene, prompting the Kimberly Clark company to produce sanitary pads from this material. The first disposable pads, called Cellunap, were released in 1920, but their sales in America proved extremely problematic. In principle, women were enthusiastic about the idea of disposable pads (this was shown by a thorough and very complex sociological survey for those times), but it was obvious that women were very embarrassed about menstruation. Advertising or displaying pads was unthinkable back then; women were embarrassed to even buy pads, which were then sold only in pharmacies; Mothers often sent their little foolish daughters to get sanitary pads. When purchasing, women were very embarrassed to even pronounce the name of the product, using only the last syllable, i.e. “nap”. Nap (nap) - in English means “napkin”, and this term has taken root quite widely - for many years the word nap was used to refer to pads, i.e. napkin, although pads, of course, were not napkins. Cellunaps were soon renamed Kotex, but were still sold in packages without inscriptions or drawings.
Nevertheless, sociological surveys confirmed that only embarrassment during purchase prevents the widespread adoption of new products - women really did not like reusable felt pads, but they were embarrassed to ask for “sanitary napkins” at the pharmacy. The times were very puritanical, especially in America.
Then manufacturing companies (such as Kotex, Fax and others) launched a wide campaign of very careful, but persistent and thoughtful advertising of hygiene products, the most important element of which were books for girls, which talked about puberty, menstruation and “unobtrusively” conveyed the idea of the need to use the products of one company or another (the most famous such book is “Marjorie May’s 12th Birthday,” which caused an explosion of indignation among old-fashioned moralists). Disney has made an educational cartoon about menstruation for girls. Advertising for pads appeared on the pages of women's magazines.
This policy led to fairly rapid success; by 1940, the share of felt reusable pads decreased to 20%, and after the war, by the end of the 40s. – up to 1%, after which reusable pads became a thing of the past. However, only the sexual revolution of the 60s. finally lifted many taboos, including the taboo on television and street advertising of feminine hygiene products.
What were the first industrial gaskets like Kotex? Menstrual belts were used to carry “napkins”. Euro-American belts differed from Japanese ones, which resembled an inverted basket in shape - they were a fairly thin horizontal elastic belt worn at the waist, from which two straps descended down the front and back, ending with metal clips (like clips for curtains). A gasket was attached to these clamps and passed between the legs. The designs of the belts were slightly different, but had the same basic design. The pads themselves were very long and thick, usually rectangular in shape, and covered the entire perineum. The absorption capacity of the pads was quite low, so sometimes two pads were attached to the belt at once. Changing a pad was a very difficult task; after urination, women most likely always installed a new pad. This led to women preferring to wait as long as possible before going to the toilet, which was detrimental to their health. If you consider that back then they wore stockings, also attached to a belt, then you can imagine how much time and effort the process of urination of a menstruating woman took then.
There were different types of pads, and women's opinions about them varied widely, so it is not easy to draw a general conclusion. Apparently, these pads were soft and did not rub the vulva. On the other hand, they were difficult to install in the desired position, they often got knocked down and leaked, even though they were somewhat thicker at the bottom. Therefore, women wore special tight panties, sometimes with a waterproof layer in the crotch, which reduced leakage but caused increased sweating of the vulva. Some panties had special devices for additional fastening of the pad. If a menstruating woman was going to dance or wear expensive beautiful clothes, then for additional protection they also wore something like a sash. These pads had to be changed several times a day.
Nevertheless, for Europe and America it was a huge step forward - from reusable to disposable hygiene products. Such belts were quite widespread until the end of the 60s, but later gradually disappeared with the advent of pads with an adhesive layer, which had a different wearing principle.
The first industrial tampons appeared in America in the late 1920s. (Fax, Fibs, Wix). They did not have applicators, sometimes even lanyards. The first tampon with an applicator (the famous Tampax) appeared in America in 1936 and gradually began to spread. The popularity of tampons was greatly facilitated by Dickinson's famous report, “Tampons as a Menstrual Protective Device,” published in 1945 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This report helped to some extent overcome women's mistrust of the very idea of a tampon. Nevertheless, in the 20s - 50s. tampons were still “exotic” for American and European women, and tampons apparently became widespread only in the 70s.
Disposable pads of the current concept appeared around the late 60s. - thinner ones that did not require belts to wear, but were placed in panties or stockings. Let us note, however, that the very first such disposable pads, Johnson & Johnson, appeared back in 1890 (!), Curads in 1920, but they did not take root at all then, because women’s society was simply not yet ready for the idea of disposable hygiene products.
In the 1960s, tampons with applicators became increasingly common different types– from pin to telescopic, usually plastic. At the same time, there was widespread advertising of pads and tampons on television and in women's magazines.
Acceleration (due to which the age of first menstruation in just a few generations decreased from 16 to 12-13 years), an increase in the age of menopause (cessation of menstruation), the widespread development of contraception, a significant decrease in the number of children in a European and American family, the development of emancipation - all this led to an increase in the number of menstruation in women's lives and made the problem of hygiene much more pressing than before. The intensification of women's lives also set new requirements - the speed of changing hygiene products, invisibility to others, availability for sale, reliability, ease of wearing, etc. All this could be provided only by disposable hygiene products of industrial production. Already in the 70s. The life of a civilized woman without factory-made tampons and pads has become unimaginable.
In the 80s, gaskets continued to improve, with a protective bottom layer and a “dry” absorbent layer, wings; began to use absorbent materials that turn blood into gel; pads began to be made taking into account the structure of the female perineum (anatomical shape). The pads became more blood-intensive and at the same time thinner, the range expanded - from the mighty “overnight” to the thinnest “for every day”. Tampons also developed - for example, tampons with telescopic applicators became more popular, which were often made from cardboard (since, unlike plastic, cardboard easily dissolves in water and is therefore more preferable from an environmental point of view).
Around the same period, feminine hygiene products began to rapidly internationalize - brands such as Tampax, Ob, Kotex, Always, Libresse and others are distributed throughout the world and are rarely found only in poor countries (however, the richest ladies even in the poorest countries are increasingly use global brands). In some countries, they also add their own “national” brands. National brands can be divided into two categories. The first is cheaper models compared to international ones. In Poland these are Bella pads, in Russia – Angelina, Veronica and others, including Polish ones. Such products are usually not as convenient as international ones. The second category is products that are more in line with national tastes and preferences than international ones. In France, these are, for example, Nana and Vania pads (provided with a wrapper in which the pad can be wrapped after use), in Japan, tampons with longer and usually plastic applicators, supplied with plastic bags for wrapping used tampons, etc.
Note that there are certain national preferences in the choice of hygiene products. They are not always amenable to explanation, but are often very well traced. Thus, Japanese women categorically do not accept the idea of inserting a finger into the vagina, which is why almost all Japanese tampons have applicators, and rare brands without an applicator are equipped with rubber finger guards! In general, Japanese women definitely prefer pads. Asian, Latin and Russian women also prefer to use pads. American women definitely prefer tampons; in Western Europe, the prevalence of tampons and pads is comparable. The author assumes (but has no evidence) that Muslim women only use pads, and homemade ones, since menstrual advertising is prohibited in Muslim countries.
In the USSR until the end of the 80s. industrial tampons did not exist at all, and industrial pads were extremely rare and were occasionally sold in pharmacies under the name ... “hygienic product” - in a word, the situation in America in the 30s was reproduced with anecdotal accuracy. But every book for schoolgirls explained in detail how to make pads from cotton wool wrapped in gauze. All Soviet women were fluent in this “know-how”.
The first Tampax tampons and pads appeared in the USSR in the early 90s. and caused a real sensation among women. The first Tampax advertisement appeared in Burda magazine in 1989. The page showed a tampon with an applicator in front of a box. Was there short text, the essence of which was that with Tampax tampons in their vaginas, Russian women will gain freedom and unprecedented comfort.
The author personally observed how female students literally froze when they opened the page with this advertisement and studied the contents of this advertisement for a long time, spellbound. The magazine passed from hand to hand until all the students had read the advertisement. An interesting psychological subtlety: usually the girls looked at the page in groups of two, often whispering to each other. Consequently, they were not embarrassed about menstruation among themselves, but when the guys appeared, they pretended to look at the styles of dresses. It should be noted that at the time this advertisement appeared, there were no tampons or pads on sale yet, and girls could only use homemade pads. The idea of a tampon delighted the girls.
At first, hygiene products were expensive, there were many cheap, low-quality Eastern European handicrafts, so the spread of new hygiene products was quite slow. The first to menstruate in industrially produced products were rich ladies, girlfriends of bandits, thieves and other “new Russians”. However, the spread of global brands was hampered not only by high prices and general poverty, but also by a certain prejudice Soviet women against industrial hygiene products (“why buy expensive when I can make a sanitary pad myself much cheaper”). Foreign manufacturing companies were interested in the speedy distribution of their products on the Russian market. And then, as in post-war America, advertising was launched into battle, the purpose of which in our case was to convince Russian women that menstruating “the old fashioned way” with homemade pads was now simply unfashionable. It was necessary to break the stereotype and convince women, especially young women, that life without Kotexes, Tampaxes, Allways is simply impossible.
Everyone remembers the times when the country was literally drowning in advertising menstruation. This stream of advertising, very tactless, loud and annoying, at first terribly embarrassed and shocked both women and men. There was even a movement “Against the advertising of sanitary pads and for a girl’s honor” (however, we note that sanitary pads have nothing to do with a girl’s honor; rather, on the contrary, the one who “maintains her honor” is definitely menstruating, unlike her “knocked up” girlfriends ). However, arrogant and assertive advertising has done its job - the modern generation of 15 - 25-year-old girls menstruate only in pads and industrial tampons and simply do not agree with any homemade products (although in the Russian outback the secret of making homemade products is probably not lost). In addition, the embarrassment of girls in this matter has decreased - if previously girls did not talk about their menstruation in principle and were extremely shy about any mention of it, now girls look at menstruation as a completely natural phenomenon - intimate, but in principle not shameful. We can thank advertising for this."
Text: Elena Dogadina
The topic of menstruation in the media remains taboo- and its discussion is veiled by euphemisms like “these” or “critical” days. It seems that it has always been this way, but in fact it is not - in the USSR for many years they wrote openly about menstruation, and the articles were accompanied by drawings of the uterus. We understand the history of attitudes towards menstruation in the USSR - with the help of the press, books and historian Pavel Vasiliev.
By this time, when the egg matures, the woman begins to have blood, or, as they are otherwise called, regula, or menstruation.<...>In Russia this usually happens in the 13th or 14th year.<...>From the age when eggs and regula begin to mature, a girl begins to turn into a girl. She begins to grow stronger, her voice changes, and sometimes her character changes. At this time, girls sometimes become very irritable.
"WORKER", No. 6, 1923
← IN THE Twenties and Thirties the party press published texts about menstruation in at least every second issue. Doctor of Historical Sciences Alisa Klots believes that this can be explained by the early Soviet hygiene campaign - it was actively carried out until the post-war years, when the main migration from villages to cities took place and the population learned basic hygiene skills. During this period, they wrote about menstruation in a medically dry and matter-of-fact manner. Candidate of Historical Sciences, postdoctoral fellow at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem Pavel Vasiliev says that in the first years after the revolution in the country « emancipatory sentiments were strong » .
During bleeding, the insides of the uterus swell, the uterus becomes loose and filled with blood. The hole in the cervix opens a little and blood pours out. Menstruation lasts differently: 3-5-7 days, and appears every 3-4 weeks. If menstruation lasts longer or appears more often, then this is already a disease and you need to see a doctor.
"Working Woman", No. 6, 1923
→ RESEARCHER ERIC NYMAN WRITES, that Alexandra Kollontai treated menstruation as something unpleasant and obligatory for women, from which it would be nice to get rid of. It was believed that menstruation stood in the way of a woman’s path to full equality with men, but was not considered an important female experience. This is simply a phenomenon to which women are susceptible, which is why they wrote about them, like any other “medical”, highly specialized information - the necessary minimum. For additional data or in case of cycle deviations, it was advised to go to the doctor.
Menstruation, therefore, is not a disease; According to the letter of the law, a woman during menstruation is not subject to exemption from work. But there are a number of women for whom, due to certain conditions of the body, menstruation is extremely difficult, especially in the first days.<...>Doctors prescribe complete rest (lying in bed) for a woman who does not work at an enterprise for one to two days.
"WORKER", No. 7, 1924
← DISCUSSIONS ABOUT MENSTRUATION AND EQUALITY were also carried out at the level of whether one should take time off on menstruation days. Professor of Soviet history Melanie Ilic in the study “Soviet Women Workers and Menstruation: A Research Note on Labor Protection in the 1920s and 1930s” writes that in factories and industries where there were more women than men, there was menstrual leave. Women could take a few days off a month - although some deliberately did not take it. Pavel Vasiliev believes that this is also typical for the modern situation: on the one hand, menstrual leave can be considered a progressive legislative initiative; on the other hand, they seem to automatically imply that the female body functions worse several days a month than the male body, and the male body is taken as the standard.
But not all party publications of this period had strong feminist sentiments. For example, in " Women's magazine“In 1926, the material “The Chemistry of Women’s Moods” was published - it describes that a woman becomes uncontrollable for several days a month, and in psychiatry she is destined for the diagnosis of “menstrual psychosis”: “Consequently, the sanity of the female personality during menstruation is certainly limited . Statistics illustrate this idea by indicating an increase in the tendency to commit crimes. It turns out that about 50% of all suicides among women occur during the regulative period.”
If the meeting of the female egg cell with the sperm does not occur, the unfertilized egg cell still moves into the uterus and dies. The surface layer of the swollen mucous membrane of the uterus narrows; this is accompanied by bleeding; what we call menstruation occurs.
"Worker", No. 7, 1947
→ AFTER THE WAR, in the second half of the forties and early fifties, in magazines, medical details, attention to health and hygiene were replaced by concern exclusively for the reproductive state of the woman. The press reminded that if menstruation was interrupted or discharge appeared, the woman immediately needed to see a doctor before complications arose - she was about to become a mother.
Pavel Vasiliev adds that the country during the Stalinist period, in the context of militarization, was interested in new citizens, and above all, in soldiers. This is most noticeable in the post-war years, when a woman was seen as an “incubator” for the production of people, and not only in the USSR - other countries affected by the war also sought to make up for losses. During this period, medical negligence, cases where a doctor’s actions caused damage to a woman’s reproductive health, were punished especially severely, Vasiliev adds. Accordingly, menstruation itself was not talked about then - they were simply mentioned in articles about pregnancy, the causes of infertility or abortion.
The most important concern of parents in this regard is to better prepare the girl’s body for a normal menstrual cycle.<...>In physically developed, seasoned, healthy girls, menstruation usually occurs regularly, without disturbances; on the contrary, sickly girls often find it difficult to tolerate the onset of menstruation, lose weight, and lose their already modest strength.
"Worker", No. 3, 1963
← SINCE THE LATE FIFties- in the early sixties, mentions of menstruation in the press appeared only as part of advice for the mother of a teenage girl. The grandmother, doctor and teachers at school should be prepared for girls’ menstruation, and the mother should provide her daughter with information in advance so that she is not afraid of blood. And everyone around the schoolgirl should be prepared for the fact that her behavior will change, she will begin to study worse and be rude - it is believed that this is a normal stage of her life associated with “becoming a mother.” Pavel Vasiliev suggests that menstrual knowledge from the late fifties to the eighties went into the family sphere, and the responsibility for storing and transmitting this information rested only with the mother.
There is another theory that explains this state of affairs: in the sixties and eighties, talking about menstruation becomes more difficult, perhaps also due to a new, even more conservative view of the family. In the book “The High Title of a Communist: Postwar Party Discipline and the Values of the Soviet Regime,” Edward Cohn comes to the conclusion that the Khrushchev period in the USSR became almost more “moralistic” than the Stalinist one. For example, if under Stalin it became known about the mistress of an official, this could be followed by simple conversations and reprimands - under Khrushchev, sanctions for such actions were much stricter. The moral character of the builder of communism is being constructed more clearly and in detail than ever.
At least twice a day, with clean hands and short-cut nails, you should wash the external genitalia with lukewarm boiled water; Dried blood on the external genitalia leads to contamination and irritation of the skin, from here inflammation can spread to the vagina and internal genital organs. During menstruation, you should not take a bath, swim in the sea, or in the river (you cannot douche the vagina). You should wash in the shower. You cannot have sexual intercourse. You should use sanitary gauze pads, which should be tied to your belt and changed when soiled; You should wear loose tights and change them more often.
"Concise Encyclopedia of Household Economy"
1966
Who invented the gaskets? How did women manage without them before? What's new in this market sector today?
The story is told by a candidate of philological sciences, a teacher at the Department of Advertising at the Moscow Institute of International Law and Economics. A. S. Griboyedova Marina Vladimirovna PETRUSHKO.
The topic of "critical days" has been and still remains taboo in many cultures around the world. Over its centuries-old history, it has become overgrown with myths - in some places women were forbidden to cook food during this period, in others they were isolated in special huts. Until now, completely different religions prohibit them from crossing the threshold of temples on such days. How women at different times and in different countries did you solve this problem? Egyptian women, for example, rolled papyrus tampons. In Greece and the Roman Empire it was customary to use sheep wool, processed in a special way. Residents of the North ground alder bark into sawdust or used moss. Used in China and Japan special paper. Russian peasant women - home-woven linen... Until the end of the 19th century, a common landscape in European and American yards was washed pads hanging on lines, reminiscent of a crocheted washcloth with loops at the ends. They were fastened to clothing or a special belt.
German women's magazines and brochures published patterns from which such belts could be cut and sewn to individual measurements. It was the practical Germans who established the process of industrial production and “public” advertising in the press of disposable cotton pads. The Paul Hartmann factory released "Hartmann"s MULPA Damen-binde. "MULPA" were positioned as the only pocket-sized pads, indispensable when traveling.
In 1895, these products appeared in England and the USA, bringing the factory to the level of an international manufacturer. A year later, the Johnson & Johnson company released its Johnson & Johnson disposable pads, named after Dr. Lister, a promoter of surgical antisepsis. But both of them did not have much commercial success. Cultural and religious traditions, as well as public opinion, hampered the appearance of bright and visible advertising for essential goods.
The boom in popularity of disposable hygiene products occurred in the 20s of the 20th century. Women felt their own social significance, felt freer and more relaxed. They started driving cars, playing sports, and got permission to smoke in in public places. In the First World War, women from many countries took an active part as medical personnel and nurses. The success story of disposable pads is also connected with the professional activities of sisters of mercy.
Medical authority has always been a favorite means of persuading buyers. People trust doctors more than anyone else. In its first advertisements, which appeared in the press in January 1921, the Kotex company, a pioneer in the production of disposable pads, explained the origin of the new type of pads as follows: “American nurses working in France during the First World War first tried to use a new bandage "based on wood cellulose as sanitary pads. It turned out that this dressing material is more hygroscopic than cotton. And at the same time, it is not so expensive." This is how the popular “Kotex”, which is still popular today, was born.
In the same years, German manufacturers of hygiene products for women "Camelia" attracted sister of mercy Tekla for cooperation. In addition, the logo of the sanitary pad brand was supplemented with a cross, emphasizing the connection between the advertised product and the fact that the sister of mercy is also a representative of the Christian Hospital.
80 years ago, public advertising of intimate hygiene products met with resistance and condemnation in European and even American cities no less than in Russia today. Therefore, companies tried in any way to enlist the support of an authoritative church so that customers would not hesitate to use them.
But the most successful and truly large-scale sales of disposable pads began only after advertisers found a way to save ladies from saying out loud to a male salesperson the name of the product they needed. This brilliant idea is attributed to the American Albert Lasker.
The lady was asked to put money into a special box herself, taking a package of pads from a stack on the counter.
Camelia customers, for example, found a special leaf in the bag. And when they again needed to prepare for “critical days,” they could silently hand this piece of paper to the pharmacist. It said: "Please sell me a pack of Camelia."
In the 1930s, the first American tampons appeared.
The most famous brand, Tampax, released the first tampons with an applicator and string in 1936, invented and patented by Dr. Earl Haas. Doctors have long used a similar technology for vaginal administration of drugs, soaking surgical cotton with them. Researchers of Egyptian papyri indicate that women even in those days soaked their homemade tampons with honey for medicinal purposes.
A born innovator, Haas sewed compressed cotton wool on a home sewing machine and designed a cardboard package called an applicator that made it possible to avoid touching sterile swabs with your hands. From the invention he subsequently sold, the doctor earned about $30,000 and the gratitude of his wife.
Modern companies, it would seem, have perfected the means of dealing with “critical days” to the limit. It is increasingly difficult for them to invent true innovations. And while corporations with world-famous brands are becoming more sophisticated in their competition, small firms are winning the market with the help of the “old”, but increasingly relevant in our technological age, model of gaskets. These are reusable, washable pads made from cloth, eco-friendly cotton and flannel.
They place their emphasis on women taking care of their health and environment. According to supporters of reusable pads, during production modern types this product is used too much chemical substances, the contact of which with the body does not pass without leaving a trace.
The most conscious part of the fairer sex overseas is already “voting with currency” for environmental cleanliness, trying “new old” pads made from fabrics in cheerful colors.
The pace of life forces you to be active: a friend’s wedding, a meeting with school friends, a trip to the sea, romantic dates...
But there are days when, for obvious reasons, your freedom is limited.
It is during this period that a menstrual cup will help you a lot, thanks to which you will have time to do everything you have in mind without slowing down or changing your habits.
So what is this thing? This is a container for collecting secretions, which can have different shapes, textures and colors. It can be made from various materials and have different ponytails. But its main task is to make your critical period more comfortable without blowing your budget.
Installed in the same way as a tampon, does not require frequent monitoring
Tight installation prevents liquid from spilling in any position and in any environment. Therefore, you can safely play sports, including swimming, or simply relax alone or with loved ones, even 24 hours a day. For you and other people, your cycle is in the "off" position.Unlike tampons and other hygiene products, the menstrual cup does not reveal its presence in any way, even to you. It takes shape inside the body and you don’t feel it at all.
The cap is absolutely neutral. It maintains the natural balance of flora, does not leave fibers and does not allow liquid to come into contact with the internal environment. Thus, it is more physiological for the body than other hygiene products.
In addition, the cap is a fairly economical thing. Having bought one only once, you will forget about other products for several years.
If our arguments seem insufficient to you, you can read the real reviews of our clients.
Why should you buy it in our store?
We have been working since 2009 and advise girls every day. Use the feedback form. We have the most wide choose. And this is not surprising, because we know that you are different, each with your own characteristics. That's why we always have a product that will suit you perfectly.
We offer the lowest price on the market. And if you can find it cheaper, write through the feedback form and we will sell it to you at that price.
We provide cheap delivery and carry it out throughout Russia. You can choose the most convenient one.
Silicone mouthguard. Where can I buy? Online store
We invite you to learn more about the advantages over pads and tampons, find out the differences between different brands: MeLuna (meluna) with a ball, with a ring, with a stem,