-
3000 BCE
Egypt
Soft papyrus as tampons -
1200 BCE
Greece
fluff wraped in tiny pieces of wood -
760 BCE
Rome
Tampons and sanitary towels made out of soft wool -
Early 1700s
Old rags as pads, similar to what they would use as nappies for their babies and would simply wash and re-use them. -
Firsts sanitary towels
Lister´s Towels. Produced by Jhonson & Jhonson.They weren’t well received by the public and failed to sell -
1920
French nurses in the First World War figured out that Curad bandages were much more absorbent than their homemade menstrual rags and started using them as pads. -
First tampon with applicators
He chose the name Tampax as the brand name for this product and by 1936 his product was on the market -
Menstrual cup
It felt like a backwards step in the menstrual aid product arena. Reusable products were seen as old-fashioned -
Tampons without applicators
First time that women’s sanitary products were marketed in fashionable ways -
1966
Kotex begins to individually wrap pads for increased hygiene and convenience while travelling. -
Pads whith adhesive backing
This put an end to the need for belts, pins and other cumbersome attachment methods. -
Extra absorbent tampon
It was made from a new material that expanded when it was inserted to create a cup shape. -
1990
Sanitary pads and tampons didn’t change much post 1970 except to get more discreet. -
Nowadays
Increased use of the menstrual cup.
