The FDA regulates pads and tampons as class I or II medical gadgets, and there’s no basic legislation requiring ingredient disclosure for merchandise in these classes, in contrast to meals or cosmetics, Scranton explains. However a shift passed off in October 2021, when a New York State legislation spotlighting pads, tampons, menstrual cups, and interval underwear went into impact; it known as for “a plain and conspicuous printed listing of all components which shall be listed so as of predominance” printed on or connected to the packaging. Whereas it didn’t hit the federal stage, the legislation had a “nationwide impression,” marking a big transfer towards transparency within the US, per a 2022 WVE report investigating the components disclosed on menstrual merchandise.
Even earlier than then, although, the tide was beginning to flip. As an illustration, Playtex phased out its scented Contemporary Stability tampons in 2020. Nicole M. Harris, the top of promoting at Edgewell Private Care, tells SELF that whereas there’s nonetheless some demand for scented merchandise, plenty of shoppers have extra nuanced views on perfume: “Scent is, by and huge, not one thing that ladies wish to affiliate with merchandise which are getting in an intimate half,” she says. “In order that they wish to handle the odor however not via technique of a fragrance or an added perfume…. Added perfume in female care merchandise will not be broadly obtainable or a rising house. If something, it’s going the opposite course.”
Biber agrees: “Everybody’s trending in direction of a ‘much less is extra’ strategy.”
The truth is, in November 2021, the official Tampax model account wrote in response to a tweet, “As of Spring 2021, we stated goodbye to scented tampons and we not manufacture merchandise that include perfume within the U.S.!” However whereas the model’s Pearl Tremendous Scented tampons are not obtainable on the Tampax web site, they’re obtainable in what seems to be the official Tampax retailer on Amazon US, in addition to Kroger.com and Walmart.com. And P&G gives At all times scented pads, that are at the moment obtainable on its web site. (A spokesperson from Proctor & Gamble, the father or mother firm of Tampax, confirmed receipt of SELF’s detailed listing of questions, together with a query about whether or not or not Tampax nonetheless manufactures and/or sells scented interval merchandise within the US, however didn’t reply previous to publication.)
Across the similar time Playtex stopped manufacturing its Contemporary Stability tampons, it launched a line of merchandise branded as “Odor Defend,” which claims to have “2X extra odor safety” on its packaging. It isn’t branded as a scented product however quite “an odor neutralizer,” Biber says. Equally, she notes that sure Carefree pads even have “odor management” know-how. “They’re unscented,” she says, “however to get at that odor management, in the event you had been to open up the product, there can be a scent related to that odor neutralizer.”
When you’re confused by this, that’s as a result of it is complicated. The gist: Simply because a product, together with pads or tampons, is labeled “unscented” doesn’t essentially imply it’s additionally “fragrance-free,” until in any other case specified. To be really fragrance-free, a product shouldn’t include any fragranced supplies or “masking scents” in any respect. As for the “unscented” label? That “means it doesn’t scent like something; it doesn’t imply there’s no masking ingredient,” Ginger King, MBA, a beauty chemist primarily based in New Jersey, tells SELF. “If there’s a foul odor, you should utilize a [masking] ingredient to cowl it so that you don’t scent something. It doesn’t imply it’s not fragranced.” Varied chemical compounds have capabilities that aren’t essentially “including” scent to a product, she explains, however quite making one final or just masking it up.