Review: Woman-Kind Menstrual Sponges

When I first heard about menstrual sponges, I was a bit mystified. Sponges? Like, from the sea? Turns out that's exactly right! Menstrual sponges are a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative to tampons, and they're better for your body as well. Generic tampons are made from bleached cotton and rayon fibres that retain traces of the chemicals used to make them so perfectly white and sterile-looking. Over time, these chemicals could leak into your body through your sensitive mucous membranes, which from a layman's perspective seems like a bad move. You could pay extra for the organic, pesticide-free ones, but these are still single-use and take months to biodegrade -- the cottony bit, that is. The plastic wrapper and other packaging would take even longer to disintegrate, spend more time in a landfill, and contribute to the pollution of our planet. And considering how many tampons you might go through in a lifetime of menstruation, it really isn't a sustainable way to shed your uterine lining while continuing a normal life.

This is where eco-friendly menstrual care comes in. We approached the online wellness retailer Faithful to Nature about helping us do a series of reviews of various reusable sanitary products one could use instead of mainstream tampons and pads. Faithful to Nature is arguably the largest and most varied stockist of ethical, healthy, and eco-friendly products and foods in South Africa; and they deliver straight to your door. I've used them before and have always found their services impeccable, plus they always include little product samples along with your order so you get extra presents to look forward to. They sponsored our giveaway and provided us with really awesome earth-friendly menstrual products to try out for this project, and what I was most excited for were the sponges -- mainly because it was such an unconventional alternative for me. We received a pack of Woman-Kind menstrual sponges in small and medium to test out in exchange for an unbiased review, and spoiler alert: they are awesome.

As a bit of a disclaimer, sea sponges are technically animals but because they lack a central nervous system, the general consensus is that they don't feel pain. It depends on your own personal ethical stance, but despite my vegan beliefs I was okay with using this product. To be honest, I'm not sure if it's just because they don't look like animals and therefore it is easier for me to achieve cognitive dissonance. Better vegans than I might have seminal, well-reasoned arguments about the issue, but for the purposes of this review I was happy to focus on the environmental benefits.

Firstly, you need to prep your sponges for use by rinsing thoroughly in warm water, just to rid them of any tenacious bits of ocean that might still be clinging on, then pop in some warm water and vinegar for ten minutes to banish bacterial nasties. Some sources recommend apple cider vinegar, but I think regular white vinegar should be fine. After the recommended soaking time, you obviously rinse and squeeze the sponge again, smush it up nice and small, then insert it as you would a tampon. I would recommend not pushing it too far up because removal can be tricky, but more on this in a bit.

Once prepped, the sponges get all soft and fluffy-feeling, making insertion a breeze. I was sort of expecting a scraping sensation, but it was actually really comfortable. During use, you can't feel the smaller one at all, and that's what I used on the first day of my cycle when my flow is pretty light. It lasted a good four hours before I became aware of a weird feeling of heaviness that was quite uncomfortable. I realised it must be the sponge getting full so nipped off to the loo for a quick rinse. That's when I discovered the importance of not pushing it up too high -- it was a tense few moments where I wondered if I'd be able to reach it, but fortunately all was well. The sponge does leak a bit during removal, probably because you have to pinch it slightly to actually get a grip, so have some toilet paper at the ready. The second, slightly lower insertion was much better and easier to retrieve, so avoid tense moments in public restrooms and learn from my mistakes. It's easier with the medium-sized sponge due to the size making it naturally sit a bit lower. I used the medium size in the stage of my cycle that is normally the heaviest (although for some reason I had a lighter period than usual), and it managed to last overnight without leaks. Impressive!

When your period is over, just repeat the whole cleaning process along with the water/vinegar soak, allow your sponges to dry, and you're ready for the next time! However, each sponge can only be used for about six cycles before they start deteriorating to the point where it might shed little spongy bits during insertion and removal, which is not fun. Additionally, the sponges are not sterile and therefore long-term use could lead to an overgrowth of bacteria and perhaps even the Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) that is also associated with improper tampon wear. So set yourself a six month cut-off date, inspect your sponge with every rinse for loose bits, and maintain your vaginal health in an eco-friendly way.

Other intriguing uses to which you can put your sponge is as an absorbent buffer during penetrative period sex. Yep, the internet claims that a recently-inserted menstrual sponge can't be felt by either party during penetrative intimacy, and it prevents each of you ending up looking like extras from a horror film. I haven't tried it but if you're curious, you can read this informative little comic by the cartoonist Dwam. Seems legit! But I'm unsure of how easy retrieval would be afterwards, so keep that in mind.

I really enjoyed using menstrual sponges and think they're wonderful alternatives to tampons. Because they're unrefined and biodegradable, you can literally toss them in the compost and not have to worry about harming the planet. Also, two sponges are just about the same cost as a pack of tampons that would have seen me through about two cycles -- and the sponges last up to three times longer! Seems like a pretty sweet deal. But what are the downsides?

Well, for a start, squeezing out a blood-soaked sponge at the basin in a public restroom is unpleasant (and frightening for potential onlookers). You could use a handicapped bathroom for the convenience of having a private sink, but that has its own ethical ramifications and I can't recommend this course of action. I've experimented with squeezing out the medium-sized sponge between layers of toilet-paper to avoid the rinsing issue -- which works in a pinch, but it's not ideal. Also, the removal process is messy, especially with the larger sponges. It can get downright grisly in public, and I can't stress the importance of the swift application of toilet paper. But why would you want to spray your bacteria all over some poor restaurant's bathroom, even if you clean up the visible evidence afterwards? I've seen CSI; I know blood sticks around. You just can't do that to the other people that use the place afterwards.

Despite the cons, I thoroughly recommend using the Woman-Kind menstrual sponges over regular tampons, especially if you're concerned about menstrual care that's body- and environment-friendly. Get yours from Faithful to Nature! Your body (and the planet!) will thank you for it.

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