The FDA regulates pads and tampons as class I or II medical units, and there’s no normal 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 checklist of all elements which shall be listed so as of predominance,” printed on or connected to the packaging. Whereas it didn’t hit the federal degree, the legislation had a “nationwide influence,” marking a big transfer towards transparency within the US, per a 2022 WVE report investigating the elements disclosed on menstrual merchandise.
Even earlier than then, although, the tide was beginning to flip. As an example, Playtex phased out its scented “Recent Stability” tampons in 2020. Nicole M. Harris, the top of selling at Edgewell Private Care, tells SELF that whereas there’s nonetheless some demand for scented merchandise, loads of shoppers have extra nuanced views on perfume: “Scent is, by and huge, not one thing that ladies need to affiliate with merchandise which can be getting in an intimate half,” she says. “So that they need to deal with the odor however not via technique of a fragrance or an added perfume… Added perfume in female care merchandise isn’t broadly out there or a rising area. If something, it’s going the opposite course.”
Biber agrees: “Everybody’s trending in direction of a ‘much less is extra’ strategy.”
Actually, in November 2021, the official Tampax model account wrote in response to a tweet, “As of Spring 2021, we mentioned goodbye to scented tampons and we not manufacture merchandise that comprise perfume within the U.S.!” However whereas the model’s Pearl Tremendous Scented tampons are not out there on the Tampax web site, they’re out there in what seems to be the official Tampax retailer on Amazon US, in addition to Kroger.com and Walmart.com. And P&G presents At all times scented pads, that are presently out there on its web site. (A spokesperson from Proctor & Gamble, the mum or dad firm of Tampax, confirmed receipt of SELF’s detailed checklist 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 Recent Stability tampons, it launched a line of merchandise branded as “Odor Protect,” which claims to have “2X extra odor safety” on its packaging. It isn’t branded as a scented product, however moderately “an odor neutralizer,” Biber says. Equally, she notes that sure Carefree pads even have “odor management” expertise. “They’re unscented,” she says, “however to get at that odor management, in case you have been to open up the product, there can be a scent related to that odor neutralizer.”
In the event 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 actually fragrance-free, a product shouldn’t comprise any fragranced supplies or “masking scents” in any respect. As for the “unscented” label? That “means it doesn’t odor like something; it doesn’t imply there’s no masking ingredient,” Ginger King, MBA, a beauty chemist based mostly in New Jersey, tells SELF. “If there’s a nasty odor, you should use a [masking] ingredient to cowl it so that you don’t odor something. It doesn’t imply it’s not fragranced.” Numerous chemical compounds have capabilities that aren’t essentially “including” scent to a product, she explains, however moderately making one final or just masking it up.