Applicator or non applicator ?

Nevyn

So ladies which is it?

This has to be one of the things which can be like marmite, women seem to love or hate either type and I don't know anyone who is happy to use both.

Also what is with them being made scented?

Has anyone tried the lubricated ones ?

bronte

I find the applicator ones the best. Wouldn't the scented ones mess up the 'balance' down there?! Not too keen on the sound of that!

allandanyways

Tampax compak ftw.

Hate cardboard applicators, mam bought me a box of regular tampax with the cardboard applicators when I first got my period, they're so big and scary and weird... put me off tampons for about 5 years.

banshee_bones

Applicator... havent heard about scented or lubricated. Other poster has a point about messing up the "balance" down there.....

rainbow kirby

Tampax Compak minis ftw - but somehow it just seems so wasteful to use tampons with plastic applicators.

If Carsberg did disturbing discussion..............:p

Lia_lia

Non Applicator.
I actually can't use applicator tampons. Never been able to. Don't know why! If an applicator one is the only one I can get I just pop it out of the applicator. :pac:

Oh and tesco brand, boots, lil-lets, whatever. All the same to me!

quinevere

tampax compak-- the cardboard ones are bigger and uncomfortable

shellyboo

Lil-lets for me. Cannot get my head around applicator tampons... I really do not even get the point of them. Is it so you don't have to touch your lady-parts? I just don't understand putting the thing in so that you can put the tampon in. Why not cut out the middle man and just put the tampon in?

Hilariously, our housemate (male) once admitted to us that he couldn't believe how big tampons were and how much they must hurt because they're so rigid as well... after we recovered from wetting ourselves laughing at him, we explained the concept of the applicator

Faith

I'm happy to use both, and actively do.

I used applicator (Tampax Compac) for years, until about 18 months ago when I was discussing it with my best friend and she said she used non-applicator. I was horrified at the thought, and she was equally horrified at the thought of applicators. So I tried non-applicators and found them quite good. My main problem with applicators was if they didn't position themselves correctly, I generally needed to take them out and use another, whereas with non-applicator, it's much easier to get it right. So now I just use whichever I have to hand.

themadchef

35 and never tried them. Wings all the way. Mental block when it comes to tampons. No idea why.

I know i'm in the minority on this one.

Sinall

Scented ones?? That sounds upsetting!

Much prefer plastic applicator ones myself. Lubricated ones could be good - haven't seen any yet.

cuckoo

rainbow kirby wrote: »

somehow it just seems so wasteful to use tampons with plastic applicators.

Agreed - I once saw a beach after a storm that was scattered with plastic applicators that must have been flushed (who does that????).

I'm trying to reduce the amount of packaging and stuff that i consume in my life - so, Mooncup ftw!

Faith

I've tried scented ones actually, and they actually made me feel a bit fresher. I was worried they'd cause thrush or something, but I didn't have any problems.

Dudess

themadchef wrote: »

35 and never tried them. Wings all the way. Mental block when it comes to tampons. No idea why.

Me too. Have to be turned on for anything to go up there. Plus, I don't like the idea of menstrual "effluent" gathering there...

hollypink

After some persevering, I'm a mooncup convert now but I've always used the non-applicator lil-lets in the past. Never really saw the point of the applicator. Plus the non-applicator ones take up much less space in your handbag! I can't say I like the idea of scented ones - yuck.

themadchef

themadchef wrote: »

35 and never tried them. Wings all the way. Mental block when it comes to tampons. No idea why.

I know i'm in the minority on this one.

Thank god, I thought I might be the only one

liah

I can use both, but I prefer Lil-lets. Mainly because they seem to absorb better than tampax or anything else has for me.

I'm really not THAT bothered though, either way. I don't get hangups.

Dudess

bluewolf wrote: »

Thank god, I thought I might be the only one

Nope, me too.

liah wrote: »

I'm really not THAT bothered though, either way. I don't get hangups.

Some people just don't find it comfortable, not necessarily a case of being a hang-up.

ibarelycare

I always use applicator and doesn't really bother me whether it's plastic or cardboard. Actually I prefer the cardboard ones because a few times with the plastic ones I've had a little bit of skin getting caught between the two bits while pushing it in Ouch!

Nevyn

eeeiiiiiiiiii

See that and the roughness of the cardboard are why I could never use applicators.

allabouteve

Don't mind either, but have been using a Femmecup for a long time now.

Way, way, way, more convenient.

Kya1976

Non applicator.....

Xiney

I used to use tampax pearl in Canada, but I haven't seen them here. (maybe I simply haven't been looking hard enough)

It was a small smooth cardboard applicator - I don't like the regular cardboard ones, so now I've been using the tampax compak, but using the plastic seems so wasteful.



However, I've only started having my period back recently after having Mirena removed so when I run out of the tampax compak (I stocked up at the time 'cause they were on sale) I plan on trying the applicator-less tampons.

smileyhappy

applicator plastic

scented, preferably.

The scent has yet to do me any harm and it's nice to get a little whif of something smelling nice in a stinky public bathroom when you're already feeling awful at the start of your period :P sorry TMI

The cardboard always hurt me and I tried non aplpicator ones but I just see them as a little, i dunno, unhygenic. Your hands carry a lot of bacteria so I'd rather minimise the amount of bacteria I allow down there. Plus, I found it very messy and yucky when I tried non applicator. Felt a little ill after it.

SeekUp

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Tampax Compak minis ftw - but somehow it just seems so wasteful to use tampons with plastic applicators.

Agreed -- I started with plastic, but then switched to the flushable/biodegradable cardboard ones, and now I don't use an applicator at all. As an added bonus, they take up less room in your purse/handbag! ('Course, I only need them four times a year, but still. )

I'm intrigued about the cups though . . . I always thought it'd be too messy to deal with . . .

Lollipops23

took me 6 years to work up to tampons!!started with the compak ones,but realised that the cardboard applicator ones are waaay cheaper and just as good!would neeeever use pads now, just too messy:o i physically couldn't use tampons til i was sexually active though!

SuperFatCat

Non-applicator all the way.......just takes some getting used to!! God bless the man (yes, unfortunately it was a man) that invented the tampon!!!
I think the OB brand that you can get in the states and europe are the best, they have a silky covering on them, more comfortable!!:P

Nevyn

Actually the earliest form of the tampon was used in Egypt and was made of papyrus.
So really a man may have patented it and mass produced them but they didn't' sudden invent them.

Nightwish

themadchef wrote: »

35 and never tried them. Wings all the way. Mental block when it comes to tampons. No idea why.

I know i'm in the minority on this one.

I dont use them either. I find them very uncomfortable.

monsoonish78

I've never used tampons...........pads all the way............just don't like the idea of them!

aoibhebree

smileyhappy wrote: »

I tried non aplpicator ones but I just see them as a little, i dunno, unhygenic. Your hands carry a lot of bacteria so I'd rather minimise the amount of bacteria I allow down there. Plus, I found it very messy and yucky when I tried non applicator. Felt a little ill after it.

Yeah I totally agree with that, only ever used a non-applicator once and I hated it! The worst would be in public bathrooms, obviously you'd have to wash your hands before you go into the cubicle, but then you'd still have to touch the door and maybe the toilet seat and stuff before you got started ... god knows what you'd pick up! (Yes I'm a little OCD about germs.) I suppose it wouldn't be as bad using them at home ... I still wouldn't be comfortable with them though ... Tampax Compaq all the way!!

*Honey*

Applicator .. cardboard (Boots own brand are sort of shiny smooth cardboard which gets over the roughness issue).

Don't like either non-applictor or pads.

Wish to God I never had to use any of them!!!

Stheno

Non Applicator, the kotex ones if I can find em (usually up North)

Applicators are just too uncomfortable.

Anyway don't need them atm as contraception stops any periods

January

Non applicator, Lil-Lets. Best things ever, soo much better than tampax... they just fit better??

The one thing I miss about being pregnant is having no period ...

Ginny

applicator, Asdas own compact ones actually, found them much better then Tampax, I can't wear those skirted ones and Tampax seem to only do compacts with the skirts now.

Zippie84

would be non-applicator ones (preferably lillets) only from the point of view that they're so discrete and take up so little room in ur handbag.

i would also go for the plastic applicator (yellow wrapper tampax ones) from the point of view of insertions i find them better

Toots

adrieanne__x wrote: »

Non applicator, Lil-Lets. Best things ever, soo much better than tampax... they just fit better??

I concur. When I was about 14 and started using tampons, I used to use the applicator ones and found them so uncomfortable I just stopped using tampons altogether, then got caught out one day with no pads and had to borrow non applicator one from a friend, can honestly say I've never looked back.

Piste

Tampons are amazing, my quality of life would be so much worse 5 days a month if I didn't have them, I couldn't bear to only have pads, I feel so horrible and bulky with them on. With a tampon you can just slip it in and leave it for a few hours whereas with a pad you're constantly being reminded of how disgusting you are (maybe no one else feels it but I feel really gross that 5 days a month)

Quality

Ginny wrote: »

applicator, Asdas own compact ones actually, found them much better then Tampax, I can't wear those skirted ones and Tampax seem to only do compacts with the skirts now.

Tampax applicator for me!! What is the story with the skirts? They are a bit uncomfortable...

The idea of scented makes me itch!!

Piste

What the hell is a skirt?

Quality

Piste wrote: »

What the hell is a skirt?

The it of fabric left at the end of the tampon.. ,like a skirt

Ginny

Piste wrote: »

What the hell is a skirt?

See here http://www.tampax.co.uk/home.php
Its an extra horrible bit of tampon material that hangs down, awfully uncomfortable and IMO completely unnecessary.

Piste

Oh...I've never seen a tampon with a skirt, seems totally unnecessary!

GirlInterrupted

I've never used one with a plastic applicator as it wasn't a very green option.

I tried using a non-applicator one once only, and hurt myself so much with it that I was afraid to try again, being a complete coward. I was only about twelve and I must have had the angle wrong!

Mooncup trumphs all now.

sam34

i'm a recent convert to tampons, applicator ones, and can safely say i wont ever be going back to pads.

so much more hygienic, comfortable and unobtrusive.

i just wish i had tried them years ago

bubski

Non applicator for me

Less packaging, easier to pop in your bad/pocket plus i find the applicator ones to "long" and uncomfortable, the non applicator are more tidy & compact

GirlInterrupted

sam34 wrote: »

i'm a recent convert to tampons, applicator ones, and can safely say i wont ever be going back to pads.

so much more hygienic, comfortable and unobtrusive.

i just wish i had tried them years ago

You should try out a mooncup, tampons are stone age in comparison.:)

sam34

GirlInterrupted wrote: »

You should try out a mooncup, tampons are stone age in comparison.:)

i dunno, i have visions of not putting it in right and having horrendous leakage :eek::eek:

GirlInterrupted

sam34 wrote: »

i dunno, i have visions of not putting it in right and having horrendous leakage :eek::eek:

I had the same concerns but its incredibly effective and feels very secure, far more so than I ever thought it would.

Scarinae

Ginny wrote: »

See here http://www.tampax.co.uk/home.php
Its an extra horrible bit of tampon material that hangs down, awfully uncomfortable and IMO completely unnecessary.

Ok I have to say I don't really see the point of putting a skirt on a tampon!

I got a Mooncup about a year ago and I haven't used anything else since, it is brilliant! Saves me so much money as well, tampons etc are actually quite expensive (especially since they have luxury VAT on them... Grrrr) I've never had a problem with leakage, it is much more hygenic, and they're even better than tampons for forgetting that you even have your period