Innovations in women's health products are few and far between – it took about 200 years for the vaginal speculum to be brought up to date, and it's a similar story when it comes to sanitary products.
Tampons have modernised to some extent in recent years – there are now eco-friendly options available, for instance – but many women still experience one problem: leakage, which forces them to double up with a pad.
Now, one company has developed a nifty solution – the Tampliner, an applicator tampon with a mini-liner attached, which tucks between the labia to provide extra security during that time of the month.
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Feminine care company Callaly, which created the tampon, claims the device to be the first innovation in tampons in 80 years. This is quite something when you consider that more than a quarter of women are unsatisfied with the tampons they currently use and of the remaining women, most of them still wear a liner just in case, according to surveys conducted by the company.
Photo courtesy of Callaly.
Photo courtesy of Callaly.
Photo courtesy of Callaly.
Photo courtesy of Callaly.
The tampon is inserted by by pushing it through the hole in the mini liner and into the vagina. Once it's in the body, your finger goes into the virtual applicator, which the company claims is more hygienic than other brands, and when it's in the right position the mini liner should fold out into place.
The company was co-founded by gynaecologist Dr Alex Hooi, who claims to have heard "repeated stories about the inadequacy of period products" during more than 30 years in the job. "Many women who wore tampons didn’t trust them and wore liners at the same time, so I decided to invent something better."
It's also more than 95% biodegradable, with the organic cotton tampon and mini-liner both 100% biodegradable. The remaining 5% of the product is plastic and so can't be recycled, however. The membrane is made from polymer film, a type of plastic used widely in medical devices, owing to its strength, biocompatibility and hemocompatibility. This means it doesn’t negatively impact the body and is compatible with period blood, the company says.
Even if the Tampliner isn't quite right for certain women, Hooi hopes that people will be pleased to see a new product available on the sanitary product market, which he believes is in "desperate need" of innovation. We couldn't agree more.
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