THAT TIME OF THE MONTH

August 19, 2016

Okay ladies, listen up. I thought I'd do a slightly different post to my normal beauty themed ramblings today but I'm pretty sure it's something we can all relate to on a monthly basis. I'm talking periods. If you're anything like me, they're a hindrance, a monthly dread, a cataclysmic event that I'd rather not have to deal with... ever. But over time I've learned, you really need to take care of yourself and kind of embrace what you're going through. Now I know there's going to be some of you reading this like "wow, don't be so dramatic" and all I have to say is, you must be a lucky one who hasn't had periods that bad. Just to give you a little TMI, I used to pass out from the pain of mine as a teen, they were completely irregular and would happen up to every two weeks, and I just generally would have given anything to get rid of them. Nowadays they've kind of settled down, but they can still make me feel crippled with pain and thus anxiety for work and can still be a major annoyance. And this is why I'm going to share with you all the things I like to do pamper and care wise to make it all a little more smooth sailing.

So first of all let's talk about the whole process a little more. I'm sure we've all been on the receiving end of comments like "oh it must be your time of the month", "have you got the painters in?", "are you on the rag?", "is Aunt Flo visiting?" etc. all because we may have said something sassy or snapped because you know, you can't obviously do these things as a woman unless there's an underlying reason (I digress). But people who say that - do they really understand that if that is the case, and you are "on the rag", you've pretty much got every right to act out? Just to give you some facts: the average woman will spend around 10 years of her life menstruating. That's a total of well over 3,500 days spent "on the rag" - that's a lot of time when you think about it collectively. Your hormones also swing out of control. In the lead up to your period, your estrogen levels can plummet making you cognitively think more like a man, or you know, you can blub your eyes out because you dropped your toast on the kitchen floor - there seems to be no in between. During your period you also can suffer from iron deficiency which will cause you to feel fatigued, aching, and just down right rough, and oh yeah, there's that little fact of your uterus swelling up up to three times its normal size which also might effect how you're feeling too. This isn't me giving you all the green light to punch your boyfriend in the face or to scream and shout at everyone who might irritate you, but next time someone makes a comment about your actions, you know those actions might be a little justified.

Now let's discuss how you can make this all a little more smooth sailing. First up: tampons and pads. Menstrual cups aren't something that appeals to me so I apologize for having no insight to those ladies, but tampons and pads are something I'm well experienced with. I've always been someone who is happy to just grab and go when I'm shopping for sanitary products but recently, the brilliant company Veeda contacted me and wanted to know if I'd be interested in trying some of their products. Their sanitary products have recently become available in the UK and are now also available in Boots. They are a brand who specialize in 100% natural cotton tampons and it got me thinking... I will read about the chemicals and contents in my hair dye, my skin care, my makeup... but tampons? It never even occurred to me to look at the ingredients. It might sound trivial, but using 100% natural cotton products is good for you - you need to know what you're putting into your body is 100% safe for you and Veeda's products certainly are.