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Who needs tampons and pads?
Your knee-jerk reaction might be to say people that menstruate but actually Gen Z girlies are embracing a world without sanitary products.
The trend is called “free bleeding”, which means that you don’t wear anything to absorb the blood when you are menstruating.
To be even clearer, it is about not using anything to block your period flow.
The trend has become a popular topic of conversation on the social media platform TikTok, young women are sharing their experiences.
Plenty are raving about the natural experience that they find liberating and, yes, a little messy.
Creator Charlee declared that she’d started free bleeding and, while she said she knew it was an “insane” choice, she added that it was “healthy” and she saved money by doing it.
It wasn’t well received by everyone.
“So you are just staining all your clothes,” someone asked.
That comment was promptly ignored.
Creator Annette talked through her process of free bleeding and said that when she is on her period, she doesn’t leave the house because she wants to honor her body.
“I stay home when I’m on my period. I stay home and I bleed,” she said on TikTok.
She added that if she did have to go out, she’d use period underwear but when she stays at home she wanders around the house using a towel.
She said that free bleeding just “hits different” and claimed the experience made periods “orgasmic.”
Meanwhile, popular creator Nayda Okamoto cheekily posted a video of her dancing in a bikini and said she was “low-key” free bleeding in her bikini.
“Thank goodness it’s a dark color,” she added.
See? It is a thing.
It is such a thing that online women claim that free bleeding has even changed their cycles.
TikTok creator Hannah went viral when she claimed that after she “transitioned” to free-bleeding her period was “lighter than ever.”
The post started a lengthy conversation where women shared that they’d found their cycles had lightened once they embraced the free bleeding method.
“Same,” someone commented.
Another shared that she went from having a heavy period across five days to only bleeding for “two days” now that she wasn’t using tampons.
A fellow free bleeder described the experience as “life-changing” and said they now only “bleed for one day” and then just experienced light spotting during their cycle.
Dr. Amy Carmichael said that while it was “intriguing” to hear that some individuals have reported perceiving their periods as lighter when practicing free bleeding, there wasn’t enough evidence to back the claims up … yet.
“Currently, there is no scientific research available to substantiate the claim that free bleeding leads to lighter periods,” she said.
However, she adds that tampons are sometimes known to cause extra pain when you are on your period.
“It is essential to acknowledge that using internal menstrual products like tampons can potentially contribute to menstrual cramps, as they are foreign objects within the body,” she advised.
While there’s no research to confirm there’s any extra benefit in free bleeding, that doesn’t mean it is a bad idea.
Dr. Carmichael stressed that free bleeding is not “unhealthy” and that it simply depends on people’s “personal preference,”
“It’s essential to respect individual choices regarding menstrual hygiene practices,” she said.
Dr. Carmichael also said that the free bleeding trend was a positive thing because it was helping “destigmatize periods.”
It is crucial to promote open discussions about menstrual flow in the workplace and within the family and encourage a culture of self-care during menstruation.
“This perspective is underpinned by scientific evidence showing that hormonal changes during menstruation can heighten certain sensitivities, and by fostering an environment that respects and supports women during this time, we contribute to reducing the stigma surrounding periods.”