The Pads & Tampons Every Woman Must Try

Since the original publication of this post, LOLA launched Sex by Lola, a line of organic condoms, feminine wipes, and lubricant (that's sensitive and won't compromise the integrity of condoms or other items). This is just one step in their quest to be there for every woman throughout each stage in her life and provide natural, holistic care for all your feminine needs.

Sometimes being a girl is not fun. PMS symptoms, cramps, bleeding every month, bloating and barely fitting into your favorite jeans on date night of all days. Ughhhhhh! I know the feeling. Even purchasing feminine products can make for a pretty awkward situation at the local grocery store. And that's not even tipping the scale on how difficult it is to find natural period products for those days when Aunt Flow has arrived.43 million women use tampons and even more use sanitary pads (many women use various combinations of both depending on their cycle). Enters LOLA, the woman-founded company that began with the idea to create an organic tampon.LOLA provides "Organic cotton feminine care in customized assortments delivered to your door." Pretty awesome, right? I know, I thought it was too good to be true when I first heard it, but now I'm completely sold. Let's take a closer look.

WHY LOLA IS DIFFERENT

First of all, women know what women need when it comes to periods, yet men design so many of the products on the market today. LOLA is a business where women design products for women, to make your menstrual cycle a little easier to endure and to give you control over your own reproductive cycle.They began with tampons and since I ordered my first box in 2016, they've expanded to include 3 kinds of natural tampons, natural pads with wings and natural panty liners. This year, they branched out into full-blown cramp control products, which we'll talk about in a minute.While most feminine products on the market today are considered safe, there are some concerns over just how natural these products are. If you're wondering where to buy natural feminine products, here's your answer. All of LOLA's products are 100% organic cotton and they don't use fragrances, toxins or synthetic fibers. This is awesome because it means you know exactly what's going inside or close to your body, so allergies, infections and anything else that might give you anxiety during this time isn't a factor.The single most important thing that makes LOLA different is the way you purchase your products. Everything is customized and gets delivered straight to your door exactly when you want it.

HOW LOLA WORKS

LOLA at a first glance is a subscription service, but it's not your average subscription service by a mile. Let's get honest for a minute. No two periods are the same. Some last longer than others, some are shorter. Some days you need a little more protection.At the store, brands offer heavy, medium and light absorbency tampons and pads, but you can only buy one at a time. That means if you only need medium most of the time and wear heavy at night, you've gotta buy two boxes. And if you notice the last two days of your cycle don't produce much blood you're stuck "wasting" a perfectly good medium or heavy tampon or pad because you don't feel like buying another kind.Like most things, it's simply something that we as women cope with, but it doesn't address our needs. It's time to stop settling. LOLA provides an answer for that problem. When you order a box of tampons (available in plastic applicator for $10, cardboard applicators for $8 and no applicator for $9) you receive 18 tampons that are fully customizable:

• Cardboard applicator tampons come in regular and super. You can order them all in one absorbancy or mix them however you choose.
• No applicator tampons come in Regular, Super and Super+, which you can also order as one box or assorted.
• Compact plastic applicator tampons are available in Light, Regular, Super and Super +. This is the most popular kind of tampon that women use, so you can literally create your own box with exactly the amount of each absorbency you need for your cycle!

Likewise, the pads come in two absorbencies: day or night and a pack of 12 comes delivered to your door for $9. And for the same price, you can receive 28 panty liners for those odd spotting days that get the best of us sometimes.What I love is that I can purchase exactly what I know I'm going to use instead of trying to make do with products that don't fit my flow or forking out a ton of money to get three different boxes of product.Now I mentioned that you order this online through a "subscription." Here's what's great:

• You order the number of boxes you desire of your fully customized box of product(s)
• You choose whether you want your products to arrive monthly (just in time for Aunt Flow's monthly visit) or bimonthly
• You get a reminder about a week before your next shipment where you're given the option to change your order or skip it
• You can change and skip as many times as you want!
• You can cancel altogether if you decide natural feminine products aren't your thing
• There's never any penalty, minimum order or contract

So basically, even though the idea is to have your period products delivered to you all the time just before your period, you can totally place an order just to try it and never come back again if it's not your thing. That's why I recommend that every woman tries it. I did and I loved it. Currently, I'm on a bimonthly schedule that I skip sometimes depending on how my period worked out. I don't use the pads (although I love them), but I get my tampons and panty liners from them, which last me a good minute since I don't use them during my entire period.You've probably noticed that the price is slightly higher than what you'd find at the grocery store, but the difference is clear when it comes to quality and organic nature. It's worth investing in products that are gentler on your body. You also get a discount if you plan on ordering more than 1 box. Plus it's literally delivered right to you at no extra cost! I find that it's worth it for the products I use.

OTHER PERKS

 [gallery ids="5257,5256" type="circle" columns="2" link="none"]LOLA's all-new Cramp Care includes two products: a daily vitamin supplement (30 pills for $18) that supports your cycle, replenishes red blood cells lost during your period and eases PMS symptoms. It contains

• Vitamins A, C, and D
• Vitamins B6 and B12
• Thiamin
• Riboflavin
• Niacin
• Folic Acid

There is no

• Soy, wheat, or gluten
• Nuts, dairy, or egg
• Artificial sweeteners
• Artificial flavor
• Artificial color

There's also an essential oil blend with 17 oils to help ease tension and calm pain, which I'm sure we all struggle with during this time. You can purchase it one-time ($28) or as a subscription ($26) and it arrives in the form of a roll-on.Last but not least, is quite possibly the best product they've invented which I wish was available when I got my period: the First Period Kit ($34). Inside the kit is everything a girl needs for her first period:

• Six day pads for medium to heavy days
• Six night pads for overnight coverage
• Ten liners for light days or backup
• Ten light tampons for slim-fit protection
• Instructional card for each period product
• One canvas pouch for days on the go
• One sheet of stickers for period tracking
• One keepsake box for at-home storage
• $5 LOLA credit towards a new subscription

 LOLA is a great way to take control of your menstrual cycle care and provide a bit of self-care in the process. They're a great organization that gives back across the country by donating feminine hygiene products. Try LOLA out for yourself or share this with a friend and when you do, please take a moment to share your experience!Have you noticed anything about the feminine care industry? What currently bothers you about the way you purchase pads, tampons or liners? Leave a comment below, I can't wait to hear from you!