Women claim tampons have been hit by shrinkflation and say smaller sizes have made them think ‘something is wrong with their bodies’
A woman who accused Tampax of “shrinkflation” and claimed the brand’s tampons had “shrunk” over time has received fervent support online.
Idaho content creator Melissa Simonson has made it her mission to call out companies for “shrinkflating” — when manufacturers reduce the size of products but keep the price the same.
She recently set her sights on tampon manufacturer Tampax and posted a video about it TikTok Criticizing Procter & Gamble for ‘shrinking’ their tampons while still charging the same price.
She claimed the change has led women to think there is ‘something wrong with their bodies’, although Tampax denies they have changed the size of tampons.
The video, which has been viewed more than three million times, has attracted almost 6,000 comments, many from women saying they had noticed the same thing, while one claimed it made her understand why she had to go through tampons ‘so quickly’.
Content creator Melissa Simonson, from Idaho, has called out Tampax for ‘shrinkflation’ and accused them of ‘shrinking’ their tampons
In a clip on Melissa’s page, she said, “I’m calling you Tampax! You have normalized these sizes, so that we as women all know which sizes [tampons] we use for what period during our period – these are no longer accurate because you have reduced them’.
She pointed to a 2020 poster from Tampax owners Proctor & Gamble, which showed a woman next to a variety of tampons, each ranked from “light” to “ultra.”
Melissa continued, “Women have even sought out a doctor’s appointment because they thought something was wrong with their bodies because you did this and didn’t tell anyone. You should be ashamed!’
To make her point, she uploaded an image posted online by a Reddit user of two Tampax tampons side by side, showing that the size had decreased ‘within a year’.
The image showed two Tampax tampons, but one appeared smaller than the other.
Melissa explained that they were two “normal” sizes of different products: the Tampax Radiant and Tampax Pearl.
However, she wondered why the Radiant – released in 2012 – was much smaller than the Pearl – released in 2002 – despite both tampons doing exactly the same thing.
She wondered why the newer product was much smaller but there was no price reduction. She then investigated what possible ‘functional differences’ between the two were.
“I was shocked when I heard that there are indeed differences, but then I saw what the differences are and then… it made so much sense,” she joked sarcastically.
People have also taken to Reddit to point out an apparent reduction in tampon sizes over the years, comparing the size of an old regular tampon (left) to a more recent one (right)
An anonymous Redditer placed two Tampax products side by side to illustrate the effect of ‘shrinkflation’. However, the slightly larger product on the right is the older Tampax Pearl, while the newer version on the left is the Tampax Radiant. Women have argued that they should have the same 8-hour protection, and the only real difference is the packaging
The influencer said she discovered they were both advertised as offering the same amount of protection – ‘8 hours’ – and that the main difference was the Radiant’s packaging.
Elsewhere, another Reddit user said they found an old Tampax tampon from a few years ago
Melissa was flooded with stories from thousands of women who said they had noticed similar changes.
‘Oh my God!’ one person said. ‘I thought it was strange that I went through Supers so quickly! This makes some sense!!”
“Wow ok I was confused why tampons made me bleed more often,” said another.
Someone else wrote: ‘Plus they now put 36 instead of 40 in their big box and two less in the small box!’
One woman said, “I used to swear by Tampax Pearl and now I hate Tampax.”
Melissa said that Tampax’s actions had caused women to think there was “something wrong with their bodies” as the company’s benchmark for sizing and menstruation had shifted in recent years
“No wonder I use more,” another commented.
Meanwhile, other women claimed they had experienced ‘shrinkflation’ with other brands and sanitary pads.
One person wrote: ‘It’s not just Tampax. I realized lately that I thought I was bleeding more. Found an older tampon and realized the difference is huge.’
Another said: ‘I’ve also discovered that sanitary towels hardly stick anymore. “The quality has gone so downhill when we don’t have a choice to pay for these products.”
Elsewhere, one person was causing concern Reddit after lamenting the alleged change in Tampax’s sizing in one year.
The video attracted an army of followers who claimed to notice the same thing, with one woman saying it made her understand why she had to go through tampons ‘so quickly’.
On the social platform they wrote: ‘Are you kidding Tampax? This is only within this year’.
They placed images of two apparently unused Tampax tampons side by side to illustrate the length change.
In another Reddit post uploaded 13 days ago, one user shared a similar disparity, writing: “more evidence of shrinking tampons?”
They claimed to have found a Tampax tampon from many years ago, which was visibly much larger than the tampon they had recently purchased.
They wrote: ‘I found an old Tampax Regular tampon from years ago (the one on the left, also with the old packaging) in the back of a bathroom drawer, so I decided to compare it to a Tampax Regular I had bought in recent years. years (the one on the right).
People also condemned the brand on X, with one person accusing them of cutting down the Tampax sizes to ‘make more money’
“I know that Tampax came out and said, ‘Tampons are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and meet the industry absorption or size ranges stated on the side of each package… The FDA absorption ranges have not changed since its introduction over 30 years ago”…but come on, look!
People have also started working on it X to beat the brand.
One person wrote: ‘Just so they can tell me nothing is wrong! I changed FAITH EVERY hour on the hour (my first two days) when you claim your products last eight hours! Now listen to me and hear me GOOD! I WILL NEVER BUY YOUR PRODUCTS AGAIN!’ Tampons cost WAY TOO much to mess with the size!
Someone else wrote: ‘You shrunk our tampons to make more money.’
And in response to Melissa Simonson’s TikTok video, another said: ‘I noticed this!!!!!! EXPLAIN YOURSELF. I have old tampons lying around, so don’t lie. This can easily be fact checked’.
A spokesperson for Procter & Gamble told MailOnline that Tampax has not changed the sizes of their tampons.
They said in a statement: “At Tampax, we continually innovate to improve the consumer experience. Our products are available in multiple sizes with different absorbencies, designed to meet different needs and flows.
‘Tampax adheres to the absorption classification and drip schedule guidelines specified in the AHPMA (the Absorbent Hygiene Product Manufacturing Association) Code of Practice. This code of practice is shared with the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) of the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).