A woman who accused Tampax of “shrinkage” and claimed the brand’s tampons had “shrinked” over time received strong support online.
Content creator Melissa Simonson of Idaho has made it her mission to call out corporations for “counterinflation,” when manufacturers reduce the size of products but keep the price the same.
He recently set his sights on tampon maker Tampax and posted a video on Tik Tok criticizing Procter & Gamble for “shrinking” their tampons and still charging the same price.
She claimed the change has made women think “something is wrong with their bodies”, although Tampax has denied changing the size of the tampons.
The video, which has received more than three million views, racked up almost 6,000 comments, many of them from women who said they noticed the same thing, while one said it made her understand why she was going through tampons “so quickly.”
Content creator Melissa Simonson, from Idaho, criticized Tampax for “shrink inflation” and accused them of “shrinking” their tampons.
In a clip on Melissa’s page, she said: ‘I’m calling you Tampax! These sizes that you normalized so that we all, as women, know which ones (tampons) we use and for what period during our periods, are no longer accurate because you reduced them.
She pointed to a 2020 poster from Tampax owners Proctor & Gamble, which showed a woman standing next to a variety of tampons, each rated from “light” to “ultra.”
Melissa continued: ‘In fact, women have sought doctor appointments thinking something is wrong with their bodies because you did this and didn’t tell anyone. What a shame!’
To make his point, he uploaded an image posted online by a reddit user of two Tampax tampons side by side, which seemed to show that the size had reduced “within a year.”
The image showed two Tampax tampons, however one appeared smaller than the other.
Melissa explained that they were two “regular” sizes of different products: Tampax Radiant and Tampax Pearl.
However, she questioned why the Radiant, released in 2012, was so much smaller than the Pearl, released in 2002, even though both tampons did exactly the same thing.
He wondered why the newer product was so much smaller but there was no price reduction. Next, he investigated what, if any, were the “functional differences” between the two.
“I was surprised to find out that yes, there are indeed differences, but then I saw what the differences are and then… it made a lot of sense,” he joked sarcastically.
People have also taken to Reddit to point out an apparent reduction in the size of tampons over the years, comparing the size of a regular, old tampon (left) to a newer one (right).
An anonymous Redditer placed two Tampax products side by side to illustrate the “shrinkflation” effect. 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 are supposed to have the same 8 hour protection and the only real difference is the packaging.
The influencer said she discovered that both advertised that they offered the same amount of protection (‘8 hours’) and that the main difference was the packaging of the Radiant.
Elsewhere, another Reddit user said they had found an old regular Tampax tampon from a few years ago and
Melissa was inundated with stories from thousands of women who said they had noticed similar changes.
‘Oh my God!’ said one person. ‘I thought it was strange that he was going through Supers so quickly! This makes sense!!’
“Wow, I was confused why I was bleeding through tampons 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 swore by Tampax Pearl before and now I hate Tampax.”
Melissa said Tampax’s actions had made women think “something is wrong with their bodies” as the company’s benchmark for menstrual size and flow had changed in recent years.
“No wonder I’ve been using more,” another commented.
Meanwhile, other women claimed they had experienced a “bloated contraction” with other brands and sanitary pads.
One person wrote: ‘It’s not just about Tampax. Lately I noticed that I thought I was bleeding more. “I found an older tampon and realized the difference is huge.”
Another said: ‘I’ve also found that the pads hardly stick anymore. “Quality has gone downhill when we have no option to pay for these products.”
Elsewhere, a person raised concern reddit after regretting the supposed change in Tampax sizing in a year.
The video attracted an army of followers who claimed to have noticed the same thing, while one woman said it made her understand why she was passing through tampons “so quickly.”
On the social platform, they wrote: ‘Are you kidding, Tampax? “This is just within this year.”
They placed pictures of two apparently unused Tampax tampons side by side to illustrate the change in length.
In other reddit In a post uploaded 13 days ago, a user shared a similar disparity, writing: “More evidence that tampons shrink?”
They claimed to have found a Tampax tampon from many years ago that was visibly much larger than one they had recently purchased.
They wrote: “I found an old Tampax Regular tampon from years ago (the one on the left, also in its old packaging) in the back of a bathroom drawer, and decided to compare it to a Tampax Regular purchased in the last few years.” year (the one on the right).
People also criticized Brand X, with one person accusing them of reducing Tampax sizes to “make more money.”
‘I know Tampax came out and said, “Tampons are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and adhere to the industry absorbency or size ranges listed on the side of each package.” …FDA absorbency ranges haven’t changed since their introduction over 30 years ago”…but come on, look at it!
People have also chosen x to criticize the brand.
One person wrote: ‘Just so they can tell me it’s okay! I have been FAITHFULLY changing EVERY hour on the hour (my first two days) when you claim your products last eight hours! Listen to me now and listen to me WELL! I WILL NEVER BUY YOUR PRODUCTS AGAIN!’ Tampons cost TOO much for you to alter the size!
Someone else wrote: ‘You shrunk our tampons to make more money.’
And responding to Melissa Simonson’s TikTok video, another said: ‘I’ve noticed this!!!!!! EXPLAIN YOURSELF. I have old tampons lying around, so don’t lie. This can be easily verified.”
A spokesperson for Procter & Gamble told MailOnline that Tampax has not changed the sizes of its 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 suit different needs and flows.
‘Tampax complies with the absorbency rating and droplet scheme guidelines specified in the AHPMA (Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturing Association) Code of Practice. This Code of Practice is shared with the Office of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) of the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.