‘Tampon Shrinkflation’ Is Going Viral: Are Tampons Actually Getting Smaller?

Animation: Channing Smith, Photo: Getty Images

Do your tampons seem smaller than you remember? If so, you’re not alone.

Recently some women have turned to TikTok and Reddit to vent about the size of typical tampons seemingly being reduced potentially as a result of shrinkflation, the economic phenomenon in which companies cut the size of products while increasing their price, as criticized by President Joe Biden and Cookie Monster earlier this year.

At first I didn’t give the theory much credence, but then I realized I’d been breezing through tampons much faster than ever before, so much so that at my most recent check-up, I asked my ob-gyn if it was normal for one’s period to get heavier with age. I even asked my mom if it had happened to her (her theory: “your body wants kids”). Is tampon shrinkflation real?

Intrigued, I informally polled friends, family, and colleagues if they’d noticed anything different about their tampons. Glamour senior editor Stephanie McNeal, who’s used “sport” or “active” versions of common tampon brands her entire menstruating life, certainly had: After giving birth to her daughter in 2022 and getting her period again in spring 2003, she started “leaking through” the tampons she’d previously used with no problem.

“This was especially weird because I have had extremely light cycles my entire life; I never leaked through before. I even started wearing liners,” McNeal says. “I started to think that giving birth had somehow changed my vaginal shape and was going to ask my gyno about it. Then I read these Twitter threads and everything made sense!”

Several other women I spoke with reported similar circumstances. “I thought I was getting heavier periods, which is weird because I’m on the pill so I’m usually pretty light,” says Morgan Sullivan, a freelance journalist living in Philadelphia. “But then I saw so many other girls posting about it on socials, and I was like, Oh—that’s it.”

Same with Emily D., a 35-year-old living in Massachusetts. “I thought it was just me, to the point where I brought it up to my doctor—like, Is there something wrong with my period?” she says. It wasn’t until she saw other women posting that she realized it might not be her but the actual tampons. “It’s so insidious, but not surprising, that the tampon companies would just make their products smaller to make us spend more money,” she tells me over DM.

But is that actually what’s going on? It might not be.

Not that I don’t believe women—or my own robust flow—but it’s easy to get caught up in the social media echo chamber when hundreds if not thousands or even millions of others start to share the same POV. Of course, likeminded support is always a good thing, and women’s and reproductive health is undeniably worthy of additional scrutiny. See the return of US abortion bans; there’s plenty of reason to believe the powers that be don’t have exactly have our uterus’s interests at heart.

But this is also why my own doctor keeps telling me to stop googling my symptoms and lurking my health condition subreddits (shoutout to r/POTS): The “paranoia to internet-stranger validation” pipeline is not unlike the path by which conspiracy theories and misinformation spread online. Look how many people are completely convinced that every retail sunscreen causes cancer while conveniently ignoring the fact that we know UV exposure does. It’s a slippery slope, so I was determined to get real, fact-checked answers. Thus I reached out to Tampax to ask: What, if anything, is going on with tampons?

“Tampons are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and adhere to industry absorbency or size ranges as listed on the side of each package,” a Tampax spokesperson tells Glamour. “The FDA absorbency ranges have not changed since its introduction more than 30 years ago.” These regulations apply to all tampon brands, too, meaning that Tampax and Playtex and OB and so on all must adhere to the same set of guidelines. These can be seen on the chart below.

If such is the case, then why, in so many photos online, do older tampons look so much larger than new ones? This could be due to their applicators changing, not necessarily the tampon inside.

Both Tampax Pearl and Tampax Radiance, for example, which are far more “compact” than their cardboard predecessors due to the sleek plastic applicators in which they come, were introduced in 2008 and 2012, the spokesperson tells me via Zoom.  “Since both of those products have been available to consumers, we’ve not changed the size or absorbency of our product,” the spokesperson says.

But while the tampons may appear to be more condensed upon opening, Tampax reiterates that there is no difference in absorbency, because there can’t be: Tampons are actually considered a class II medical device, which is the same as hearing aids, electric wheelchairs, and some pregnancy tests. This means the FDA regulates all tampon production, absorbency, size, risk assessment, design, and product testing overall, ensuring that each brand’s products are up to industry—and FDA—standards at large.

“Tampax rigorously tests our products, ensuring that we meet what the consumer standards are and keeps our developers safe in the process,” the spokesperson confirms. “But the most important test is whether Tampax works is for each woman in their flow.”

Tampax’s advice? Be sure you’re using the proper tampon absorbency level at all points of your cycle. “It’s worth emphasizing that we know every consumer and every flow is different, which is why we have Tampax in sizes from light to ultra,” the spokesperson says. “Everyone’s flow is different which is why it’s so important to choose the right absorbency. If you are using a regular tampon for every day of your flow, you may not be using the best for you.”

Also be sure to change your tampon every four to eight hours, as officially recommended by the FDA. On days your flow is heavier, change them closer to four hours apart.

If you continue seeing major fluctuations in your flow, however—whether it’s that your period is lasting longer or your tampons are leaking—Tampax encourages you to speak to your primary care doctor or ob-gyn. “That could be an indication that something different is happening with their period,” the spokesperson concludes.

So there you have it: Officially, tampons’ actual absorbency levels shouldn’t be any different than they were in the past. Perhaps more research is required to figure out what’s going on with our periods otherwise.

Danielle Sinay is the associate beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @daniellesinay.

Originally Appeared on Glamour