There are differences between pads and tampons in Germany and the U.S.?
That’s right, there are!
Hey everyone! I’m Dana and you’re watching Wanted Adventure Living Abroad.
A few months ago, I put out a video about period differences in Germany versus the USA,
and I saw some comments under that video asking for more specific details about the differences
in period products that are offered in the two countries, so this is that video, and let’s start with
pads.
This is a pad, and this smaller one is called a liner.
And both pads and liners are available in both countries, but as I mentioned in the
other video and as I think I will probably mention a few more times in this video, there
is a big difference when it comes to amount of selection of pads and liners that you've
got in the U.S. compared to in Germany.
In the U.S. you’ve simply got more pads and liners and more brands offering their
unique take on each kind of pad or liner.
Having all those different options in the U.S. allowed me to really specialize for my
body and my unique preferences.
And I guess I would have to say that that has made me kind of picky when it comes to
my period products, which has then made having less options here in Germany kind of tricky
for me.
On top of that, from what I've seen, the stores here in Germany have a lot more pads and liners
that are scented, so it seems to be that a larger percentage of the them are scented
here in Germany than in the U.S., and since I don’t use scented period products that
then just rules out a bunch of them right off the bat, leaving me with an even more
reduced selection to choose from here.
As far as price goes, with all the different kinds of pads and liners in the U.S., wow
the price really jumps around a lot, but at the store that I went to in South Florida,
many of the packages of pads and liners that I saw seemed to range in price from around
$3.25 to around $5.75.
But there were some outliers too.
I saw a couple packages at the store in Florida that cost $6.99 or more, and one package of
liners for less than a dollar.
But the majority seemed to fall in that range that I mentioned, and the big thing here is
that in Germany, wow!
What Germany lacks in selection it really makes up for in price because oh my God, they
are on average so much cheaper here in Germany, with most of the packages ranging from less
than a euro to around 2 euros and 25 cents.
That's a big difference in price!
And while we’re on price, how about the price of tampons now.
In both the U.S. and Germany tampons seemed to be on average more expensive than pads,
with the tampons packages in the U.S. mostly ranging from around $4.50 to around $8.00.
Although, again, there were some outliers here.
I did also see a couple tampon packages for around 9 or 10 dollars too.
While in Germany, again, like the pads, the tampons seemed to cost so much less, with
most tampons ranging from around €1.50 to around €4.75.
And as far as tampon differences go, basically again, a lot more selection in the U.S., many
more kinds and brands of tampons, including applicator and non-applicator tampons.
I mentioned this in the other video as well; that in Germany I have a very hard time finding
tampons with applicators.
In fact, when I went out searching for them for this video, I went to several different
stores and I could not find a single box of applicator tampons.
I know that I have seen them here before, but not this time!
Whereas in the U.S. it’s basically the other way around.
There are a few boxes of non-applicator tampons available in the store, but most of the tampons
in the U.S. come with an applicator.
And after mentioning that in that last video, I saw quite a few people in the comments under
that video asking: but what is actually the point of an applicator?
What does it do?
So that’s why I’m talking about it again here.
Okay, so first of all, this is a tampon without an applicator.
Whereas here are three kinds of tampons with applicators from the U.S.
This one has a cardboard applicator and these two have plastic applicators, with this one
kind of being tucked into itself so that it’s smaller, and before using it, it pulls out
like this.
But whatever it’s made of, the applicator is there to help insert the tampon.
And far as why someone would prefer to use an applicator tampon, I can only speak for
myself here. For me, I do feel quite bad that applicator tampons
create so much more waste than non-applicator tampons.
I do feel bad about that, which is why I’m actually in the process of switching to a
menstrual cup.
But if I am using a tampon, especially if I’m out and about and changing my tampon
in, for example, a public restroom, I do prefer applicator tampons because basically, my train
of thought is this: I wouldn’t want to put my hands in my mouth in a public restroom,
so I don’t really want to put my hand in my vagina either.
So my question for you is: what period product differences have you noticed in the U.S.,
Germany, or anywhere else around the world?
And do you have any more questions about period product differences in the two countries?
Please let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching.
I really hope that you enjoyed this video.
If you enjoy these videos and you're not subscribed to the channel yet, maybe think about subscribing.
And if you enjoyed this video, maybe think about giving a like with the like button.
Thank you so much.
And also I want to give a really, really, really big thank you so much to our patrons
on Patreon, who help make these videos possible.
Thank you so much for your support.
If you would like to check out our Patreon page, you can find a link to that down in
the description box below.
Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
Tampons! And pads. That's cheap!