Toxins, Hormone Disruptors, and Tons of Waste: Could I Make a Better Period Care Box?

In my last blog post, I told you all about my journey through period pain, hormonal birth control, finally arriving at menstruality work and finding relief. 

Today's installment of the story will tell you how exactly I went from all of that to launching my own period care subscription box--and what makes My Club Red so unique. 

It all comes down to this: toxins and hormone health! 

 

After lying down on my bedroom floor on Day 1 of my first post-IUD period and choosing to ask my body what it needed from me--and listening to the answer--I knew I needed to incorporate that answer into my period care more consistently: rest. 

I started prioritizing couch-time while menstruating, embraced movie days with my three-year-old, and hired babysitters. 

I practiced Yoga Nidra each day of my period, prioritized nourishing foods, went to bed early, and simply moved more slowly and mindfully through my bleeding days, checking in with my body often. 

I didn't cook, clean, work, or do any activities that didn't sound nurturing and even declined social activities. 

I definitely had to plan ahead to make this happen!

Menstruation became a little pocket of time where I gave myself full permission to do as little as possible. 

And, let me tell you, it was incredible. 

Prior to that, I had powered through my periods with painkillers and didn't let up on my busy schedule. 

Until, of course, my body demanded I listen to her--and thank goodness she did! 

As I was transforming my personal period practices, I was also committing to becoming a menstrual cycle coach. 

It really isn't hard to see the next step in my story, is it? 

I quickly started realizing that so few menstruators around me were providing their own bodies with this level of period care!

So few (maybe none!) of my friends, family, and other menstruators around me had much of a rest on their period or any sort of continual self-care practices that allowed them to experience a similar menstrual transformation.

Even those I knew who were period positive or generally prioritized self care in other ways--most menstruators didn't have a rejuvenative system set up to nurture themselves while bleeding.  

And so many of my menstruating friends loathed, dreaded, or dismissed their periods entirely. 

Of course I wanted to change that. 

How could I help other menstruators create a meaningful connection with their periods, a deeper understanding of what our bodies need while we bleed? 

How could I help other menstruators prioritize rest and actually deliver the nurturing, care, and comfort their bodies would surely benefit from? 

And especially--how could I help them begin to build a repeating and sustainable shift, month after month? 

Could I help others transform their period experience so completely, the way I had? 

Yes. 

I knew I could. 

What better way to do that than a monthly subscription box that would deliver this gentle nudge and reminder--this box of permission--to slow down each month? 

Every month another period; every month another nurturing period care box. 

Every month a box full of reasons to actually look forward to your period!

I had no idea that other period care subscription boxes existed, so when I first started searching, I was pleasantly surprised to find a few. 

But then I quickly realized that these boxes were not providing what menstruators actually need--and in fact included items known to harm menstruating bodies!

Yep: conventional period products that have been found to include pesticides and other toxins; lots of hormone-disrupting synthetic fragrances; tons of waste in mostly disposable products; empty-calorie snacks; and so many more things that made me wince. 

But I'm not here to blame those other boxes--I mean, until very recently I didn't know products like that were harmful either! 

As Maya Angelou said, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

I knew I wanted to show up in this space and provide better period care--and help others know better too!

After seeing the void of quality subscriptions that were not only good for hormones, but also good for Mama Earth, I started researching period care products myself.

At the same time, I had started Session One of my first menstruality coaching program on my journey to become a menstrual cycle coach, Red School's Menstruality Leadership Programme (Now we're back in virtual class for Session Two!).

About one week into the summer break between sessions I decided to commit to launching a period care subscription! One month after that I started sourcing inventory and two weeks after that I launched my website and social media.

And I just barely passed the one-month mark of those milestones. 

It's been a whirlwind beginning, but so many things have aligned to bring My Club Red to life!