US woman shocked to discover Australian tampons are different

TikTok user @jamieeastonn shared a video claiming applicator tampons were the most commonly used period product in the States.

But when she travelled Down Under, she said she was shocked to learn most people use tampons without the plastic applicators, something Jamiee said she initially thought was “nasty”.

“What country do you live in and what do your tampons look like?” she began in the TikTok video, posted on Wednesday.

“I live in the US and the most popular ones are the ones that are retractable, so they look like this.”

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Jamiee then opened a new tampon on camera, showing viewers the two piece applicator the period care item comes in.

“So you pull it out and retract this thing and that’s how you push it in. That’s how they’re used,” she said.

“But when I lived in Australia they don’t have that. And I remember thinking it was the nastiest thing in the whole entire world that like you have to use your finger to put it in.

“So I’m curious – what country do you live in and how are your tampons sold?”

The model and social media creator caused plenty of conversation in her comments, with some stating the variety used in the US was “wasteful”.

“Applicators are so unnecessary; it’s just more plastic waste,” one said.

“In the US we are very wasteful and extra. Most countries don’t use extra plastic where not necessary,” another agreed.

Others were equally as confused as Jamie was when she first discovered non-applicator tampons, writing: “Woah, woah, woah, what do the Australian ones look like?”

Women from other countries including Germany, Austria and Switzerland said both products were available, but most used the kind without plastic.

“Portugal here, both versions widely used. I use the ones with the applicator as the plastic helps them sliding in,” one woman said.

“In Netherlands we put them in with our fingers. We have the others too but nobody uses them,” someone else replied.

“The applicators are pretty new in Belgium. At home I use the normal ones but when I’m in public I use the applicator because it’s more hygienic,” another claimed.

Australian women also weighed in, explaining while both are available, she “rarely” sees the applicators on shelves.

“They are a bit more expensive, about $1 or $2 difference,” she said.

“Aussie here, I wouldn’t know how to use an applicator,” another wrote.

However some said the ones without applicators are “so hard” to use, stating they wished Australia had more that come with the plastic device.

“I’m Irish but live in Australia now and have always used the plastic ones,” one said.

Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au