In an exclusive interview, Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson share the importance of the A Better Way to Period campaign, what they’ve learned about period protection, and more.

Source: Courtesy of Tampax / Tampax

Basketball champs Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson are using their platform to promote the importance of period protection in Tampax’s A Better Way to Period Campaign. According to the Tampax Period Education survey, 68% of Gen-Z women and girls received little to no information before starting their cycle. And 43% of Black Gen-Z women and girls had never used tampons.

Tampax has positioned itself as a leading brand in feminine products for over 90 years, and it plans to keep that going by educating women on the medical education behind period protection. The A Better Way to Period campaign features 3 of Gen-Z’s strongest voices, Angel Reese, Flau’jae Johnson, and Marsai Martin, alongside Dr. Nicole Sparks, OB/GYN, to lead a candid conversation on period protection, while dispelling fears and misinformation.

Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson had the world buzzing when they won the LSU championship this past spring. The talented duo has since popped up with campaign after campaign, working with top brands like Amazon. In an exclusive interview, Reese and Johnson share the importance of this campaign, what they’ve learned about period protection, and more.

HelloBeautiful: Why is it important to educate people on period protection?

Flau’Jae Johnson:  I feel like a lot of people don’t know (about period protection). And I was one of those people that was really un uneducated. And it’s important for women and young girls to be more educated on periods and it be something normal to talk about. I think me and Angel can use our platform to help make that conversation more transparent and share it to a wide audience.

HB: What’s one thing you didn’t know about that you were surprised to learn about?

Angel Reese: Growing up, I didn’t know that tampons didn’t hurt. I thought tampons hurt, and I was scared at first. I was scared before I got to use them – just seeing them on the internet. So when I first used it, I was like, ‘Oh, I can use it. I can get to this.’ And especially playing sports, I wanted something I could run up and down the court without problems or pain.

HB: And just like there were things you both didn’t know, there are things I’m learning now in my late 30s. Menstural education is important. It’s more than just tampons, but also, how do you manage bad cramps? We’ve normalized severe period pain.

Angel Reese: That’s another hard thing, and understanding it’s okay to go to the doctor if something is wrong. Sometimes, as a woman, we’re so strong that we try to deal with everything that comes with this and think everything is normal. If something is going on and you don’t feel like this is normal, you should see a doctor. I started seeing an OBGYN when I came to college, and I never knew anything about that either, but my mom was like, this is something that I want you to do just before you go to college to make sure everything is good.

Source: Courtesy of Tampax / Tampax

HB: Do you experience painful periods?

Flau’Jae Johnson: Oh my gosh, I do. Man, that first day, I can’t do anything. I try to go to sleep. When I come to practice, I be finna cry in the training room. Our athletic trainer is good at helping us with that. We get heating pads, cramp pills, and stuff like that, but man, whew, I get ’em bad – like overly bad.

HB: Does being active affect your cycle at all?

Angel Reese: I don’t cramp up, but I’ve heard that working out helps with your period. When I have my tampon in, I feel good – I’m okay. Of course, I have my teammates looking to make sure I’m not bleeding or anything. So that’s the only time I’ve had a concern, but when running up and down the court and working out, I’m having a good time.

HB: What do you want people to know about your partnership with Tampax?

Flau’Jae Johnson: I learned that 68% of women and young women are not educated or don’t know anything concerning menstrual health. It’s important for us to put this in the people’s faces and try to give them resources to be educated about it. 

Learn more about the campaign by visiting Tampax.com. The brand is committed to bringing medically accurate period education to all women and girls across the U.S. To execute this, they will continue to work with partners, Flow it Forward, to drive education in the communities that need it most.

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