Charli Howard on why biohacking your monthly cycle is the future
"People always think PMS is a bit of a joke, don't they?" says model and activist Charli Howard. "It drives me mad, because it's not a trivial thing. It affects so many people and yet so little research is done into it." She pauses and laughs. "I guarantee, if periods were a man's problem, they would would have fixed it already."
The woman has a point. Excruciating menstrual cramps, extreme mood swings, bad skin - you name it - many of us experience it every month. In this way, our cycles are, in fact, a chronic ailment, but one that is shockingly poorly researched and underfunded. A UCL study found that period pains can be as intense as a heart attack and yet another recent study showed that studies for erectile dysfunction (and the funding this entails) outnumber research into women's health by 5-1. Female health is demonstrably and depressingly overlooked. This is something Howard feels especially passionate about.
"Whenever I have gone to a GP with an issue to do with my period, doctors always just give the impression of: 'Okay, we don't want to deal with you','' she says, "I've heard all my life: 'Oh just go on the pill... take these medications and kind of disguise the problem.' That's worrying to me."
It is why she has become the ambassador of a revolutionary new, female-led brand called Fewe, which launches today. The world's first fully inclusive menstrual-cycle care brand, it is led by experts Dr Zoe Williams, Nicki Williams and Dr Ewoma Ukeleghe and has both a product line and community forum which aims to help you through every step of your cycle. Most importantly, it strives to help us understand our cycles more, launching with its own report which found that 86 per cent of people surveyed could only name half of the hormones active within the monthly cycle, with 69 per cent of the survey believing a menstrual cycle only lasted a week.
"We have such a lack of understanding about our own bodies," says Howard. "Working with Fewe was a huge wake up call for me. Once you understand when you're ovulating, and what your body goes through at each stage of your cycle, it just makes so much sense. For example, for some reason, it's like my brain is wiped out every month before my period, and I get so much anxiety. Tracking my cycle and reacting accordingly has hugely reduced that."
Fewe's products include everything from face serums and oral sprays to a vulva serum, and all are designed to support the five main areas of the monthly cycle: pain, sleep, skincare, mood and vaginal care. They are playfully and wittily named; the hydrating and soothing CBD face serum is called 'Thirst Trap', the anti-inflammatory oral spray is named 'Don't Cramp My Style' and the vulva serum is called (yes really) "I Touch Myself."
They are made from natural, active ingredients, including Vitamin C and CBD, which Howard claims is the only pain relief to have ever aided her menstrual cramps as well as helped her skin. "Who knew CBD was good for your skin?" she says. "I was so surprised."
But mostly, Howard is happy that we are all finally talking about our periods. "Hugely! Because the fact that most women don't understand the format of their cycle, that's not just a medical problem, it's a societal problem. People just don't talk about periods and they need to," she says. "PMS is not just you being moody, it's literally chemicals in your body and the more you speak about this and get help from people, the better." She laughs, and then apologises; "Sorry, I talk about periods to a lot of people, and people find it embarrassing, but you know what? I find it really, really important."
Discover more at fewe.co.uk.
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