herbal teas to ease menstrual pain
It was personal experimentation that led to the creation of the Toulouse start-up We are Amari. Incubated for a month at 1kubator Toulouse, the young shoot offers herbal infusions to alleviate pain and symptoms related to the menstrual cycle. A concept created by a young entrepreneur from Toulouse, whose pre-sales will begin next September.
Marie Ville is 31 years old. Born in Aveyron, this former communications manager launched the “BAM PWR” series of podcasts in 2018, which highlighted the careers of women from Toulouse and its surroundings, from various backgrounds.
Off or during the podcast, the speakers spoke to me frequently about the menstrual cycle, it is a subject that came up a lot”, she tells L’Opinion Indépendante.
A theme to which the young woman, mother of two children, was already aware because of her contraceptive journey.
I stopped my hormonal contraception very early and I found myself with a rather strong natural cycle, with variations of energy and certain pains, without them being linked to illnesses. These are complicated sensations to manage with professional life explained”, the business manager.
A four-step menstrual cycle
Determined to resolve the ills related to her menstrual cycle, Marie Ville documents the search for an alternative to the drugs traditionally offered by doctors and gynecologists. “I can’t find anything that suited me on a natural level without using heavy treatments that I didn’t need,” recalls the young woman.
Through meetings with professionals, Marie Ville approached her menstrual cycle from a different angle, divided into four stages: the week before the period, the week of the period, the week after the period and the week of ovulation. Each period accompanied by sensations, sometimes pain or premenstrual syndromeShe develops four herbal tea recipes whose plants are recognized for this use.
At first, the Toulousaine only uses these herbal teas for personal use and observes the benefits. Quickly, his entourage asked him for the composition. Very modest, the young woman does not pretend to replace the medical support that is sometimes necessary, but she understands however that she can make the greatest number of people benefit from the virtues of her concoctions based on sage, raspberry or even lemon balm.
I’m not saying that it will solve all women’s problems, but they are plants that are very recognized on these themes and which we have somewhat lost the practice of.”
75% of women with premenstrual syndrome
After two years of thinking about her project, Marie Ville launched “We are Amari” a few months ago, inspired by the name of a Basque goddess, symbol of femininity and carrying values of emancipation. She chose plants that could grow in France, having the desire to produce them herself in the long term. With 75% of women claiming to experience premenstrual syndrome, the need is very clear. But beyond her infusions, she also plans to launch a cycle tracking appalways based on this vision in four times of the menstrual cycle. True to her slogan “rules but no limits”, the entrepreneur also wishes to intervene in the professional environment.
You have to manage to talk about it without it being blocking for the managers and that they propose this subject. It can go through hygienic protection, make work easier when possible, etc. My goal is to arrive with support kits, offer workshops for women but also managers who are often men and who have a lack of knowledge on the subject”, she specifies.
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“There is a turning point in feminism: for a very long time we saw it as being able to do everything and adapt to the male environment, now the idea is not to do everything like men but to do it in our own way, and that requires a certain open-mindedness for men”, recognizes the thirty-year-old.
While its products are not even available for sale yet, Marie Ville is already receiving requests for other issues related to the menstrual cycle or femininity: menopause, postpartum or even libido. In September, “We are Amari” will materialize through a crowdfunding campaign and presales. The infusions will be sent via the postal network in durable metal boxes, with the possibility of subscribing in order to receive refills each month. Eventually, the entrepreneur plans to offer her products in points of sale in Toulouse, always with the same mantra: breaking the taboos around the menstrual cycle and addressing all the consequences.