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I have tried six different brands with different absorption levels. You can read more about them in the menstrual product guide, but I have a few favorites. If you want to make the switch, I suggest trying a few different pairs to find what works best for you and your body.
My favorite is Modibodi. It has the widest range of absorption levels with overnight and 24 hour options that should last you all night or all day without worry. It also has a patent on its lining design. The liner features a bamboo top layer that wicks moisture and reduces odor, plus a merino wool mid layer that soaks up this liquid and keeps it in place to keep your clothes from bleeding (or your skin from shedding). wet). There is also an additional waterproof bottom layer as extra defense against the blood running through them and staining your pants.
Another of my favorite pairs comes from the Knix brand. The company’s nylon styles were by far the most comfortable; the silky feel against my skin was a nice change of pace on those normally uncomfortable days. If you have ever felt that you can take on the world because your bra and underwear match although no one knows, you will understand how these nylon underwear give me. Maybe I’m bleeding and pretending my bowels aren’t contracting, but at least my underwear smells like me Well, you know?
Knix uses a cotton top layer with spandex and carbon for moisture wicking and odor suppression, plus polyester mid and outer layers to absorb and trap liquids.
Safety concerns
I couldn’t rave about the fact that menstrual underwear has changed my life without mentioning the elephant in the room: In 2020, PFAs were found in some pairs of Thinx menstrual underwear. Sierra Club writer Jessian Choy sent several pairs of his Thinx underwear and Lunapads (now called Aisle) to Graham Peaslee, a physics and chemistry researcher at the University of Notre Dame. Peaslee found high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (chemicals commonly referred to as PFAs) in two of the three Thinx pairs, but not in the Lunapads. (Peaslee had previously discovered PFAs in fast food packaging.)
“There was enough PFA that we were sure it was intentionally added to make a layer water resistant – which is a lot of PFA in general,” Peaslee told WIRED when asked about his discoveries. Peaslee cannot say whether the amount of PFA found in the underwear posed a risk to the wearer (PFA is more harmful if ingested than when worn) but he believes that such “non-essential” use of these toxic chemicals should be avoided.
I’ve spoken to every business I’ve tried including Thinx, and everyone assured me that there are no toxic chemicals in her underwear. Some have even started including language in their marketing noting that their products are PFA-free. We’ll continue to research this, but we think these brands are being honest about their period underwear makeup, especially after this discovery.
There isn’t a lot of research in general on menstrual products. In fact, when I contacted the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists when I first wrote the Menstrual Products Guide, there was little they could say about menstrual products due to lack of scientific research. peer reviewed. Like many aspects of personal care that women face, we need to be confident that products designed for us will not hurt us.
I just know there are a few things that make me feel good when I bleed from my vagina for the fifth day in a row, and if the menstrual underwear can help me even a little, I won’t let go.
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