I Tried Using Period Underwear, And Here’s How I Got On

 

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No matter how long you’ve been dealing with that time of the month, it never gets any easier. I think I could be 100 years into dealing with menstruation and still feel like a rookie every time I feel the twinge of that first cramp.

From ruined underwear when my cycle catches me by surprise to leaving social events early because I didn’t bring painkillers for the cramps, I’ve never been a pro when it comes to my period, but that might be about to change.

Sustainability is a word associated with pretty much any topic you can think of. With a crumbling planet and rising global warming, we’re all conditioned to do our best for this mother earth, and that even reaches as far out as your period. Now, menstruating is difficult enough without feeling the need to make it green, so if you’re a pad or tampon person and have no plans of changing that, carry on, because it’s important to do what works best for you.

For me, I try to be conscious in a lot of things I do, I’ve drastically reduced my meat consumption, I always recycle, and sometimes I even bring a metal straw out with me to the club (and often lose it midway through the night but that’s neither here nor there). So when it comes to my period I like to be as eco-conscious as my body and tolerance levels allow me. For a long time, maybe 2-3 years I used a menstrual cup. I loved the convenience of it, only needing to change it twice a day, I never experienced any leaks and once it was popped in it was like my period had disappeared.

It was smooth sailing until I got the ick from it. Is it even possible to get the ick from a period product? I don’t know, but I did. I went from inserting and extracting it like a pro, until one day I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I began to overthink it, ‘what if I can’t get it out someday and have to go to A&E?’ ‘What if it moved around inside me and got lost?!’ Of course, they’re all silly thoughts to think as it’s not medically possible for it to get lost, but sometimes rational thought goes out the window when it comes to you and your period.

So, I was back to the drawing board. Using pads feeling like I was 14 again, and convincing myself I had toxic shock whenever I used a tampon. But there is one other alternative out there for me, one that claims to avoid leaks and that wet nappy feeling and that also is plastic free, keeping both my vagina and the planet happy. It was period pants.

If you don’t know, period pants are underwear that contains highly absorbent padding in the crotch area, designed to soak up any menstrual blood. Initially, I was dubious, but after exhausting all my other options I was interested to give them a go, so I picked up 2 pairs on my last visit to lingerie store, Victoria Secret.

Plenty of brands sell them, some of which you can find listed below. The results are similar regardless of which brand you use so it’s all about finding the right fit and absorbancy for you. I went with the ‘brief cut’, so they sit like tight shorts on me (I have no interest in trying to look sexy when I’m bleeding for a week, but that’s just me).

Shortly after, my period came around and I thought I would give them a try. Easing myself in, I only used them at nighttime as an alternative to pads. After a couple of nights, I was impressed with the results. Where I would usually wake up with a pad stuck to a body part that it wasn’t meant to be after it detached and went rogue during my night’s tossing and turning, my period underwear remained solidly in place.

After the good results, I decided to push the boat out a little further and wear them around the house while I had my period. My main fear was feeling wet and uncomfortable throughout the day, but to my delight, that wasn’t the case. This gave me the boost of confidence I needed to push the boundaries out even more.

The final test I needed to put my underwear through was wearing them outside. I started off with wearing them while I took the dog for a walk and before I knew it I was confident enough in them to wear them to the office, out for dinner, for drinks. There was no chance of any liquid escaping from these babies and so I felt perfectly fine to wear them up to 6ish hours at a time.

Even on my heavy-flow days, my underwear can hold up. Most period panties can absorb up to four tampon’s worth of blood so you’re good to go about your day with the confidence that your undies have your back. There’s no waste, no faffing about with packing pads or tampons before you leave the house, and no worrying about changing a pad or tampon throughout the day.

Yes, it’s a little pricy for one pair of underwear but in my opinion it’s well worth it for the peace of mind alone. Am I a period pro now? Definitely not, but have a found something that works well for me? I sure have.

• menstruation
• Period Underwear