What’s in *your* pants?
My clients have been raving about period underwear for years, so I finally bought some for myself a few months ago. I'm hard pressed to remember if anyone told me about using a brand OTHER THAN Thinx - it's pretty much been the resounding recommendation.
I've been rocking my Thinx for several cycles now - long enough to offer my own rave review, but then... I found out there are (or were?) weird chemicals in them.
Here's the scoop:
PFAS are a class of man-made, fluorinated chemicals that don't break down, can accumulate in the human body and are understood to negatively impact our health, although we don't have a lot of hard science on how exactly.
In January 2023, Thinx settled a class action suit regarding the presence of these chemicals in their underwear. The crux of the situation is that independent analysis showed marked presence of PFAS, and Thinx marketed their underwear as organic and nontoxic.
Since we don’t yet have the science to measure PFAS’s impact on health, this lawsuit didn't find Thinx at fault for selling unsafe underwear, but at fault for misrepresentative marketing.
I personally don't need more hard science to know that I don't want chemicals of any kind against my crotch. Because the vulva and vagina are mucous membranes, these tissues have extra capacity to absorb whatever comes into contact with them.
Mucous membrane permeability is really easy to understand when we think about handling hot peppers, ginger or garlic in the kitchen.
Touching these things with our hands is no problem, right? But wipe your nose or eyes with those hands and yes, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!! Eyes, nose, mouth, vulva (especially the inner folds), vagina, rectum: mucous membranes are where our skin is SHINY or wet-looking rather than matte and dry.
Back to period underwear, according to this NYTimes article and a Vajenda Substack by Jen Gunter* (see my P.S.), it sounds like experts on PFAS think that these chemicals get washed out of the fabric once we've washed our panties several times. Not great for our water, but hopefully some relief for our cooch.
In all my years of experience bleeding on things, Thinx is now my preferred option, so I'm super bummed about the chemicals! Because the PFAS-knowledgable folks think that the chemicals leave the fabric relatively quickly with washing, I'm going to keep using the set I currently have, but I won't be buying more unless the company documents different manufacturing processes and proves through independent testing that they are PFAS-free.
Since I'm already here writing about menstrual catchers, I thought I'd do a little review of my other favorites.
Need help navigating your period?
BEST PERIOD UNDERWEAR(?): Aisle
Aisle is what I have my eye on for next time I buy period underwear. This is a Canadian company and they've already done 3rd party lab testing to ensure absence of PFAS. I like their styles in general but their boxer briefs look especially awesome and were rated best period boxers by Wirecutter (I love me some Wirecutter reviews); I didn't like Thinx boxers - the absorbent part of the crotch is ridiculously narrow.
CONS to using period underwear: elastic leg binding for brief and bikini styles that keep blood IN also make for super visible panty lines. You have to take off all your bottoms to change your blood catcher. Period underwear requires special laundering.
NOTES: I really love period underwear - I think it's the easiest external blood catcher to use.
I like how my Thinx contain my blood! Fabric wicks well, doesn't leave me feeling soggy, and I experience way less leaks using Thinx than I did with cloth pads.
External blood catchers help balance our vaginal flora.
Internal catchers don't let our vag breathe! Plugging up our flow can exacerbate damp-heat conditions like yeast and BV. Bleeding “out” lets our vagina flush out imbalances with our flow.
Laundering: I rinse my used underwear immediately after wear, until the water runs clear, and then soak overnight in a white vinegar and water solution. I wash normally the next day and hang dry.
BEST REUSABLE PADS: Party in My Pants
I used these since 2006 and they were my main jam up until switching to Thinx. I've use the medium, super, super overnight, and skipper liners. This is a small, woman-owned business, the pad have fun patterns and they snap up into cute little packages for throwing in your bag, and don't wander much during wear.
CONS to using cloth pads: strong gushes of blood can exit sideways. Needs undies with compatible cut and waistband (I liked lace-waisted hipsters) to keep them in place. Using cloth pads can encourage damp-heat conditions like BV and yeast if pads aren't changed frequently.
NOTES: I prefer the cotton fabric over flannel - the flannel ones I had pilled. Measure your underwear crotches to confirm correct size before ordering. Sun-drying/air-drying will leave fabric crispy.
Laundering: Light bleeders can throw pads straight into the wash with other laundry, but med-heavy bleeders will find that makes everything smell like iron. My method was to air dry my used pads asap after wear, then launder all my pads together at the end of my cycle by soaking in cold water for 20 minutes, rinse in several changes of water until water runs clear, then wash and dry normally with other laundry.
BEST TAMPONS: Cora
Also recommended to me by a client, these organic tampons swell sideways so they are more leakproof than NatraCare, which I found to swell long-ways. I used o.b. tampons in high school before I knew about pesticides used in cotton farming and other chemicals present in mainstream tampons... o.b. tampons swell sideways and work great because of it. There's now an organic version of o.b., fyi. I haven't tried them.
CONS to using tampons: TSS we all know about from the insert: change your tampons, use clean hands, use minimum absorbency needed for your flow. My main beef with tampons is that we throw our blood - literally the fabric of existence - into the TRASH! I am just too damn witchy for that; I unroll my tampons and rinse them out in the sink before throwing the cotton away. If I was a better gardener or less lazy, I’d collect that blood water and give it to plants outside. (Props to the extra witchy bitches already doing just that ;)
BEST CUP: Saalt Soft Cup
I tried Keeper, DivaCup, and MeLuna in the past, and they either twisted sideways inside me and felt pokey, put pressure on my bladder, or felt too long despite trimming the stem. After reading up at PutACupInIt.com I got a Saalt cup which I like. I would also try the Cora cup, based on reviews I've read. And, I want to try the Saalt disc or Cora Soft disc for blood-free penetrative sex during menses.
CONS to using a menstrual cup: They definitely don't let our vag breathe! Plugging up our flow can exacerbate damp-heat conditions. I've had several clients who were only able to recover from recurrent BV cycles after shifting away from cup use to external catchers.
If we don't break the seal before removing our cup, the suction can pull on our uterus. I don't think this is good for any body, but this downward pressure can especially exacerbate conditions of uterine prolapse.
What’s in my pants?
I usually bleed a medium to heavy flow for 2 days, and then a light, tapering flow for another 3 days.
I primarily use period underwear to catch my blood, and right now that’s Thinx Hi-Waist super absorbency for heaviest days and overnight, then the Hi-Waist regular absorbency and Thinx cheekies for light days. I originally ordered Thinx boxer briefs for more coverage overnight, but it turns out that the absorbent crotch of the briefs are so narrow that after the first strong gush of blood, they are done for! I’ll check out Aisle next.
When I’m working out or swimming or otherwise wanting to use an internal catcher, I usually use Cora no-applicator tampons in super or regular. Even though I have lots of experience using a cup now, I do find that my body gets tired of the internal pressure of the cup after a while, and I don’t feel that sensation with tampons.
What blood catchers do you like to use, and why?
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
To our smooth bleeding,
Muse
P.S. Jen Gunter writes extensively about gynecology and is really solid on her science - I appreciate her reports because of it, but she is also not at all attuned to energetics or the emotional body and can get unnecessarily snarky about holistic gyn options (read: she is totally against anything that doesn't have double-blind and peer reviewed research).