I Tried Free Bleeding Into "Period Panties" and This Is What Happened
I got my period a few months before I turned 10 years old, so you'd think I would have this bleeding-out-of-my-vagina-every-month thing down by now. But still, it's a pain each time. I'm not a huge fan of tampons, mostly because I have slightly irrational TSS-anxiety if I leave one in too long, so I usually stick to pads. (Note: TSS is really not that common. For every 100,000 women who use tampons, only three to four of them will develop TSS in any given year.) Anyway, when I heard that there was a brand of underwear called Thinx that absorbs period blood, I knew I had to try them.
Thinx sent me three pairs to try out: the Hiphugger, a low-rise and full-coverage style for heavy days; the Sport, a classic bikini style for medium days; and the Cheeky, a skimpier style for light days. As soon as I took them out of the package, I was skeptical. The panties felt too...normal. Where was the diaper-like insert? Nowhere to be found. In fact, the crotch (black, of course) was more like that of a bathing suit. Plus, they didn't look like granny panties-they're actually pretty cute!
Here's how my five-day period week went down in my new undies.
Day One
I got my period while at the office late in the afternoon and didn't have my Thinx with me. Fail! Luckily, my first day is often super light. I popped on a panty liner and went about my day and wore a light-day pad to bed. The true test would have to wait until tomorrow, aka my heaviest flow day.
Day Two
Thinx leaves it up to you how you want to wear the undies. Basically, the heavy-day style holds up to two tampons worth of blood. Only you know your flow, so you can wear them as a backup to pads, tampons, or cups, or you can wear them on their own. My period can be pretty heavy on the second day (I change my pad about 2-3 times), so I decided to wear the Hiphuggers with a light pad as backup.
A few hours into the day, I decided to go all in and removed the pad. I was nervous, but I was wearing black pants; I figured the worst that could happen would be I leak a little. But guess what? NO LEAKS, which is crazy because you still feel the blood coming out of you, you just don't see it anywhere.
The crotch wasn't wet at all, and it didn't feel full or saggy.
Right before bed, I followed the directions and rinsed out my Thinx undies. Weirdly, blood didn't come rushing out like I was expecting. The water was a little darker, sure, but nothing too intense. I hand-washed with Woolite and cold water, hung them to dry, and cried aloud, "WHERE DID ALL OF THE BLOOD GO? WHERE?"
The skies didn't answer, so I did a little research: There are four super-thin micro-layers at work to absorb the blood. Thinx's fancy technology makes them not only leak-resistant, but also moisture-wicking and antimicrobial. You feel dry because the top of the four layers quickly wicks away liquid into the absorption pad layer underneath.
Still, I had days to go and only two dry pairs, so I went to bed in regular underwear with a pad. This is where it gets a little tricky: You definitely need a collection of Thinx if you want to wear them every day like I did, because there's the daytime, the nighttime, and the rinsing in between to think about.
Day Three
I had planned on wearing the same Hiphugger pair because my day three flow is still pretty heavy, but they weren't dry yet, so I opted for the Sport style. This was the Saturday before Easter, and I was traveling to see my family in Philadelphia by train. There was no option to change my clothes for hours so I crossed my fingers that the panties would hold up on a day when I usually go through 1-2 pads. And they did. Completely! By the time I got to my grandmother's house a few hours later, I still felt totally dry. I actually forgot that I had my period for a few minutes. Crazy!
There was a bit of an icky moment, though. You know how not everything that comes out of you is totally liquid? It's normal to have some clots that come out, which is why blood sometimes looks clumpy. There was a small amount of that on the crotch of my underwear so I just wiped it off with toilet paper. Problem solved.
I actually felt like I could wear this pair to bed because they felt so clean, but... couldn't. Instead, I washed them, hung them up to dry, and went to bed wearing my third pair, the Cheeky. I don't bleed much at night, but if I did, I would've just added a pad.
Day Four
This is my medium-to-light day, so you'd think I'd be super confident by now, waking up and sticking with my Cheeky pair. But it was Easter, and I was wearing a pastel-blue dress without tights to brunch with 20 of my family members and about 100 strangers. There could be no leaks! I went to the bathroom to check on them more I had on heavier days and was leak-free each time.
That night, I went commando to bed. Call me a risk taker, but like I said, I don't bleed much overnight, especially on day four.
Day Five
I was out of underwear so I wore the Hiphuggers again. Though this was my lightest day, I didn't mind wearing them at all because they're so undiaper-y. My train ride back to NYC was a total success!
Final Thoughts
I'm officially Thinx-obsessed. They just worked for me. I didn't have to stress about having supplies with me, or worry that I'd kept a tampon in for too long. I really only thought about my period in the morning and before bed, and not much else during the day. I also felt less wasteful because I wasn't throwing out pads and tampons. Yay, environment!
The undies made me feel more confident, too. I'm usually wearing loose clothes on heavy days since I'm worried you can see the line of a pad. But I felt great in my tight pants and spring dress. Yes, $34 is a lot for a pair of underwear, but it's worth it to me because it makes my period so much less of a hassle. I'll be buying the thong and high-waisted styles for sure. Having your period is not fun for anyone, so treat yourself, right?
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