Warning: Contains frank
menstruation discussion, a.k.a. this one's for the ladies! (And of course any guys who have an interest in
such things via wives, daughters, professional concerns, etc.)
Let me start by saying that I
don't do tampons, unless I get my period on vacation and have a snorkeling trip
planned. And as a pad wearer for nearly
thirty years, I have my system down to a science. There are four different kinds of pads under
my bathroom sink at any given time.
There are the super thin liners for light spotting; the liners that are
a little thicker, wider and longer for heavier spotting; what I call my
"medium pads", which are similar to that second type of liner, but
with wings added for leakage protection; and then there are the super heavy
duty overnight pads with wings, you know, the ones that make you feel like
you're wearing a diaper.
I first saw a Thinx ad on
Facebook and clicked to learn more because I'd never heard of anything like
them. I proceeded to read a rave review
about how Thinx offered a panty that made pads and tampons virtually
obsolete. I got more and more excited
about the prospect of these miracle panties as the reviewer told her story of
nervously wearing them for the first time, checking them throughout her heaviest
period day, and lo and behold! No leaks!
Not being one to trust
company sponsored reviews, I looked a bit deeper and found a couple of other
shining reviews that claimed the same success with Thinx. All of the reviews said the same things:
relatively cute lacy panties, no leaks even on your heaviest day, and all you
do when you're done is rinse them in the sink and throw them in the wash.
Not only would these miracle
panties eliminate the aggravation of bulky pads and invasive tampons, but they
would also keep all of that extra trash out of our landfills! The reviews also seemed to agree that there
was an amazing lack of blood when the panties were rinsed in the sink. "Where did all the blood go?" these
reviews asked in awe.
Snort. They totally had me. In an uncharacteristic act of rash
consumerism, I immediately went to the website and ordered not one, not two,
but seven pairs of the Thinx style that was supposed to hold two tampons worth
of blood without leaking. I fully
intended to start with just one or two pairs, but you get a discount if you
order more, and I figured I could always try one and return the rest if they
didn't work. The truth is, I was so convinced
they were going to be the best invention since pads with "wings",
that I thought my only issue would be if I got the size wrong and had to
exchange them.
I wanted them to work so
badly. Really, really badly. Oh, to never have to wear one of those bulky
overnight pads again! But alas, it wasn't
to be.
So my personal cycle generally
consists of a tiny bit of spotting up to two weeks before my period, then when
it hits I bleed pretty heavily for two days, medium on the third day, and it
tapers off for the last two days. The
Thinx arrived a few days before my period hit, and I washed one pair to try on
for size. They fit, though I did wish
they came up a little higher, a minor complaint I'd already read about in the
reviews. It wasn't enough to put a
damper on my newfound miracle, so in yet another rash decision, I washed the other
six pairs. I figured as long as I didn't
wear them, I could put them back in their packaging and return them.
Though I was still convinced
I wouldn't have to.
I hung the six pairs to dry
in my laundry area, as per the instructions not to put them in the dryer, and
had my dry pair for my first heavy day.
I was ecstatic when I checked them after an hour and found no leakage. And that's where my excitement ended. I checked them again after two more hours and
found blood seeping through into the crotch of my light grey pants. So a total of three hours, and they were
leaking. On the one hand, it was my
heaviest day. But on the other hand, I'm
fairly certain I didn't bleed two tampons worth in three hours.
Fortunately I work from home,
so I was able to change and get the stain out of my pants before it set
in. I dejectedly put on my regular Hanes
"period panties" with one of my jumbo pads. And when I rinsed the Thinx in the sink
before throwing them in the wash, there was no awe-filled question of where the
blood had gone. It was definitely all
there, soaking through the bottom of the panties and turning the water red.
I was fully prepared to
return the other six pairs. But my ever
helpful husband, having dutifully listened to me about my expensive new miracle
panties not going in the dryer, got to the washer before I did and hung the
used panties up with the others. I now
had no idea which were used and which weren't.
I could have tried to return them all anyway, but the thought of
returning used period panties made me too squeamish.
I even tried smelling them to
see if I could tell which ones were used.
Gross, I know. But I think it's
worth mentioning that they all had a weird odor to them, even after being
washed. I don't know if it's some kind
of antimicrobial stuff they use on the fabric, or what, but there's a mildly
unpleasant odor to all of them. Nothing
strong enough that you'd smell it while wearing them, but a definite faint sort
of funk when you put them up to your nose.
In any case, now that I
permanently owned seven pairs of Thinx, I decided I might as well experiment
with them. I tried them again on night
two with one of my thicker liners, whereas I usually would have worn one of my
jumbo overnight pads. I thought maybe I
could get away with the Thinx and smaller pads, thereby permanently getting rid
of my bulky "diapers". But there
was a good-sized blood spot on the seat of my pajamas in the morning.
I rinsed everything in the
sink and threw it all in the washer, then determinedly put on a third pair of
Thinx. This was day three, my medium
bleeding day, and I was wearing very dark grey pants. Even though they were dark, I could tell some
blood wiped off into them by the end of the day, but not enough that it soaked
through the pants onto anything else.
I'd say it was the equivalent of what would have happened if I'd tried
to wear a light liner with regular panties on that day.
I wore the Thinx on days four
and five as my bleeding tapered off, and they worked great even with light
colored pants. Those were days that I
could have gotten away with just a thin liner, and the Thinx did the trick by
themselves. So in the end, I saved a few
liners from the landfill and made it through two days and nights without that
little bit of extra bulk in my undies.
All in all, Thinx do have some
redeeming qualities, and are capable of replacing regular panties on a light
liner day. But for me, they are not nearly
everything they claimed to be. And that
was cause for some serious disappointment–which I hope this
post will save others from experiencing.
