We, as women, have been hearing a lot about period panties recently. I don’t know about you, but they’ve most definitely piqued my interest. After hearing about them again and again and seeing many notable brands release their own versions of period underwear, I decided that the time was now to try them for myself! So, I turned to Saalt!
Why did I try Period Underwear?
There are two reasons why I was drawn to period underwear: Sustainability and Cost Efficiency
- Sustainability- We are living in a time where dumps are filling up, trash can be found everywhere, and sustainability is more important than ever before. The number of pads and tampons that we use just seems like a massive amount of unnecessary garbage. Anything I can contribute to help with this problem seems like a win for me! Not having to use tampons and pads at all, or at least cutting down the amount used, seems like a great idea if it is possible.
- Cost Efficiency- Think about how much money we wind up spending on pads, tampons, and liners. They aren’t cheap! And having to buy them monthly isn’t fun. By having re-usable options, such as period underwear, we are saving ourselves a lot of money.
Right off the bat there were a few things that I noticed about Saalt that made them stand out to me above other period underwear. The first was the absorbency and the amount of blood the panties could hold. These are marketed as being good for those with heavy flows, and the panties I tried could hold 2-3 tampons worth of blood, which is the amount I would need for my heavy first day of my period. So, why not give it a go?
Day 1 of My Period
I am extremely heavy on the first real day of my period, and I was a curious to see if Saalt period underwear would be able to keep up with my heavy flow. Luckily, the panties I was trying were for a heavy flow, so I had high hopes! And Saalt exceeded my expectations. For the first day, I tried these adorable bikini cut panties, and don’t let their cute, feminine cut confuse you. They can hold their own. I was shocked by how absorbent they were. I wore them for the whole first day of my period to see what they could do, and I never had a leak or issue at all. What’s also nice is that they don’t feel like a diaper either. They are still somehow super slim while being absorbent. They truly provided me with a pleasant surprise. They were comfy, and I found out that I never have to worry about leaks, because these bikinis could handle my heaviest day with ease.
Less Heavy Days
If day 1 was covered by one pair of Saalt period panties, then I knew the rest of my period would be a breeze. As I wore them on my lighter days, it was even easier for me. I never once felt wet at all, and I never had to worry about leakage or issues. And while being compact, they are, again, super absorbent. As someone who travels a lot, I would feel safe and comfortable traveling with these to contribute to zero-waste and sustainable travel. Generally, on my lighter days, I will just use liners and change them out every couple of hours. Now, I think I’ll switch to just using period panties solely on my lighter days.
Additional Things I Learned
Caring for your period panties is important. Plus, it’s crucial to have enough of them and to have a plan for them! I wouldn’t wear your period underwear for more than a day, so you will want at least a few of them, if not one per day of your cycle. To care for them, simply rinse them first before washing. And after washing them, be sure to lay them flat to dry. Putting them in a dryer could degrade the absorption technology. So, it’s important to care for them correctly and also to consider that since they have to lay flat to dry, you will need enough to last you for a few days at least. But just think of the money you’ll save by not having to buy pads and tampons, so the investment is worth it in my opinion.
It’s important to understand your flow and cater your period underwear journey to that. You can wear lighter-flow underwear on lighter days if you’d prefer. Different brands only cater to lighter days, so you can get away with those on the light days, however, I did personally love how Saalt catered to those of us with a heavy flow. And, Saalt panties are made from post-consumer recycled water bottles to help clean up landfill and ocean-bound plastic waste. So, that’s a win-win!
All in all, I think period panties are well worth the investment! In a world where we are stressing the importance of zero waste travel and sustainable living, it’s crucial to find ways to cut back on our trash, and this is one HUGE way. I see period underwear as a strong step in the right direction in sustainability. I’m super happy with my Saalt underwear, and I can’t wait to see where this journey in sustainability takes us next.
