Period Product Breakdown
As a pelvic floor physical therapist I frequently get asked about what products to use for menstruation. There are a ton of products out there and there are different indications, uses and pros/cons for most. I am going to explain then in order of how much “oneness with the vagina” the user must be.
The least “invasive” would be a product that the menstruating individual can freely bleed into. This could be either menstrual underwear OR a sanitary napkin/ pad. There are many brands for both of these products.
When choosing a brand of menstrual underwear, I would recommend making sure they are for menstruation and NOT incontinence and come from a company that has been in business for a good amount of time. I purchased a set of Thinx undies 8 years ago and they still are around and working well!
When choosing a menstrual pad, avoid scented products and select a product with the most cotton and least amount of “other” ingredients. The company Cora provides great options for panty liners and heavier pads.
The next option would be tampons. Tampons can come with and without applicators. Again, there are a million brands and choosing the one that is cotton based without other ingredients such as rayon, chlorine, dioxin and BPA is important. Cora, Athena Club, and Honest provide a variety of choices.
After that, we enter the world of menstrual cups and discs! There are soooo many choices and it can be really overwhelming. A menstrual cup will be more of a cone shape, where a disc will be more bowl shaped. My vagina prefers a disc to the cup, but I know lots of people who feel otherwise.
| Menstrual Cup | |
| Pro | Con |
| Reusable | No disposable option |
| Washable | Has to be folded in a specific way for insertion |
| Wear 12 hours | Seal creation and breaking |
| Various Sizes | Have to find right fit |
| Menstrual Disc | |
| Pro | Con |
| Reusable options | Disposable options |
| Washable | Minimal skill for insertion |
| Wear 12 hours | Minimal skill for removal |
| No customization | One size fits most |
Some brands for menstrual cups to try include Diva, Flex and Dot. I like the Flex Fits company for the disposable discs. Some re-usable disc brands to check out include: Cora, NixIt, and The June Cup.
There are lots of products and they are not all created equally. There is definitely some trial and error in finding what product/ products are your favorites to help you have a happy period.
Menstrual Product Cheat Sheet
| Menstrual Pad | Menstrual Underwear | Applicator Tampon | Applicator Free Tampon | Menstrual Cup | Menstrual Disc | |
| Environmental Impact | High | Low | High | Moderate | Low | Low |
| Reusable | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Sometimes |
| Disposable | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| Requires Penetration | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
