"I'm the Best Period Product!!!" - Pads

Personal Experience

Periods can look different from person to person. As someone who has had my period for 4 years now, I have learned what works best for me when I am on my cycle. Not knowing much, I just used whatever my mom bought me and this tended to be really long pads. After a year or so, I learned that this was not very necessary and that what I really needed was thicker pads. I still had so much to learn, but this was the first step. This even included trying out different brands of pads to find the one that was the most comfortable for me. There are many aspects of period products that are great to learn about such as how to find out the right sizing, brand, timing, and specific product that works best for you. 

Why Pads are the Go-To

Pads are typically the go-to period product as they are simple, easy, and extremely versatile. One of the ways that pads are so great is that they do not take much effort to learn how to wear them. They can be worn by themselves and do not need any other period products to go along with it. Unlike tampons, you do not have to figure out how to insert it and the only work it really takes is sticking it to your underwear. Pads tend to be very comfortable and are great for chill days like sleeping or even going out with friends. They can also be used as extra protection for your clothing while wearing a tampon so that it can catch any leaking blood if the tampon is not changed out quick enough.

Hygiene 

Your pad should be changed out every 3-4 hours. You can tell that the pad is ready to be changed by checking underneath. If you take the pad off and see that there is blood showing through the bottom of it then it is ready to be changed. If the bottom is still white with no sighting of blood then the pad is still good to be worn. It’s a good idea to keep a rough estimate of how many pads you go through in a day during your period, so you know if you have light, moderate, or heavy flow. In order to dispose of a pad, roll it up and wrap it in toilet paper. You can put it in the trash can or if you’re in a public restroom, there should be a metal/plastic box on the wall in the stall for you to dispose of any menstrual products.

When Not to Use Pads

Although these situations are typically limited, there are a few scenarios where pads should not be worn because they won’t be fully effective. The main event in which you would not want to be wearing a pad is swimming. Pads are used to soak up the blood from your menstrual cycle to prevent it from going onto your clothes and in this process the pad will puff up. This means that when swimming, the pad would soak up tons of water and just be heavy and puffy making it uncomfortable and weird looking. Although this may sound scary, there are always other period products that are meant to help you out when swimming!

Finding the Best Brand

There are many different brands of pads, some that may be lower quality than others and some that may be entirely more expensive. Doing research on the most affordable and best quality pads is very important to be able to make your menstrual cycle as easy as possible. One great brand of pads is “Whisper Ultra Clean.” These are really great quality and can last a long time depending on how heavy your cycle is. These are higher end pads as they cost about $12 depending on where they are purchased. A pad brand that is very commonly used is “Always.” This brand ranges in prices depending on what you are looking for. They have maxi pads that are about $11 and anti-bunch pads that cost as low as $8. “Always” is also an amazing brand for sports. Many people who play sports use this brand and recommend it. With this brand, and any other one, the menstrual pad can get bunched up during sports so it is best to get a thin pad to ensure that it is doing the best job it can while you are active.

Sizing

Depending on how much you bleed during your cycle, there are different sizes and types of pads that may work better for you. To start off, you should know that there are urinary incontinence pads and menstrual pads so if you are on your period you want to ensure that you are purchasing menstrual pads. There are 5 different levels of pads and they determine how much the pad can hold. If you tend to have extremely heavy periods you want to lean towards the pads that are listed at a 5 (which is displayed on the front of the packaging) but if you have very light periods or you are wearing other period products while also using pads you may want to use pads that are listed at a 1. There are also different lengths for pads that depend on the time of day and how heavy your cycle is. The “regular” length is great for moderate bleeding. The “short” length is also great for daytime and moderate to light bleeding. When having heavy bleeding, the “long” length is best to use because it helps to ensure that there are no leaks. It is also great for night time since you would not be changing out the pad for about 8+ hours.

How to Put on a Pad

Now that you know everything you need to know about what pads are best for you, you need to know how to put the pad on. There are two different pads, one with wings on the sides and one without. The pads with wings are helpful in making sure the pad doesn’t move throughout the day. The first step to putting one on is unwrapping it. Place the sticky part in the center of your underwear. The shorter and skinnier half (if noticeably different) should be in the front and the longer thicker half should be in the back. Next, if there are wings, take off the strip of paper that is covering the sticky part and fold each flap underneath your underwear. This should keep the pad in place until the pad is ready to be changed.