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I got my period for the first time during sleepaway camp.
Photo Courtesy of the brand
It was all they had in the med kit.
Appropriately,menstrual productshave also gone through several transformations since then.
Suddenly, few people I knowjustbuy tampons.
As a result, Ive stained almost all of my underwear, which is fine.
Its difficult to put any other way, but in essence, I like the feeling of being natural.
(I realize this isnt how periods work, but here we are.)
THINX, founded in 2014, has long been a staple in the period-proof underwear market.
The idea of free bleeding is one thing.
The idea of free bleeding while working out is another.
This is where I decide to dabble in the classic adage, Go big or go home.
What continues below is a first-time free bleeders review.
Upon first try-on, the shorts looked a little…well…short, but flattering nonetheless.
They also feel really high-qualitycomparable to a pair of Lululemon running shorts, Id say.
The shorts have built-in underwear, as most pairs of running shorts do.
Butsurprise!these arent just any plain old underwear.
Theyre actually THINXs hiphuggertheir most popular (and most absorbent) period-proof underwear cutbuilt directly into the shorts.
I took the shorts on a leisurely Saturday morning jog along the Hudson River.
It was day three of my period, where I would normally still be wearing a tampon.
During my jog, my shorts felt dry and fresh as a daisy.
Actually, I pretty quickly forgot that I was free bleeding.
So far so good.
It crept up on me slowly, but after some time it became unignorable.
It wasnt like I-sat-in-a-puddle wet, and it wasnt like there-was-no-toilet-paper-so-I-had-to-drip-dry wet, either.
It was more like I-feel-like-I-peed-in-my-pants-a-little-bit-but-not-in-a-way-that-makes-me-totally-itchy-and-uncomfortable kind of wet.
Is that…hygienic?
So you should feel fresh and dry most of the day.
So why did I feel so…damp?
I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled down my shorts.
For one, there was not period blood all over the place.
Not on the inside of my thighs, not on…other parts.
Two, there was barely anything visible on the built-in undies.
It didnt look like what happens when you free bleed (albeit accidentally) in your underwear.
I wore the shorts for the rest of the day, where business carried on as usual.
There was never any mess.
I still felt the dampness I had previously described, which increased as the day went on.
Because I hadnt sweat much during the jogit was the first cool morningI cant attribute the wetness to that.
Or was the dampness inevitable, something I simply wasnt accustomed to since I never wear pads?
However, as Lonergan confirmed, there are similarities.
Both will wick and draw moisture in, so it is comparable, she says.
It’s the same thing with our products.
If you’re starting to feel like it’s getting wet, then it’s getting full.
After the rinse, I rung them out and hung them to dry.
But againthat wasnt the shorts fault, I just prefer to practice yoga in leggings.
If youre a runner, Id recommend the shorts a bunch of times over.
It is cool to feel like we have choices.
Would I (and will I) purchase another pair of THINX?
Its very difficult to give a time.
Then, Lonergan said something that made a lot of sense: Theres no magic solution.
You just have to have a sensible approach in how you use them.
Of course, my period wont disappear because I ignore it.
There is no magic solution.
I think the path is being formed.
So, lets keep talking.
