Does Period Underwear Really Work? We Put Them To The Test

It’s recommended that you change your tampon every four to eight hours. But what if you’re stuck in wall-to-wall meetings and forget? Or you’re running a day’s worth of errands and lose track of time?

Sometimes it can feel like we’re chained to the bathroom during our periods. But leaks happen, even to the best of us. Factor in cramps and bodily aches, and the resulting feeling during periods — for me, at least — can best be described as saggy hot garbage pain.

Thankfully, period underwear has been gaining a lot of traction lately, and the option seemed pretty great to me at first glance. Still, I was skeptical. Could I really put my faith in specialty panties and bleed freely without leaking or feeling uncomfortable?

I decided to try out a few of the most popular models on various days of my period, from light days to heavy, and during various situations, from a work meeting to a yoga class to a first date. Full disclosure: I’m the proud owner of a ParaGard IUD, so my period occurs à la Mother Nature.

Click through to see how some of the most popular period panties fared under pressure.