- I was one of those kids that was actually
really excited for my period,
because I just wanted boobs so bad,
and, like, I'd read that after you get
your period, you get boobs.
- I usually rely pretty heavily
on tampons and the occasional pad overnight.
- Kind of have always worn a combination
of tampons and pads.
- Tampons, like, they're super convenient,
but also, they hurt.
They're uncomfortable.
It's just that they're much easier than pads.
Pads are really bulky and loud,
and it feels like you're wearing
this soggy cloud in your underwear.
- About two years ago, I switched
to using only organic tampons,
because I found out that a lot of the
normal tampons have been bleached white.
So when you put that tampon inside of you,
you're unknowingly absorbing bleach into your vagina.
- I hate thinking about the waste
that's created by tampons, and knowing that
I'm literally, personally contributing to that.
But on the other hand, there's not a lot
of options for women who are just bleeding.
Like, I can't just go to work and free bleed.
- I feel like periods are sort of shrouded in secrecy,
like when you start your period, it's sort of like,
"You're starting your period."
And that is still really confusing to me,
because I think that's why we don't
really have a lot of alternatives,
because we're not having a lot of conversations
about periods, and just, like, the vagina
and the vulva in general.
(swooshing)
(fun music)
- I don't know.
I don't know how this is gonna work.
Like, why is this so short?
I'm worried that it's just gonna be up there
and get stuck forever.
And, like, I have to fold it a certain way.
I don't know, you guys.
I feel like you have to know origami
to put it in your vagina.
- About to take a shower,
and then I'll stick it in while I'm in the shower,
and I'll let you guys know how it feels.
There's just something about it,
like, if you could touch it.
I just hope it's not itchy.
I used the sponge, and they basically went
to the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef
and, like, scraped it off of a coral wall.
- Just got the panties.
Did the unboxing.
They're v. cute.
I feel like they look like normal underwear,
like, just cute-ass, high-waisted.
The pad is very thin, which I appreciate,
'cause I was really worried it would be super clunky,
which I'm not into.
So, so far, so good.
- I'm in the bathroom, about to attempt
to put this on successfully.
It's a tiny bit confusing.
I don't know if the liner goes inside the actual pad?
- This is no joke.
It's not in my vagina, in case you were wondering,
15 minutes later, still can't get the little fucker in.
I folded it.
I tried to put it in.
I got it halfway in, and then it fuckin' bounced open.
I don't really want to keep doing it.
It seems like so much work for something
that I'm gonna have to empty out in 30 minutes.
'Cause there's no way that baby's holding
all the blood that's gonna come out
of my vagina today.
- The sponge is in.
I just realized as I was putting it in,
I was like, "I hope this doesn't get lost in my vagina."
Because I use the DivaCup, but the DivaCup
has a little knobby thing at the bottom
that helps you be able to, like, pull it out.
I'm really scared of pushing it so far back
that it's hard for me to grab it.
- No, there's no string.
- So you've gotta reach up.
- No, there's no, it's, like, just the sponge.
- Just the sponge.
- So you have to pinch it out.
- Fun.
- Ooh, so my first thoughts are
they're really comfortable.
They feel really soothing and comforting.
There's something to be said, I pulled out my tampon
to put them on, and it was nice, like,
taking out something and just, like, letting it all flow.
- It's on now, and, so far, I can feel
it's there, but it's pretty comfortable.
It's like a little vag-cushion.
I'm not complaining.
- At first, I was pretty apprehensive, 'cause, same thing.
I'm like, pads, man, they're not sexy.
They're loud.
They get dirty really quickly.
But it was the best thing.
It literally felt like a pillow for my vagina.
- So I've had the cup in for less than
10 minutes now, and I'm sitting down,
and I can definitely feel it, and I also don't feel like
it's doing what I need it to do.
And it's really uncomfortable.
I'm giving myself five more minutes
before I go inside and rip this thing out of me.
Once it was in, I don't think I inserted it correctly,
because I could feel it, and I don't think
you're supposed to be able to feel it.
You're supposed to just live your life.
- I was actually really joking about the itching.
It's not like, "Oh my gosh, my crotch is on fire,"
but there's just, like, a little bit
of a, you know, like I wanna go scratch it.
I think I might have it a little bit too low.
I might need to push it up a little bit more.
It would kind of almost slide down my vagina sometimes,
so, like, it would just be, just hanging out.
- It's like peeking out?
- Yes! (laughter)
- So we're two hours into wearing white,
while wearing the Thinx, and I don't think
I'm ever going back to anything else.
It just feels so good to not have anything inside of me.
I think you're still gonna kind of need a backup
when you're heavy, but as far as, like, medium to moderate,
these puppies are good to go.
- I'm about to have a shower, and then
try the Lunapads for the night.
As you can see, white sheets, so this is gonna be
the ultimate test.
It's the deal breaker.
Time to shine, Luna.
- Did you feel like you were worried about spillage?
- I was, but they're quite wide.
- Okay.
- And they kind of wrap all the way around,
and then you can clip them as well,
so they're safe, they're secure.
And then at night, it just felt really nice.
- Yeah.
- I had this extra little cushion on my ass.
- Okay, I'm currently the only person
in this two-person stall, but I'm just wondering
how the fuck I'm supposed to clean my cup out
in this sink if someone walks in.
No.
- I just stood up.
Nothing happened.
I keep living in fear, but, like, I'm protected.
If they develop the Thinx that could hold
five tampons worth of blood,
that you could literally just wear all day --
- I would pay -- - Yeah, agreed.
- A hundred dollars for that. - Hundreds. Yeah.
- Because it would be so worth the investment.
- There were no leaks on the bed.
I just got up to go to the bathroom.
I'm going to check out what's going down.
Everything's fallen into the right place.
There's no mess.
I was kind of worried that it, like, would maybe
have traveled out onto my thighs at all, but, no.
The one downside is that it's, like, not sexy at all.
(laughter)
Not that that should be your number one fear,
but, like, when I went to bed, I did feel like,
lying next to my partner, I'm like, man,
I'm kinda wearing this, like, huge adult diaper.
- I just woke up, and I feel like Thinx was made
for sleep while you're on your period.
It was awesome.
All throughout the night, not having to worry
about whether or not I had a tampon in.
- We should just have more options.
That's what bothers me at the end of the day.
Here's four.
Maybe two of them are reasonable for you.
Maybe just one.
Currently only having just one option for people
to do something that's been around
for thousands of years, you know?
- I definitely think I had the sponge in
just a little bit too low, because it felt like
it was gonna pop out.
So, I came to the bathroom to adjust it,
but when I tried to push it farther back,
it was just rubbing up against my vagina
in a way that, like, I don't like.
But now that it's up there, I feel fine.
So, the DivaCup, once you get it in there,
you don't feel it for the rest of the day, for me.
Whereas, with that, like, I just, it's the first time
in a long time where I could not feel it.
I was just so mindful of it every time.
Like, even when I went to pee,
when I went to sit.
I didn't like being that present in my period.
It's already hard enough
to deal with the cramps and everything else,
but then to be cognitive of something being
in your vagina was too much.
- Would you try the DivaCup again?
- Yeah, I would definitely try the DivaCup again.
In fact, I'm going to on my next period.
I want to keep trying until I find a way
for it to work for me.
- I would, hands down, try Lunapads again, for sure.
I don't think there's anything
they could improve on, either.
- The only thing I would improve about Thinx
is just another level up of absorbency.
Keep the ones you have for heavy days,
and then have that, like, extra heavy day.
Like, the overnight, almost.
You know, like they have with pads.
And, I think, if there was a way to figure out,
if more companies start doing it, maybe,
a way to make it cheaper so it's more accessible.
- [Tania] It's like opening a bag of potato chips
in a cinema, when it's, like, in a really quiet scene
and everyone just turns around and hates you.
That's what I feel like a pad is like.
The Lunapad is like having an ice cream in the cinema.
No one hears it, everyone's happy.