Should You Be Using Pantyliners Everyday?

Don’t you hate it when you have embarrassing girl issues, but you’re too awkward to ask your girlfriends about it? If you have vaginal issues, look no further. We’ll give it you here straight.

Does your vagina ruin your best underwear?

Many women experience this problem. You invest on a nice pair of panties, only to find them getting discolored—or worse, getting holes—in the vagina places. So, what’s up? Is something wrong with your lady parts?

“Most women will have discharge in their underwear at the end of day,” says Suzanne Fenske, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Mount Sinai Health System, in an interview with SELF.

And this discharge is a normal thing, it’s actually a sign that your lady parts are healthy and self-cleaning properly. In fact, since we go through different ovulation cycles, you’ll even notice that this discharge will change depending on where you are in your cycle. Sometimes it’s white, yellow, cloudy, sticky, slippery, etc.  As long as it’s not greenish, brownish, grayish, or with bloody discharge unrelated to your period, your discharge should be fine.

So how exactly is this discharge related to your underwear? Well, that very same discharge is actually bleaching your underwear.

Dr. Kim Sonntag, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, tells Women’s Health: “The vagina naturally has an acidic environment, with a low pH. Lactobacilli, good bacteria found in the vagina, help to keep the pH at the right level so that one is not prone to infections.”

In short, the longer this acidic discharge stays on your underwear, the more prone your underwear is to getting ruined.

So, how do I save my precious underwear?

Since you don’t want to be messing around with your vagina’s equilibrium, all you can do is to clean and wash your underwear as soon as you take it off so that the discharge doesn’t have time to stay longer on your undies.

Another way to go is to use pantyliners, which can protect your underwear from the discharge.

Pantyliner pros and cons

Whether you want to wear a pantyliner daily depends on your own preferences. We’re all used to seeing the single-use disposable liners—just like napkins, but shorter and smaller—available in drugstores and supermarkets, but not everyone is keen on using these on a daily basis. Some people get irritated and dried out because of its plastic-y material, and some people find it costly on the budget and on the environment.

However, there are merits to wearing pantyliners daily. One, as we’ve mentioned is to protect your expensive underwear from getting ruined.

Two, it’s a great way to protect yourself from unexpected visits. Sometimes, it may take a while for you to notice that you’ve gotten your period when you’re outside, and you don’t want to have to go through the embarrassment of walking around with a spot of blood on your behind. Wearing a pantyliner protects you from those scenarios.

But, if you’re concerned about the practicality and impact on the environment of buying, wearing, and discarding pantyliners everyday, you’ll be pleased to know that there are now more sustainable and eco-friendlier options.

Check out these reusable and washable pantyliners so you can keep using pantyliners everyday—minus the wastage. Those whose lady parts get irritated by the material of single-use liners would also benefit from these liners since they’re made with cotton fabric that’s just like your underwear.

The Good Trade

The Good Trade’s washable pantyliners are made from cotton and flannel fabrics so they’re gentle on the skin. Each liner is 7 inches in length and costs 90 pesos.

To clean, handwash with a gentle detergent after use, and sun dry.

Simula PH

Simula PH’s cloth liners are made with 4 layers of bamboo charcoal to decrease bacteria build up and odor, microfiber for absorption, and a printed waterproof PUL for stain resistance. They’re designed in 20 different beautiful floral patterns, and cost 120 pesos each.

Ka Nami Pasador

These washable pantyliners by Ka Nami Pasador are made with 4 layers: a cotton top layer, 2 layers of flannel for the core, and a cotton bottom layer. The layers are not waterproof for breathability.

The liners are available at 7 inches for 90 pesos, and 8.5 inches for 100 pesos.