Period care · What we read
11,000 period products in a lifetime. Researchers just found something most brands don't want to talk about.
We read the studies, asked our supplier the awkward questions, and changed what we wear. Here's what the research found — and, just as importantly, what it didn't.
The label we forgot to read
I can recite my skincare routine from memory. Fragrance-free cleanser. EWG-verified sunscreen. I will stand in an aisle and read the label on a $70 serum twice before I buy it. I've talked friends out of purchases over a single ingredient.
And I had never once turned over a box of tampons.
Not once. In twenty years. That's roughly 11,000 disposable period products across a lifetime. Worn for close to 2,540 days — nearly seven years of continuous contact with the most absorbent skin on your body. I audited my face cream and ignored the thing I wore for a week every month.
If you just did the same mental math and felt a bit silly: you're not alone. I didn't know either.
What the research actually says
In 2024, a UC Berkeley study led by researcher Jenni Shearston did something nobody had done before: measured metals in tampons. The team tested 30 tampons from 14 brands across the US, UK and EU for 16 different metals. They detected every metal they looked for — including lead, arsenic and cadmium — across the products tested. Organic didn't score better; lead was higher in non-organic tampons, arsenic was higher in organic ones.1
Here is the part most viral posts leave out. That study measured what is in the product. It did not measure whether any of it leaves the product, enters the body, or causes harm. The lead researcher herself asked people not to panic. We won't pretend a single study proves more than it does.
But pads and liners have since had their turn. A 2026 study published in Science of the Total Environment analysed 16 sanitary pads and 8 panty liners and detected hormone-disrupting chemicals in every single product tested. Estimated exposure to one chemical exceeded the European tolerable daily intake under standard use assumptions.2 Again: detected, measured, flagged for follow-up. Not proven to make anyone ill.
So why do researchers keep looking? Because of where these products sit. Vaginal tissue absorbs directly into the bloodstream — no filter, no liver processing it first. And unlike food or cosmetics, most brands don't have to list all their ingredients. Adhesives, fragrance, absorbent gels and plastic backing can all hide under a vague line or no line at all.
When researchers found hidden chemicals, "hidden" mostly meant "never required to be printed anywhere." That was the bit that got me. Not fear. Just the fact that I couldn't check.
Why the same question keeps showing up in different bathrooms
For the parent who reads everything
If you're in the "look at every label" phase for your daughter, if early puberty and hormone disruptors are already on your radar — you've swapped her body wash, her water bottle, her deodorant — this is the category most parents haven't audited yet. It isn't a medical decision. It's the same parenting decision you already made about six other products. I bought a pair for my daughter before I bought one for myself. One less thing to worry about. For a lot of parents, this was the missing piece.
For the person who tracks everything
If you're tracking your cycle and cutting plastic — if you log symptoms, time your workouts to your phases, and generally optimize everything you can control — you've probably noticed the product you wear during the actual bleed is the one variable you never examined. For people who like a clean input list, this was the missing piece.
For the stage where less is more
If your hormones were already doing backflips — if you're navigating hot flashes, broken sleep and cycles that stopped following any schedule — the last thing you want is another protocol. This is not a fix for any of that, and we won't pretend otherwise. It's one fewer thing to buy, track and run out of at midnight. For people trying to simplify everything, this was the missing piece.
For the clean-beauty label reader
If you read the label on a $70 serum — and check the sunscreen, and buy fragrance-free everything, and keep an EWG-verified moisturizer in your clean girl routine — you already have the instinct. It just never got pointed at this shelf. Applying the same standard to the products you wear for seven years of your life: for a lot of people, that was the missing piece.
A simpler category: period underwear
I thought it was ridiculous at first. Underwear that just... absorbs it? It sounds like a step backwards. It isn't.
Period underwear is normal-looking underwear with a built-in absorbent layer in the gusset. You wear it, it absorbs, you rinse it, you wash it, you wear it again. No applicator. No adhesive. No string. Nothing to change in a work bathroom stall.
The reason it appeals to people who read labels is simple: it's a garment, so it comes with a materials label the way a t-shirt does. Natural fabric against the skin, a stated fibre breakdown, and a product you own instead of consume. No disposables, no mystery ingredients — just fabric you can look up. It's reusable, which means the waste question answers itself, but that's a side benefit for most of our customers rather than the reason they came.
Why we built BZHEY
We built BZHEY because we were tired of the two options on the shelf: the €35 pair that felt like a luxury tax, and the cheap ones that wouldn't answer a single material question.
So we went looking for a supplier who actually prints what's in the fabric. We wear-tested the samples ourselves — washed them fifty times, slept in them, wore them on heavy days, sent them back when they didn't hold up. The pair we landed on is the one we actually wear. Not the most expensive. Not the cheapest. The one that answers the question we started with: what's in this?
We list the materials because we wanted to see them ourselves. That's the whole thing.
Our Underwear
Disposables vs. period underwear
| Disposables | Period underwear | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $8–15, every month | One-time purchase |
| Ingredients listed | Rarely, and not in full | Yes — materials shown |
| Waste per lifetime | 11,000+ pieces | Zero disposables |
| Comfort | Adhesives, strings, shifting | Just underwear |
| Sleep protection | Backup pad often needed | Designed to wear alone |
What customers tell us
"I was skeptical but I was also sick of waking up at 3am to check if my pad had shifted. First night in these, I slept through till morning. Didn't think about my period once. Already ordered two more pairs."Amanda R. · Verified buyer
"My daughter is 12 and just started her cycle. I had already swapped her shampoo, her water bottle, her lunchbox — literally everything that touches her skin. Realised I never checked her pads. She refuses to go back to disposables now."Michelle K. · Verified buyer
"I will read the back of a cereal box but I never once checked what was in a tampon. Fifteen years. These are comfortable, they don't leak on my heavy days, and I finally know what I'm wearing. That's it. That's the review."Sarah M. · Verified buyer
Frequently asked questions
How do I wash them?
Rinse in cold water until it runs clear, then machine wash at 30°C with your normal load. Air dry — the dryer degrades the absorbent layer over time. Skip fabric softener, which coats the fibres and reduces absorbency.
Will they leak?
Honestly: that depends on your flow, and we'd rather you test it than trust us. The Overnight Brief is designed for medium to heavy flow. We suggest wearing your first pair at home on a normal day before you rely on them overnight or at work. Fit matters more than most people expect — if it gapes at the leg, size down.
What are they made of?
[FULL MATERIAL BREAKDOWN — repeat the exact spec from the product block above, layer by layer.] We source rather than manufacture, so this is the specification our supplier provides. We do not hold independent lab testing or certifications, and we don't make claims about what the fabric doesn't contain.
How long does shipping take?
[BE EXACT AND HONEST. If it's 10–15 business days, write 10–15 business days.] You'll get a tracking link by email as soon as your parcel is scanned.
A lower-risk way to try it
30-day satisfaction guarantee. If they don't suit your flow, email us and we'll refund you — and you don't need to post opened pairs back. Keep them or pass them on, and we'll count it as donated. We would rather lose the margin than have you stuck with underwear you won't wear.
- Secure checkout
- Tracking on every order
- Answered by a human
- 30-day guarantee
Your body deserves better than a mystery ingredient list.
We are not asking you to panic about tampons or pads. The evidence is more nuanced than that. We are asking whether a reusable option with clearly shown garment materials makes sense for your routine.
Shop NowThe research behind this article
- Shearston, J.A. et al., "Tampons as a source of exposure to metal(loid)s," Environment International, 2024. 30 tampons, 14 brands, 16 metals measured. The study measured metal content only; it did not assess leaching, absorption or health outcomes.
- Blignaut, J. et al., "The presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals in sanitary pads: a study done in South Africa," Science of the Total Environment, 2026. 16 pads and 8 panty liners analysed.
- Lifetime-use figures of roughly 11,000 products and 2,540 days are widely cited estimates based on average cycle length and duration; they are not measured from a single study.
This article is published by BZHEY and is promotional in nature. It is provided for general information only and is not medical advice. BZHEY sources rather than manufactures its products and does not hold independent laboratory testing or certifications; we make no claims about the presence or absence of specific substances in our products, and no claims that our products treat, prevent or affect any medical condition. Speak to a doctor or gynaecologist about symptoms or concerns.