Building a Cycle Set to Go With *Your* Flow

A lot of people ask us to recommend how many pairs of Thinx to get when they’re making the switch. Since *every body* is different, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer here, but building a Cycle Set to go with your unique flow is pretty close.

A Cycle Set is a minimum of any three pairs of Thinx (so you have one to wear, and one to change into, while the third pair air-dries). The upside to buying a cycle set is that your savings increase with the number of pairs you pick out — with 3+ pairs you save 10%, with 5+ pairs you save 15%, and with 7+ pairs, you save 20%.

Besides the savings (which we already know are 🔥), customizing a Cycle Set helps ensure that you’re picking out Thinx that work best for you, and your period. All the styles and absorbencies can seem intimidating, but here are some combo ideas to get you started (If you’d rather just skip right to the savings, don’t forget about our Saver Sets, which are pre-bundled for you!):

These are our three lightest styles, and ideal for people with consistently lighter periods, or if you use Thinx as a backup to other period products.

Sport and Cheeky have light/medium absorbencies (3 tampons’ worth and 1 tampon worth, respectively), and the Thong might not seem like much (1 tampon), but it’s very useful on just-in-case days. To provide a *personal* reference, I stopped getting a normal period on my hormonal IUD, and instead just randomly spot for ~10 days. With Thinx Thongs, I don’t have to waste pantyliners, or ruin any of my underwear.

This combo is perfect for when you’re on-the-go, need some period protection, but *don’t* need any VPL. All three underwear styles are yoga pants-friendly, and the moisture-wicking cotton every pair of Thinx is made out of will keep everything dry down there, whether you’re working up a sweat in spin class or even just trying to survive running errands in NYC in August.

If your flow is all over the place (okay, probz could have picked out an idiom that sparks a less gross image here)—light some days, and heavy others—yes, you can tailor a cycle set to work with that.

Our Hiphugger is our best-seller for a reason — it’s one of our most absorbent styles (holds up to 3 tampons’ worth), but looks and feels like your everyday undies. For medium days, the Organic Cotton Bikini also holds 3 tampons’ worth, and the organic cotton body will keep things breezy down there. On those final days of your flow, when you’re kinda not sure whether you’re still period-ing or not, Cheeky will save the day with some light protection (holds up to 1 tampon worth).

Wait, am I literally just suggesting you get three of the same style? Yup. Not just any style, but the Hi-Waist — the cutest, comfiest (also kinda sexy??) undies you’ll ever wear on your period (or not on your period, TBH).

If you can’t tell, I’m personally Team Hi-Waist based on aesthetics alone, but it’s also one of our most absorbent styles (up to 4 tampons’ worth), so it’s def worth having a few to change into for your heaviest days.

I know what you’re thinking: didn’t I just say in a TMI-aside earlier that I don’t even get a real period? Why do I need so many damn Hi-Waists then? (Besides the fact that they’re cute. Can’t reiterate this enough.)

One, thanks for keeping up, I appreciate you. Two, if you experience cramps during the week of your period (I like to think that my Skyla just really enjoys letting me know she’s having a great time in there), Hi-Waist is the actual best, because the waist squeezes your abdomen in a way that helps ease the pain. It’s more like a comforting, slightly firm hug, than that crushes-your-organs-together feel you get from traditional shapewear.

Another pro-tip: you can fit a heating pad (or a hand warmer if your pharmacy is poorly stocked like mine) into the waistband for extra cramp-busting. That’s it, now you know all my secrets.

Hopefully, these ideas are enough to inspire you to customize your own Cycle Set. Have you already built yours? Share your fave Thinx combo to wear during your cycle with us in the comments.

Toni Brannagan is a writer and was the former Copy and Content Manager at Thinx.