Period underwear is probably the best invention since air travel and the internet — yes, we’re biased — but that doesn’t mean that there isn't a learning curve when it comes to figuring out how to use them. Read on to learn more about period underwear and how often your teen should be swapping them out for a clean pair.

What is period underwear?

First, a quick refresher. Period underwear is just like regular underwear but it’s made with a special gusset (ours is made with 84% Modal, 8% Seaweed, 8% Spandex) that’s built to absorb period blood. Kt by Knix period underwear comes in three absorbency levels that your teen can swap out depending on their flow:

You can peruse our selection of super cute period underwear here.

How often should my teen change their period underwear? 

Short answer? It depends how they use it. 

Some people like to use period underwear as a backup for extra leak protection and wear it with a pad or a tampon. If that’s their style, they should change their pad or tampon whenever they need and treat it like a pair of regular underwear.

However, if they use period underwear as the main method of absorbing their menstrual blood, we recommend changing them whenever they begin to feel too wet, or notice any liquid sitting on top of the gusset. Period underwear is meant to protect you all day and can be worn for at least 8-12 hours, but it’s a good idea to swap it out after that if it's their primary protection.

At the end of the day, how often they should change their period underwear depends entirely on what they're comfortable with. Our tip? Create a period survival kit for school or on-the-go so they always have an extra pair to change into when they feel like it or need to. As we always say, your teen knows their body best.