The Formats
The Reading Room
The Formats
Period pads, tampons, cups and more
General information, not medical advice. For anything about your own health, talk to a healthcare provider.
- The FormatsMenstrual cups, explained gentlyA menstrual cup is a small, flexible cup worn in the vagina that collects period blood. Here is how it is used and cared for, what Canada requires, and what the sources say.
- The FormatsReusable period pads, explainedA reusable period pad is worn in underwear, like a disposable period pad, then washed, dried and worn again. Here is how makers and health bodies describe the snaps, the layers, the washing and the lifespan.
- The FormatsPeriod underwear, explained: reusable and disposablePeriod underwear is underwear with absorbent layers built in. It comes in reusable and disposable versions. Here is how it works, how to read a size chart, how to care for it, and what the label tells you in Canada.
- The FormatsMenstrual discs, explainedA menstrual disc is a rim with a shallow basin. It sits inside the vagina and collects period blood. Here is how it sits, goes in and comes out, and what Canadian rules say.
- The FormatsTampons, explained: with and without an applicatorA tampon is worn inside the vagina and absorbs flow before it leaves the body. Some go in with an applicator, others with a finger. Here is how each is used, and what a Canadian tampon label must say.
- The FormatsPeriod pads and liners, explainedPeriod pads and liners sit inside underwear and absorb flow after it leaves the body. Here is how they are used, what they are made of, how to dispose of them, and what their labels say.
- The FormatsIncontinence pads and period pads: what’s the difference?Both look alike. They are built for two different liquids that arrive in two different ways.
- The FormatsWhat’s inside a period pad, layer by layer.From the side that touches skin to the side that touches underwear: what each layer does, what it is usually made of, and what the words on the pack can tell you.
- The FormatsPeriod products, explained.Six kinds of period product and the comfort-and-care shelf, in one fixed order. For each: what it is, how it’s used, what it’s made of, how it’s cared for, and what its label tells you.
Stay in touch
Shape the library
Tell the Editor what you’d like explained next, or ask the Request Desk for a product we don’t carry yet.
Written with our proud team of AI assistants; read and signed by the Editor. General information, not medical advice.