Review: Dans ma Culotte, French Period Panties Made in India
This blog is slowly turning into a period panty testing ground hehe, but hey, since it’s a hassle that happens every month… and can become a pain for female travelers, here’s one last article to introduce you to the latest period panty brand I’ve tried, after THINX , and MODIBODI.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- Period panties: what are they?
- Who are they for?
- How much does it cost?
- And my detailed review of this brand
This post is NOT sponsored.
The brand “Dans ma culotte”, what’s that?
Dans ma culotte is a French brand, with products made in India, offering eco-friendly, zero-waste, or organic solutions for periods.
They sell washable pads, cups, biodegradable tampons… Building on their experience with sanitary pads, they’ve just launched organic cotton period panties. Out of the gate, I was hooked.
Period panties can be worn on their own as the only protection, or layered with another product to prevent leaks.
Dans ma culotte states that “Period panties feature an absorbent insert. It absorbs menstrual blood for up to 12 hours, depending on your flow. A waterproof membrane ensures a leak-free day.”
For now, there are only 2 styles: high-waist panties in black & a bordeaux shorty, in 4 sizes: S / M / L / XL
Who are they for?
I’d say: all women and young girls who have periods.
Especially women and young girls concerned about the environment, ethics, and the ingredients of their period products (in recent years, there have been numerous scandals regarding the ingredients in commercial sanitary pads and tampons). The period panties from Dans ma culotte are made of organic cotton and Fairtrade/Max Havelaar certified
This option is especially appealing for travelers who don’t want to lug around a stock of disposable pads or tampons across the globe (since some countries simply don’t sell them).
How much does it cost?
Between €32 and €34 each from Dans ma culotte. Shipping via tracked letter costs €3.40
How to buy?
Just head to the Dans ma culotte website. It’s well-designed and intuitive.
There aren’t that many styles and colors (heavy vs. normal flow), so you can easily find what you need.
Shipping time
Very fast, arrives in a few days. The packaging is ultra minimalist.
Since I chose tracked letter as my shipping method, everything was dropped straight into my mailbox. Great!
My review of Dans ma culotte
Heads up, it clearly says you need to wash the underwear, twice in the machine at 30 degrees before first use to boost their absorbency.
The size
I went for a high-waisted period panty, size S, which matches a heavy flow.
I’ve never tried the shorty style, and two readers have complained about it, so my opinion doesn’t cover that style at all.
My true size is XS, but I wear S during my period because my lower belly gets bloated.
The size S from “Dans ma culotte” does fit me.
What surprised me was the “high-waisted” aspect, which I couldn’t tell from the photos on the site. For comparison, you can see it’s noticeably bigger than a regular panty. All the products you see in the photo fit me well – you shouldn’t just look at the dimensions; you also need to consider the fabric because some are stretchy, others are thicker…
In the case of “Dans ma culotte”, the panty is a bit thick, like padded, which means I don’t float around in it. I’d say the size S is true to size.
The design
Unlike other brands, the demarcation between the absorbent zone and the rest isn’t super visible.
It looks like it’s the same fabric. You can just notice a little line at the front. However, the entire back area is lined with an absorbent insert!!
I’m not a big fan of the elastic that edges the panty.
But there are two parallel edges, probably to prevent leaks, which is a great point.
Here’s a photo to show you the other side, so all the industrial fabrics (the absorbent insert) are hidden inside; you only see and feel cotton.
I like that the label is printed directly inside the panty, not on a separate tag that itches (or that you cut off and forget the washing instructions).
The composition
Inner: 80% viscose + 20% polyester.
Outer: 95% organic cotton + 5% elastane.
All the industrial fabrics (from the absorbent insert) are hidden inside, you only see and feel cotton (well, with 5% elastane to be a bit stretchy and snug against the body).
And now, you might be thinking, “organic cotton?” bring on the moisture and odor. I admit I had doubts, but last year, I bought my first genuine organic cotton t-shirt, and it had nearly the same properties as a nice merino wool tee, namely odor-free and decent sweat absorption. Let’s see if these panties are effective in absorption
Comfort
I’m not too fond of the slightly padded feel at the back.
I find the absorbent areas a bit thick.
Luckily, the organic cotton, which is in direct contact with the skin, makes it feel very soft and pleasant – which makes up for the “padding” aspect of the panty.
Absorption
The model I chose corresponds to a heavy flow. It’s not stated on the site what it equates to in terms of tampon count.
But with other brands, I wear equivalent panties for 3-4 tampons.
Mine probably matches that too. I have very heavy flows in the first days (day and night), and I’ve already stained the sheets because pads shifted during the night. With this panty, I managed 8 hours straight, but no more, on a very heavy day.
Here’s a photo of the panty when it’s totally full (photo link, warning to your eyes, especially if you’re on a smartphone). What I don’t like is the halo around the red mark. Indeed, even though absorption is ensured, there’s still a slight feeling of dampness permanently. The fabric holds blood well, but the surface in contact with your skin stays more or less damp, I don’t know if you can see it in the photo.
The brand recommends wearing it for between 5 and 12 hours (and not beyond 12 hours), but I admit I haven’t tried going all the way to 12 hours—because the idea repulses me a bit.
On days of normal or moderate periods, I can last the whole day without a problem, but that slight damp feeling remains. Because cotton, even organic, doesn’t dry quickly, unfortunately.
Leakage
I mentioned the elastic that borders the gusset; the two elastics sewn in parallel do seem to effectively prevent leaks in that area (most leaks, if any, will occur at the gusset). So I can vouch for their trick. Plus, the width at the gusset is quite generous, so there’s no risk of leaks even with heavy periods.
Then, another issue I had with traditional sanitary products was heavy periods at night.
But here, with the absorbent zone covering the entire back part of the product, I sleep worry-free at night. I’m the type to sleep on my side and toss and turn, but still no leaks to report.
The absorbent zone at the front is also very large; I think that will appeal to women who sleep on their stomachs, where blood flows toward the front.
Note: a reader told me about a leak at the gusset, one day of moderate flow with the shorty model because the parallel sewn elastics don’t seem sufficient to stop the blood. I admit I’ve never had a leak, but I’m passing along her feedback.
Odor
At the end of the day, the period underwear smells the same as a regular cotton pair—worn for a day without period.
well, it doesn’t smell like roses, but it doesn’t smell excessively bad either. You really have to put your nose to it to detect a faint scent of blood. Nothing shocking.
That’s already an achievement, as other brands can give off a very strong odor after just 4 hours
Care
Here are the instructions provided by the brand.
| Pre-wash (recommended for periods) | Washing |
|---|---|
| Rinse by hand under water at room temperature (15 to 20°C) gently squeezing the underwear. | Add the underwear to the rest of your laundry in the washing machine. |
| Gently rub with organic stain-removing soap*, do not use a brush | Wash at 30°C maximum, with preferably an eco-friendly detergent |
| For stubborn stains, let it soak for 1 hour in warm water mixed with sodium percarbonate | Let it air dry (recommended) or in the dryer on a delicate cycle. |
| Move on to the washing step. | *do not use black soap, Marseille soap or Aleppo soap |
I don’t know what you think, but having heavy periods that last 7 days, having to follow so many steps is likely to exhaust me more than my periods.
Fortunately, these are just recommendations. My “lazy” version works just as well: pre-wash in cold water then machine wash at 40°C – with regular detergent from the normal supermarket. I imagine my product will wear out faster because it’s mistreated with non-organic detergent, I’ll update you on that in a few months.
The Cons –
- The brand is French but the manufacturing is in India. To justify this not-so-great choice, the brand is Fairtrade/Max Havelaar certified, which implies that all workers work in good conditions both in the organic cotton fields and in the manufacturing workshops
- You need to wash the underwear 2 times beforehand to increase absorption capacity. On Facebook, some claim they had to wash them 4 times for it to be really effective. My underwear was only washed once before use. But if it was so important for absorption, why doesn’t the brand take care of it themselves before selling them to us?
- Overly demanding pre-wash and wash instructions
- Drying time: quite long (2 days) if hand-washed. If machine-washed, drying time is reduced to a day and a half
- The back is a bit padded – it feels like a “diaper”
- Slight feeling of dampness – not extremely bothersome but could be better
Conclusion
Absorption 9/10. A bit of moisture trace but it’s bearable and better than sanitary pads. You can trust these underwear for heavy periods, but not for more than 8 hours straight.
Comfort: 8/10 (the organic cotton makes it feel like you’re wearing normal underwear. But the 100% absorbent back part gives the impression of wearing a diaper).
Odor: 9/10 (not completely odor-free but it’s already very very good).
Drying: 2/10: between 1.5 days and 2 days, how many underwear do I need in total to cover my whole period?
In short, I recommend these underwear to women who are sensitive to fabric composition, sustainable development, and zero-waste.
In terms of price, they are in the high range. There are cheaper alternatives (like Modibodi which I talked about here). The fact that they take an eternity to dry bothers me a lot. If you’re looking for a more expensive alternative with 0 guaranteed moisture (on the flip side, the odor isn’t great), I would rather recommend THINX
Be very careful about which brand you buy, because there are more and more clever people who resell Chinese waterproof underwear bought for 2€, and call them “period panties made in France”. Avoid buying them on Amazon, and read the terms and conditions and legal notices carefully before buying. Any period panties < 25€ are suspicious.
