To think more women want unscented sanitary towels than scented ones?

[SinkGirl]

It comes up here often. And maybe there are some women who want scented towels (no judgement if you do!).

But I had to buy some pads in an emergency today and they were all scented. In the supermarket I have to hunt out the only ones that aren’t scented. It’s bad enough I can’t get Always Infinity anywhere any more but this is inexcusable - the scented ones literally burn my skin, I can’t be alone.

Who are these companies using for their focus groups? Surely women aren’t saying “yes, make all your towels scented please!”... are they?

So time for vote. If you had a choice and if all else was equal would you...
YANBU - prefer unscented pads
YABU - prefer scented pads

Yanbu

If theres one thing that's worse than sweaty scratchy sanitary pads its scented sweaty scratch sanitary pads that sting as well as cut you.

I'm in love with my re usable now. No more cuts and grazes. No more " shit I'm.on fire cos I accidently bought scented" and no more " why cant I find the brand I normally use now.i have to take my chances on another "

Every time you find one that doesnt cut you to shreds it disappears off the shelf

Another vote for reusable / washable pads. Ecofemme are very good and come in different sizes including night time.

YANBU.

I find scented ones make me itchy and sore which is all I need! I tend to use kotex nighttime during the day as my periods are heavy. I was going to look into cloth pads but if they are not very absorbent they just won't work for me.

No idea, I get the sensitive bodyform in Sainsbury's, only place I've found them, they do a feminine wash and wipes in the range also, Superdrugs I've tried don't have but Sainsbury's do if that helps.

I would also like the word ‘unscented’ to be printed in a large font and bold type so that I can see it.
The aisle smells so strong that all the packs seem to smell, so it’s hard to pick out the unscented ones.

This is one of those topic where Mn always seems very different from my own experience. I'd never given a second's thought to the scent of my sanitary towels before reading a previous thread on here complaining about scented towels.

I've always used Always and never had a UTI or thrush or any kind of problems of irritation (though I generally have sensitive skin elsewhere and have to be careful with toiletries/makeup). And though I know people who use a mooncup for environmental reasons I don't know anyone who has a particular problem with scented sanitary towels.

I suspect that most women are like me, don't really care either way, as long as the towels are effective in absorbing the blood, and that these threads mainly attract the people who have thought about it because they do have a problem with the scented products (Which I do have sympathy for btw, I just don't think that's most women's experience)

Frustratedandscaredmum I didn’t know that about tampons. That would be the worst invention ever. Tampons are bad enough as it is but very useful. Certainly no need to make them scented.

I totally agree about sanitary towels, walking past the aisle there’s such a strong scent of washing powder, I really cannot stand it. Absolutely unnecessary. Unless they added something else during the manufacturing process and are trying to mask the smell of the unused product, which would be equally worrying.

I prefer scented because I pass a lot of tissue in my periods and my periods stink. I imagine this is probably more common amongst people with heavy periods / endo / irregular periods so perhaps the scent should be targetted to the heavy flow pads.

I have endometriosis and adenomyosis and lose huge clots too but I don’t think the smell is particularly strong. Might be worth mentioning to your gynae next time just in case. Periods this heavy are the absolute worst

Also I cannot believe there are people out there who use sanitary towels over maternity pads after childbirth!

I wore Always Infinity after my twins because they were way more absorbent and more comfortable than the maternity pads I bought. They are so different to normal pads though, I wish all pads were made of the same stuff. The top covering on normal pads is basically a plastic cheese grater 🤬

Yanbu

I remember explaining to Ds that there's no point in spraying a Lynx on yourself if you're sweaty - the smell of the Lynx doesn't mask the sweat.

I suspect that most women are like me, don't really care either way

If that’s the case, which it may well be, then why make them scented?

I’m not saying the majority of women have problems with them - I don’t think they do. I’m saying - does anyone actively prefer them over unscented, in the proportions that justify the widespread use?

Seems it’s only a few people who do prefer them, which is what I suspected.

I don't get periods anymore as I'm on the depo but it was always bodyform I used and they were unscented. I religiously used tampons before being pregnant, regular lil lets or tampax but I couldn't use them after having my son. This sounds weird but I had a c section and down below all but totally closed up! I used pads after that and now thankfully don't need to use anything!

With regards to smell, I have found disposables make everything smell worse. With scented being the worst offender. But even non scented seemed to help create a smell . Reusable ones however , I've not noticed a smell at all.

I use a mooncup and reusable pads as a back up, but my 18yr old was just saying to me the other day that she Is finding it hard to get unscented pads anywhere.

I do usually use tampons though. Pads are back up and lighter days . Lilets are definately less irritating than Tampax.

I Love the smell and buy them because of the smell. Better than stinky blood smell. Makes me feel fresh whilst at work.

Haha it didn’t take long for someone to perfectly sum up my thoughts... Geneva1995

I would be really pissed off if I couldn’t source unscented in a store at all.

I used Always (dark purple scented ones) for years and suddenly a couple of years ago the scent became so strong it was horrible and it irritated my skin.

I switched to unscented and would never go back.

Probably the worst thing ever designed for periods. Quite seriously. They smell awful. They irritate. They are just hideous. I have had the most awful problem with insanely heavy periods and will get through doubles up largest tampons plus heaviest weight pads and still need to change every 20 mins for 2 days. That means changing pads insanely often and yet just the whiff of a scented one near me and the whole area flares up.

Oh, and yes there is an iron-like smell on those heaviest dates but it has never stunk. Fed check that out.

I cannot fucking stand scented pads, and I too would like to know who is happily buying them.

I do like Bodyform but some are scented now so have to be careful not to pick those up by mistake.

Lillets do nice unscented pads but I've only found them in Savers. Scented are vile.

YANBU x100
What a mission it is to find unscented pads with wings! What the fuck use are the wingless ones and why would I want my fairy to be scented like my grannies knicker drawer?
HOW can the manufacturers and buyers be getting this so spectacularly wrong? The whole thing just gives me the rage

I made the mistake of putting my bladder weakness pads in the same bag as some food I had bought at the supermarket. I ended up throwing everything away because it tasted of the perfume from the pads.

The scented ones make me gag.
Bodyform are unscented.

If I use scented my whole ‘area’ swells up like a balloon
Thankfully thanks to the coil I don’t have periods anymore but who wants the smell of cheap air freshener mixed with stale blood when they go to the loo to change themselves?