Middle age, especially for a woman, can mess with one’s mind. My body is breaking down in places I used to assume would last forever (why, hello, knees, how often you must bend). Other parts are sagging or graying or simply not functioning at 100 percent. These realities could be depressing, but, luckily, with this new mid-life comes a new humility, which has helped me gain gratitude for all these parts I once took for granted.
Urinary incontinence is, for me, a relatively new issue since having a baby in later life. But since my kid is about to be 10, I’ve dealt with UI long enough to know, especially in this upcoming cough and flu season, that I need to stick a thin pad in my undies or change my underwear several times a day due to leaking. The latter is an often too-inconvenient option, so I was happy to try Icon pee-proof underwear as an alternative. The fact that the company, a sister to THINX menstrual underwear, is women-owned and run, made the choice all the easier.
The pee-proof underwear comes in a variety of cuts—hi-waist, hiphugger, French cut, bikini, and thong—and most of those styles come in a small range of muted colors: gray, black, beige, blue, and spice. Icon offers sizes from XS to 5XL. I made the mistake of choosing my spice bikini not using the measurements on their sizing chart but going by U.S. jeans size, which meant my pair ended up a little big, but not big enough that I’d send them back. (Returning them was definitely an option, and Icon makes that process as simple as possible.)
The underwear fabric is made of a mix of nylon and spandex, while the gusset (crotch pad) is made of polyester and nylon (and comes in a black color). Wearing nylon underwear is not my favorite feeling, and while the gusset didn’t bother me, I wished the surrounding material were cotton or that cotton were an option for purchase. I also thought that the leg holes were a little flimsy and felt like they stretched with no return after only a couple of wears, and the gusset is actually a little too rectangular and perhaps too big in the back of the panties, which made me feel there was extra bulk back there rather than a contoured fit.
But the pee-proof part, the most important part, was accurate – my Icons held several bouts of leaks while exercising at the gym, going to physical therapy, having to bend in awkward positions (hi again, knees), and generally chasing after and chauffeuring my kid. By the end of the day, I could tell there was dampness in the pad, but it didn’t smell and none leaked through to my clothes. I felt much more confident and secure in my Icons than on the surrounding days when I was laundering my pair. Laundering the underwear, by the way, is simple and straightforward, which is important to someone like me who doesn’t exactly know the meaning of the delicate cycle.
The price point is a little high—$32 for light absorbency and $35 for moderate absorbency—but you can buy in bulk and Icon offers cost-saving incentives for sharing their product with friends. Overall, I’d say I can’t put a price on the confidence I felt wearing Icon underwear, and I like knowing my payment supports Icon’s Giveback programs that fight for women’s health worldwide. I’ll be buying my second pair, a size smaller, and looking forward to continued good results.
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