These Comfy AF Pads Actually Make My Period Slightly More Bearable
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As I step in the chic Soho House elevator to meet Beatrice Dixon, founder of The Honey Pot, I feel an overwhelming sense of imposter syndrome. But the second I walk in to her hotel room, embraced by her nurturing warmth and the scent of dragonblood incense, I feel an immediate sense of ease. We sit on the couch with tea, barefoot and cross-legged, and her exuberant confidence is totally contagious. Now I get it—she is The Honey Pot.
Not only have Dixon's line of products transformed the sexual wellness category as a whole, but they've also upgraded by own vaginal self-care routine. Up until a few years ago, I complacently accepted the lack of feminine care products on the market that made me feel good or excited about caring for myself.
After years of passively picking up the same pads I've been buying since my mom was doing my shopping in middle school, I came across The Honey Pot's pads about a year ago ($8, Amazon) and am never going back to *that* other brand I was using. And while I love many products from The Honey Pot (I'm obsessed with the strawberry lube!), the pads are a must-have product I always keep in my bathroom, office desk, and purse at all times.
Here's why The Honey Pot has some of my vagina's favorite products:
The brand is one I love to support.
The Honey Pot doesn't just feature lubes, pantyliners, tampons, and even vulva moisturizers that are effective—they're confidence-inducing, too. Whereas a lot of feminine care brands can feature shame-based marketing, Dixon founded her brand to empower people with vaginas, and that's precisely what The Honey Pot has done for me. (Yes, that's right, your vagina is perfect the way it is, from the way it smells to the unique contours of its shape—and, gynos agree!)
But, it wasn't easy for her to bring her products to market (now sold at The Honey Pot, but also at Target and on Amazon, too!). She talked to me about how difficult it was to gain access to investors and VC partners.
"It's a tireless mission for most entrepreneurs, but became increasingly more challenging as a womxn-owned, Black-owned brand sitting at the table talking about vaginas," she said. "Startups led by Black womxn receive less than 1 percent of venture capital funding. It’s truly a conversation around access and how to generate forums for broader funding for not only diverse humans but diverse business initiatives."
The pads are the most comfortable I've ever worn.
I'm not here to tell you that these pads are going to change your life and have you looking forward to your period or anything, but they do make me feel a whole lot more comfortable. Not only are they way more lightweight than other heavy, scratchy pads I've used, but they feel softer and more breathable against my skin—a must during hot, humid New York summers!
In fact, I was talking about feminine care products with my colleague and deputy digital editor Maridel Reyes (typical Women's Health water cooler chat, ya know), and together we gushed over our mutual love for the pads. We both keep our bathrooms stocked with them at all times. Not a pad person? The Honey Pot makes 100 percent organic tampons, too.
Basically, whatever it is you and your vagina are looking for, Dixon wants to offer the solution. "We want to be THE brand that's synonymous with healthy, plant-derived, and effective vaginal wellness," she says. "I know the brand has the runway and community to become global, so humans with vaginas everywhere can have access to our products."
As I take my final sip of tea, I somehow walk away feeling better about myself than I did when I walked in, proud to have a vagina—cramps and all. And, that's precisely what Dixon and The Honey Pot are all about.
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