cotton vs. synthetic fabrics for women's underwear

[Brown_Eyed_Girl]

@Broomstick

You know, I don’t really consider Hanes to be bottom of the barrel bargain brand. They do make good underwear.

Fair enough. I guess I’m not familiar with bottom of the barrel bargain brands, but I do know that I’m saving a lot of money on underwear since I stopped buying it at VS and they are far more comfortable. My biggest complaint about the VS panties is the elastic used to cut across and chafe on the tendon on the inside of the thigh.

It also has to do with the person - some people sweat and, uh, secrete more than others and that, too, is a factor along with personal susceptibility to infections of various sorts.

That’s why I wear nothing but synthetic. I’m a bigger gal and I move a lot at work, so I sweat pretty consistently, especially in the lumbar area. Cotton underwear just got damp early on and stayed that way. Damp cotton chafes and feels clammy to me. It just wasn’t working for me.

IME, today’s fabrics do not contribute to infection, notwithstanding biology. Since synthetics like polyester and nylon do not absorb and hold moisture, they don’t promote bacterial growth. They also don’t allow skin to remain damp the way saturated cotton does. Damp skin is obviously the key here as bacteria proliferates in that environment.

I still prefer cotton, but I’ll admit it’s a personal preference for the most part. At a certain point it’s like arguing between bikinis, briefs, and thongs - none of them are right or wrong it’s purely a matter of personal preference.

Another factor is dyes - it’s not a hard and fast rule, but synthetics seem to me to often be brightly colored and cotton more likely to be plain white (though very much there are exceptions to that rule). It could be some of the problems people have with one type or another is due to the dyes used rather than the fabrics.

To each their own.

This is GQ, so a factual answer is required. The Merck Manual cites that “tight, nonabsorbent underwear may trap moisture, which encourages the growth of bacteria and yeast.” That’s far from conclusive and quite possibly is a holdover from the days of tightly woven, heavy denier synthetic fabrics of 20+ years ago. My experience tells me that modern synthetics fabrics, including inexpensive fabrics, do not trap moisture, but rather wick it away from skin, allowing it to evaporate more quickly than does absorbent cotton.

So my response to the OP’s question is, at this point in time, the idea that synthetic underwear is detrimental to genital health is now an old wive’s tale that may have had some kernel of truth in the past.