Cotton vs Lycra

[sutaseiu.livejournal.com]

I know cotton panties are the best thing you can do, when it comes to underwear, but I recently started wondering if lycra might be just as good. I own some lycra panties and thongs, and the fabric dries very fast, which would lead me to believe that it breathes well. Thoughts?

Comments

[altorogue.livejournal.com]

I really don't think that Lycra, at least anything close to 100% Lycra, would be good as underwear. Lycra is a type of Spandex, and is therefore a synthetic stretchy fiber. Think more bathing suit and bad 80's workout shorts.

A lot of underwear is made from a blend of lycra/spandex and cotton, which would certainly keep the wonderful breathability and add the stretchiness. Also, there are some more recently-developed synthetic fibers that are wicking and help with moisture, but generally no synthetic fiber breathes like natural fibers- cotton, wool, bamboo, etc.

(sorry for the long comment- I knit and sew a lot and it drives me crazy when my friends don't know that acrylic yarn is pretty much plastic, and then they wonder why it doesn't breathe. :D I just aim to educate. )

[nickelshoe.livejournal.com]

I think the reason Lycra dries so fast is because it doesn't really get wet. It doesn't absorb moisture, so it would just stay on your body.

[big-sarah-yeti.livejournal.com]

IAWTC, synthetic fabrics don't soak up the moisture, so they don't draw it away from your skin. Best to stay well away, beware of the yeasty beasties!

[fireaphid.livejournal.com]

Exactly! It dries fast because it doesn't absorb moisture at all, which isn't what you want for the crotch of your underwear. Just because it dries fast doesn't mean it's breathable. . . they have nothing to do with each other.

[sutaseiu.livejournal.com]

Which I would agree with, but the little cotton bit inside stays dry too.

[aileybay.livejournal.com]

i have lycra underpants, and they often make me a bit itchy at night and during the morning (i haven't gotten yeast infections, though. if i have, they haven't been bad enough for me to seek treatment). however, i still stick with lycra, because i feel like the keep me dry. when i wear cotton panties, i can feel on them the moisture they've absorbed (i'm naturally kind of moist), and i don't like the feeling..

should i really switch to cotton, do you think?

[buzzboomsplat.livejournal.com]

Polyester also dries fast...

[https://users.livejournal.com/-rainbow-bright/]

i think it has to do with cotton being a natural fiber and lycra being synthetic. it's far better to have the natural... or something like that. I know from being in gymnastics, that they always lined the crotches of our leotards because it was really not good to just have the spandex/lycra there.

[oopsiedaisies7.livejournal.com]

Lycra underoos have never bothered me a bit! (Although mine have always had at least a cotton panel in the crotch.)