In 1920, in Neenah, Wisconsin, women workers at Kimberly-Clark cut and packed the first Kotex napkins by hand. The material was Cellucotton, a surgical dressing from the First World War that nurses had repurposed for their periods. Kotex reached the public that October in a plain hospital blue box. Some accounts put the first box on a shelf in 1919, and that is worth saying out loud, since the whole category has always been a little shy about its own history.

A century later, Rael's founders looked at the same shelf and saw a gap. Aness An, Binna Won and Yanghee Paik are three Korean American women who, after moving to the US, wanted healthy, clean feminine care. Paik, the CEO, told Marie Claire the brand pairs Korean manufacturing technology with organic cotton grown in Texas. Rael pads launched in 2017, and the brand says the covers are certified organic cotton, with no fragrance, dyes or chlorine bleaching. Read the wording closely: it is an organic cotton cover, with chlorine-free pulp inside.

The trick is to shop the first grid by flow and by hour. The Regular Cover Pads With Wings are the everyday pair, and the Overnight ones are the longer, more generous cut. The Regular and Long Unscented Panty Liners are for the days before and after. Disposable Period Underwear is the one I would pack for travel, and the Regular Slim Applicator Tampons are the internal option in the same cotton family.

Then the comfort side. The Heating Patch for Menstrual Cramps and the Pain Relief Roll-On sit in the same box for days when the pad is not the whole problem.

Start with the flow, not the label. Write down which day is your heaviest and which pad or disc you actually reach for then, and shop for that day first. Everything else is easier to match.

Always Pure Cotton Heavy Flow Pads have an organic cotton top layer, and they are the closest comparison to Rael pads at the heavier end. L. offers two, the Organic Cotton Maxi Extra Long Overnight Pads and the Ultra Thin Pads in Regular, and they cover the same overnight and everyday split.

The Honey Pot Company makes a whole cabinet: Cooling Herbal Infusion Pads, Herbal-Infused Pantiliners and Organic Cotton Regular Applicator Tampons with a BPA-free applicator. I would treat the herbal infusion and the cooling as the differences to test, since not every body likes an added botanical.

If you are moving away from disposables, saalt makes its menstrual disc in Small and Regular. They are worn internally, and the sizing and instructions matter, so read the leaflet twice and ask a clinician if you are unsure which fits.

A pairing I like: a disc for the daytime and a pad for overnight, so each does the job it is best at.

What I would skip: switching to a new product for the first time on the heaviest day of a trip. Try it at home first.

One rule for anything intimate: keep it to the outside. The vulva does not need to be cleaned internally, and the OB-GYN Jen Villavicencio told Marie Claire she is sceptical of products that claim to balance vaginal pH, and that plain water or an unscented soap is enough for external hygiene.

With that in mind, the shelf is really about preference. Rael's Gentle Foaming Feminine Wash is the one from the same brand as the pads. Summer's Eve Simply Sensitive and the Fragrance Free wash are the plain ones, and I would choose the fragrance free bottle if your skin is easily annoyed. Dr. Barbara Sturm's V Wash is the more considered bottle, and it lives happily in a nice bathroom.

Wipes are for when there is no shower. Luna Daily's Everywhere Spray-To-Wipe works as a spray and a wipe, DeoDoc's Intimate Wipes are the neat travel choice, and The Honey Pot's Normal Feminine Cleansing Wipes and Cooling Intimate Wipes round out the line. I would keep one pack in a gym bag.

A habit worth borrowing: patch test anything new on your inner arm before it goes anywhere near sensitive skin.

What I would skip: a scented wash if you are prone to irritation, and any product at all if something feels off. Unusual discharge, itching or pain is a question for a clinician, not a cleanser.

Try this: build a cramp day kit before you need it. A heating pad, a patch, one bath product and a magnesium spray in a basket, so that on the day nobody is hunting through drawers.

The Ostrichpillow Embrace Heating Pad is the comfort object, and ROSS J BARR Period Patches are the discreet one to wear under clothes. Rael's own heating patch, from the first grid, does the same job for a day out.

For the bath, This Works deep sleep bath oil is the one for a night when sleep is the goal. Susanne Kaufmann's Mallow Blossom Bubble Bath is the pretty one, Commune's Seymour Bath Salts and Costa Brazil's Sal de Banho are the salt soaks, and Herbivore's Coconut Milk Bath Soak is the softer, milkier take. HigherDOSE Magnesium Spray is the one you can use on a sofa, no tub required.

A pairing I like: the salts in the bath, the heating pad on the sofa afterwards, and the lights low.

What I would skip: falling asleep on a heating pad, or a very hot bath if you feel faint. Comfort should not come with a risk.

I think Rael pads are best judged on plain terms: the founders' story is real, the organic cotton cover is the brand's claim, and the pads are designed to cover a whole cycle from liner to overnight. It is also a brand that stopped being shy about the category.

So I would start with the Regular and Overnight pads and one wash, and see how your body feels. Keep the heating patch in a bag. The nurses of 1920 improvised with what they had. You can be a little more prepared. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Innersense Shampoo, the Organic Hairbaths From Two Stylists and How to Wear a Cover-Up as a Dress.