Always pads are made from layers of synthetic materials, primarily a polyacrylate foam core that absorbs fluid, wrapped in polypropylene and polyethylene fiber layers that provide structure and flexibility. The exact combination varies by product line, but all Always pads share a similar architecture: a top sheet that sits against your skin, an absorbent core that locks in liquid, an adhesive backing, and in some versions, added lotion or fragrance. About 36% of a typical ultra-thin disposable pad is plastic-based polymer.
The Core Absorbent Material
The centerpiece of an Always pad is its absorbent core. In the Infinity and Radiant lines, this is a proprietary two-layer polyacrylate foam that Always brands as “FlexFoam.” In their more traditional pads (like Always Maxi), the core uses wood pulp cellulose combined with a superabsorbent powder. Both approaches rely on the same underlying chemistry: cross-linked sodium polyacrylate, a synthetic polymer that can absorb many times its weight in liquid and hold it in a gel-like state so it doesn’t leak back out.
The FlexFoam version skips the fluffy wood pulp entirely, which is why Infinity pads feel noticeably thinner and more flexible than traditional maxi pads. The foam has small absorbent holes punched into it to help pull fluid into the core faster, along with grooves that let the pad bend and conform to your body shape. Calcium chloride is added to the foam to help wick fluid away from the surface more quickly.
Layer by Layer Breakdown
Always lists the following materials in their FlexFoam pads:
- Polyacrylate foam: the two-layer absorbent core
- Polypropylene: a fiber layer that gives the pad its structure, typically used as the top sheet (the part touching your skin) and as an internal wrap around the core
- Polyethylene: a flexible fiber layer, often used as the leak-proof back sheet
- Hot melt adhesive: holds the internal layers together and creates the sticky strip that attaches the pad to your underwear
- Titanium dioxide: a white pigment that makes the pad opaque
Some Always pads also include a thin lotion coating on the top sheet, designed to reduce friction and irritation. This lotion contains petrolatum (the same base ingredient as Vaseline), behenyl alcohol (a fatty alcohol that acts as a skin conditioner), and zinc oxide. A separate coating called ditallowethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate helps the fibers absorb fluid more efficiently.
What’s in the Scented Versions
Always sells both unscented and scented pads. The scented versions, typically labeled “Clean Scent” or “Light Clean Scent,” contain a fragrance blend of over a dozen synthetic compounds. These include chemicals like methyldihydrojasmonate (a jasmine-like scent), dihydrocitronellol (a floral, rosy note), hexyl salicylate, and ethyl linalool, among others. The full fragrance ingredient list appears on the packaging or retailer product pages, though the individual chemical names won’t mean much unless you’re checking against a specific allergy.
If you have sensitive skin or are prone to irritation, the unscented versions skip this fragrance blend entirely.
How the Materials Are Processed
The cellulose fibers used in Always’s traditional (non-FlexFoam) pads go through a bleaching step to purify them. Always uses an elemental chlorine-free process for most of their product lines, meaning they use chlorine dioxide rather than elemental chlorine gas. This distinction matters because elemental chlorine bleaching can produce dioxins as a byproduct, while chlorine dioxide bleaching produces significantly less.
For their Sensitive Essentials line, Always goes a step further and uses a totally chlorine-free process that relies on hydrogen peroxide instead.
Contaminant Concerns
Independent lab testing has found low levels of fluorine, a marker for PFAS chemicals (sometimes called “forever chemicals”), in several Always products. Testing commissioned by Environmental Health News found fluorine at 21 parts per million in Always No Feel Protection Thin Liners, 15 ppm in Always Discreet underwear, and 15 ppm in Always Anti-Bunch Xtra Protection Liners. These levels were among the lower readings in the study, which tested 46 pad products across many brands and found detectable fluorine in 22 of them, ranging from 11 to 154 ppm.
The presence of fluorine doesn’t necessarily mean PFAS was intentionally added. It can come from manufacturing equipment, packaging, or raw material processing. But because pads sit against mucous membranes for hours at a time, even trace amounts have drawn scrutiny from environmental health researchers.
Plastic Content and Breakdown
Because polypropylene, polyethylene, polyacrylate, and adhesives are all plastic-derived, Always pads contain a significant amount of synthetic material. Research on ultra-thin disposable pads puts the total plastic content at roughly 36%. The remaining portion is made up of cellulose fibers (in traditional pads), adhesives, and any added coatings or lotions.
These synthetic components do not biodegrade in any meaningful timeframe. A single pad sent to a landfill will take hundreds of years to break down. The polyacrylate superabsorbent material is particularly persistent because its cross-linked molecular structure resists microbial decomposition. This is the same property that makes it so effective at locking in fluid, but it also means the material sticks around in the environment long after disposal.