How did I get the idea for Metanoia? How did I get here?
QUI SUIS-JE ?
My name is Isabelle, I’m Swiss and I’m 28. I’d always been a passionate person. When I commit to something, it’s usually at 200%. On the other hand, if I don’t see any point in it, I don’t do it, or do it very little, only if I have absolutely no choice. School? Boring as hell. I was daydreaming most of the time. When I graduated from Matu (the equivalent of the baccalauréat in Switzerland), I chose to study psychology. For a long time I’d been passionate about fashion, devouring L’Officiel, and for my birthday I’d ask for Vogue Accessoires, which I’d leaf through religiously. My parents convinced me that fashion was superficial, reserved for people devoid of substance who needed to compensate. But I saw it as a magnificent form of self-expression, and there’s even something magical about it: it’s art. It filled me with joy. I dreamed of going to Milan to study at Marangoni University, but after much concealment of this facet of my personality, I ended up gradually forgetting it. I then began studying another field that also interested me, psychology.
During my studies, I became interested in the issue of climate change and all the related challenges. I then became more conscientious about the choices I made and the habits I adopted. My dream of working in fashion disappeared completely. Other passions emerged, and personal development became one of my favorite subjects to read about. Establishing wellness routines, cultivating discipline, learning to reconnect with myself, asserting myself, learning to trust myself, working on myself to feel better in my head and in my skin became very important. It made me feel more fulfilled and serene. I knew that if I worked on myself, my life would be more peaceful and enriching, and I would be more daring because my foundations would be stronger. Over the years, I paid more attention to what was going on inside me than to what was going on around me. My desires and dreams took on greater scope and were stronger and bigger than the injunctions of those around me and the society in which we live.
My routines included a variety of activities such as sport, meditation, eating well, journaling, and so on. Trying out all kinds of wellness techniques was an immense pleasure for me: eliminating meat and reducing sugar, taking cold showers, drinking strange concoctions filled with vitamins and trace elements; I was the ideal client to try out anything that could improve my well-being. I also stopped taking the pill because it no longer suited me. When I stopped, I felt more in tune with myself, my sense of smell was sharper and I discovered new sensations in my body. Come to think of it, all these years have helped me to discover myself, to give myself time and space. Yet there were times when I lost all confidence, when I felt out of place, sad, angry, anxious, and I didn’t take it well. Then everything returned to normal. I later realized that I suffered quite severely from premenstrual syndrome.
THE DISCOVERY OF MENSTRUAL PANTIES
I loved studying psychology and personal development, but becoming a psychologist didn’t really appeal to me. I felt very concerned by ecology and wanted to make my contribution to the biggest issue of my generation. So I started a master’s degree in environmental psychology. I loved these studies, but once again, I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the prospects. During this master’s degree, I sought to optimize my habits to better align my daily life with my values. Traditional sanitary pads quickly became a source of concern for me. They were disposable, which meant I was producing waste when I was trying to minimize it. They were full of chemicals, chlorine derivatives for bleaching cotton impregnated with insecticides. Toxic shock syndrome, which can be life-threatening if a tampon is used for too long, was a regular topic of discussion. I knew the risks were low, but I found it absurd that nobody seemed to mind putting women’s health and lives at risk. In addition to this worry, another fear constantly haunted me: the fear of escape, especially when I got up after sitting down for a long time. Finally, you had to make sure you always had protection on you, you had to buy it regularly and find the right time to change your tampon or pad. And I’m not even talking about comfort, day and night; the tugging thread of the tampon, the irritation caused by the pads, the feel of the plastic against the skin at night. The warmth it gives off, the ecosystem it creates, or even the sound of scratching as you walk. The list goes on and on… Let’s be honest, we’ve all been through it at least once.
So I started looking for alternatives. After many trials, I discovered menstrual panties. It was revolutionary. When I say revolutionary, I mean it. To put it in a nutshell: I’d forgotten I had my period. Ou-bli-é. Yet I never forget them, I always think about having to change my tampon. In fact, all the problems I’ve listed above have vanished. I was looking for an alternative to avoid waste and preserve my health, but in the end, menstrual panties gave me so much more: incredible comfort and a huge mental burden less.
ABOVE ALL: COMFORT
But let’s not forget the comfort – oh mamma mia, the comfort! It’s textile, it breathes, you don’t feel trapped in a damp environment like with a towel. If the panty is well adapted to your flow, blood is absorbed and carried into the second layer of fabric, so the first dries quickly and you feel dry. The fear of bathing in blood is completely false. It’s a technological panty made to bleed into. The textile fibers are sewn in a certain way precisely to avoid this sensation. There’s no fear. You can feel the blood flowing, of course, but you quickly forget about it and know that there’s no risk of staining because the last layer of panties is waterproof. The textiles are so fine and the organic cotton of Metanoïa knickers so soft that you feel like you’re in your everyday knickers. It’s just incredible.
AND METANOIA EMERGED IN MY CABEZA
Menstrual panties had revolutionized the way I experienced my period. It was such a discovery that I had six of my closest friends try it out. The verdict? Unanimous! It’s life-changing! These little marvels really deserve to have a special place in the lives of women and menstruating people. They offer much more than protection, they provide mental energy and comfort. It was like a click! It was as if all my passions, including my former love of fashion, came together in a single product: menstrual panties. It’s washable and reusable, much better for our health and our planet, frees up our mental space, and makes us feel confident and cared for. You can wear it all day long without ever feeling wet.
The joy and love I felt for this product was such that it became my dream: to create a modern brand that allows as many women as possible to feel safe, to experience their periods more serenely, because we deserve it. We deserve access to state-of-the-art products that maximize our comfort. Tampons and pads have been in use for over a century. Since then, we’ve invented television, the iPhone and even sent humans to the moon. However, we remain dependent on 100 years of protection. Even in an age when impressive textiles are being developed: heat- and inflammation-resistant fabrics for firefighters, anti-bacterial doctors’ gowns designed with a weave so tight that bacteria can’t penetrate the textile to contaminate it. Why then, when half the world’s population is involved, do we continue to produce tampons and pads that are not only harmful to the environment but also dangerous to health?
All my criteria fell into place: to create a Swiss brand of eco-responsible menstrual panties, with the smallest possible carbon footprint, of excellent quality, made in France, in 100% organic cotton and with lace, because you can create useful and beautiful technological panties to enhance your femininity. In fact, the name METANOÏA was not chosen at random. In ancient Greek, it means “to see beyond the frame, beyond what already exists”. It really expresses my need to say to women and menstruating people: look beyond the disposable protection you’re offered. There’s something else out there that’s much better, healthier, washable and reusable. A truly modern and trendy technology!
MY SECOND MISSION WITH METANOIA
I want to create high-quality, elegant menstrual pants. I want every one of my customers to feel beautiful, strong and confident. Being chic during your period helps you to take charge of your period, to feel good about yourself and to value the fact that you’re a cyclical being. It’s very important to be in tune with your femininity, especially at a time when you may feel useless, exhausted, fat or ugly. Especially since I’m well aware of how lame, tired and unattractive you can feel when you’re on your period. Depending on what stage of life I’m in, my premenstrual syndrome is more or less consistent. If I don’t get enough rest (physical and mental rest), I sink into anxiety and everything becomes dull, sometimes I even enter a survival phase. Then came my period and the fatigue became more pronounced, and a deep questioning of my life set in. It’s like a cataclysm in my head. Dealing with this after stopping the pill was particularly trying, as these troubling episodes occurred despite my conscientious efforts to feel well mentally and physically. Why did everything seem to be falling apart despite so much effort? I knew you could feel bad psychologically when you had your period, but this bad? It’s not something you can talk about easily and to just anyone. Sometimes, I had friends who were in a lot of pain, but putting words to that pain is complicated. I felt very alone in my head during these episodes.
One day, when I was a hospital intern, I was talking to a woman who was a few years away from retirement. She had had a brilliant career, with positions of great responsibility in major Swiss companies. I admired her and found her very inspiring. I can’t remember exactly how we came to discuss the rules, probably because I had to have them and be physically and mentally ill. She then confided in me – oh I wasn’t well either, at the time I was keeping a close eye on my cycle and I knew that two days before my period, I wouldn’t make any important decisions, because I knew I couldn’t, and if I did, I’d regret it because I wasn’t really myself, it wasn’t the right time to make decisions. I was speechless. She hadn’t realized the impact of what she’d just revealed. Opposite me stood someone who’d been through the same ordeal, and who, despite this internal pain, had managed to juggle a successful career with raising her children. I was 26 years old and no one had ever talked to me about cycle management in this way. As someone who is very interested in everything to do with mental and physical well-being, how is it that I’ve never heard of managing one’s own cycle, or even knowing about it?
After a great deal of research into the cycle, I discovered Gaëlle Baldassari‘s four phases of the cycle. I’ve given myself a second mission with Metanoïa, I want to share as much information and stories as possible, on all the subjects surrounding menstruation, in order to detoxify this subject and enable all menstruating people to improve their lives. Finally, we are cyclical beings, and our well-being also depends on the well-being of our cycle. Being a cyclical being can be quite challenging when you live in a linear world defined by continuous performance, success and progress. By getting to know yourself better, understanding your cycle, you are able to respect your needs, make better choices, learn to listen more to yourself and thus become a better version of yourself.
For you
If you’re interested, I could detail my entire entrepreneurial story, but if you’d prefer the short version: after completing my studies and working intensively for almost two years, after facing numerous obstacles, experiencing frustration, shedding tears galore while tasting moments of pure happiness and meeting fabulous people… I’ve amassed a wealth of knowledge about textiles, design and finding the right partners. I also learned a lot about myself, my limiting beliefs and how to overcome the ever-present pressure to keep moving forward. I’m delighted to introduce Metanoïa, the brand of my dreams in which I’ve invested all my heart and energy, so that you can experience your period with peace of mind and confidence. You’ll be able to achieve everything you want, because you deserve it!
See you soon! 😊
Finally, we are cyclical beings, and our well-being also depends on the well-being of our cycle. Being a cyclical being can be quite challenging when you live in a linear world defined by continuous performance, success and progress. By getting to know yourself better, understanding your cycle, you are able to respect your needs, make better choices, learn to listen more to yourself and thus become a better version of yourself.
