During Hallmark Channel’s 2025 Countdown to Christmas — two months of holiday movie premieres and star-studded events — actress Heather Hemmens jingled all the way, from the Hallmark Christmas Cruise in November to Kansas City’s Hallmark Christmas Experience and New Jersey’s Christmas Con in December.
But as Hemmens was celebrating the season with fans and promoting her latest movie, “The Snow Must Go On,” she was also anxiously monitoring the launch of her own company — Galifornia Undies — a labor of love inspired by years of living with painful uterine fibroids.
“This is the greatest undertaking of my life,” Hemmens told EntertainmentNow after more than 18 months of intense work behind the scenes to get her line of period underwear off the ground and into the hands of women who’ve suffered like her.
Other ‘Period Panties’ Didn’t Work For Heather Hemmens
While navigating a busy acting career, Hemmens struggled for years with painful, heavy periods — both common symptoms of fibroids, according to UCLA Health, which describes fibroids as typically non-cancerous tumors of the reproductive tract.
“I started to need period panties when I was on set doing 17-hour days,” she told EntertainmentNow. “You know, you cannot be running to the bathroom every 45 minutes. And so I would use them in addition to a tampon, just to make sure that I didn’t ruin my costumes.”
The “period panties” didn’t meet Hemmens needs or her sense of style, so the “Groomsmen” star set out to create her own line with luxurious fabrics and different levels of absorbency. But it wasn’t easy.
“It was a huge learning curve, and I’m still learning,” Hemmens said. “But I am so deep in it, and I love it, and I’m so excited. I haven’t been sleeping, I’ve been working so much on it. And I want to encourage people that if you have an idea, you can figure it out. I’ve just figured it out day by day.”
Heather Hemmens Did Months of Independent Research to Develop Galifornia Undies
Hemmens told EntertainmentNow she leaned on her sister, who has a fashion background and experience working with manufacturers and designers, but much of her research was done independently in between filming with Hallmark.
“I Googled everything, I bought other period underwear samples and cut them open and looked at what’s inside and how to do that,” she explained. “I’ve been in downtown LA fabric shopping for months and months and months on end. It’s been a great challenge, and really fun at the end of the day.”
Hemmens said she’s “so proud” of the final products and excited for women to feel a sense of relief and empowerment. She also celebrated being able to keep the underwear affordable compared to similar products.
“All of our panties are under $35, and I am so excited about that,” she told EntertainmentNow. “I did tons of market research to be in a competitive price point for what we’re offering. We are priced lower than the competition, and we offer a more stylish, eco-friendly option. So I’m very excited for everyone to find a panty that works for them.”
In a social media post celebrating the first month of being in business, Hemmens said her company’s launch was a “dream come true” and that they already had their “first bestseller” — the animal print Laguna undie.
Happily, Heather Hemmens Also Found an ‘Incredible’ Treatment for Her Fibroids
HallmarkFortunately, Hemmens also found a solution for her fibroids with a procedure called Sonata, an incisionless fibroid treatment that “leaves the uterus intact.”
“They go in through your cervix, and they heat the fibroid with a needle,” Hemmens explained. “There are no incisions. You are out of the hospital in two hours, and there’s zero downtime. This was the most incredible discovery after being told I would need a myomectomy, and after being told I couldn’t have children.”
“It was covered by my insurance, and I am now back to my normal periods of my 20s,” Hemmens marveled. “It has changed my life. And within, I would say, within three to four months, my periods had gone back to very normal. My cramping had gone back to normal. It was such a relief after years of
suffering.”
Hemmens noted that Sonata may not work for everyone, depending on the size or placement of their fibroids, but that she’d love for more women to discover that the nonsurgical option is available.
“I’ll scream it from the mountaintops,” she beamed. “Women need to know about these other options. We’re suffering with so many things that aren’t easily diagnosed. Like endometriosis, fibroids, all of these things are wreaking havoc on women and I hope people can find some relief like I did.”
What a great idea. I wish i had them when i needed them . I had to have a hysterectomy as result of my fabroids, but so happy to hear that ladies now can have it in style.