Period pants

[RandomMenstruatingWoman]

Hello, I wanted to tell anyone who is still using tampons and sanitary towels/pads about period pants. I think they're a total game changer for women and for the environment. They look and feel like normal pants, but with a slightly thicker lining. You can get various absorbency in some brands. You don't need a tampon/towel or anything as back up. They will last all day or all night. Rinse them out when you take them off then you can machine wash them with your other washing.
I've uploaded a video to YouTube to show how mine coped with 10 hours of heavy flow (content warning: menstrual blood, obviously)

I don’t understand fabric softener, never used it

Stick them over the radiator to dry.

I have WUKA lighter flow I think (up to 20ml) which I use with a mooncup and they are in no way padded or thick

Damnthatanxiety I wonder if yours are thicker than mine or if I'm less discerning! I'd say they are definitely nowhere near like nappies. They're not even as thick as ultrathin towels. It's kind of like if you sandwiched the thinnest pantyliner you can get, between 2 layers of knicker material, that's how thick it feels. So not as thin as normal pants, but much thinner than anything else you'd normally wear on your period.

not convinced that girls in Period Poverty would be able to
a) be able to afford these pants
b) necessarily have a washing machine
c) afford central heating, to aid drying them

It makes cottons easier to iron. I quite like the smell but I know lots of people prefer not to use it.
Each to their own eh?

@beamur Ha! I don’t iron anything so no wonder I’ve not missed it!

You can hand wash them.
How would you dry ordinary pants? Well, these are the same, just take a bit longer.
I think the cost would be a bigger barrier though as they aren't cheap.

Mine go in the wash with everything else, including fabric softener when we have some. Nobody with as many kids as I have has time to look at wash labels tbh.

I think they're great too, you don't have to faff around remembering to bring tampons to work and trying to sneak them into the loos etc.

A couple of pairs of mine did start to smell but i put vinegar in the wash and it sorted them.
Never use fabric softener anyway...you're not supposed to tumble dry them though and i have a couple of times by accident but they seem to have survived

Oh - i also wear them (modibodi) to the gym under leggings and they are not noticeable, i have bent over in front of mirrors to check.

Sadly, I definitely can't afford these pants. Also, be careful about where you're buying them from - some report fairly recently came out about the use of toxic materials in some brands of period pants...

I’m thinking of these for my daughter. The school don’t allow children to leave the classroom to use the toilet. (whole other thread.)

Wasn't it Thinx who have used toxic chemicals?
I got the Modibodi ones for DD. She was getting stressed by the rustling of san Pro in the school toilets plus the environmental impact of reusables is better.

I've bought four different brands for DD (11yo) and she loves them all. I think she has WUKA, FLUX, something cheap from Amazon (OK but not as good as the others), and recently Cheeky Wipes period pants. Overall they're a really good, simple solution for younger girls who are still getting to grips with periods.

Having said this, they're not for me - I hate the feeling of big knickers or pads in my underwear and used tampons from my first period until I discovered mooncups. I don't have heavy periods so no need for backup. If you're used to wearing thongs every day, period pants or any bulky underwear do feel like a huge nappy so I can understand PP comments about this.

I bought some Modibodis for my dd. She uses reusable pads generally. My plan is to make period pants for her as well.

I know you say they can cope with heavy flow, but how heavy is heavy? On day 2, I'm filling a mooncup in an hour, plus it's very clotty. I can't imagine how the clots would be absorbed.

I've just ordered some WUKA ones for my DD to try. I think I will also buy some washable pads.. which brands are recommended please?

@youngestisapsycho there are lots of makers on Etsy.
Many do a budget starter pack.
For a non Etsy brand you could try Precious Stars pads website.

Emwithme that sounds really heavy, I'm not sure about mooncups but I would have probably changed a pad every 2 hours or so yesterday. I think mooncups are a great in theory and if they work for you I'd go with that tbh. Personally I just physically can't get the hang of getting them in or out. I do follow the instructions, I know you have to fold them but it's like there's not enough elasticity there, I can't quite get the knack of it. I haven't tried the actual mooncup brand ones though, I can't remember the make of the one I tried. Maybe actual mooncup ones are softer and/or smaller? Someone should be testing these things out! Nevermind compare the meercat, we need compare the mooncup!

Nobody with as many kids as I have has time to look at wash labels tbh

I only have one kid, so I’ll carry on with the tampons of my choice thanks!

@RandomMenstruatingWoman

Re cups try the intimina Lily compact (the compact part is important). It’s what I was recommended. Really soft silicone. Slightly smaller than a lot of cups but still holds way more than a tampon.

Thanks @bellinisurge

Thank you newmumwithquestions that sounds worth a go.

I've already got a pair of modibodi pants on standby for 11yr old DD (she's not started yet). They do look promising. Apparently one of her school friends uses them which is reassuring.

I don't have periods anymore so I have no idea how well they work.

Can you really leave them on all day? I.e. I could put them on in a morning, go to work with no additional protection with me and then just take off and put new on before bed?

I've been thinking about them but I'm just concerned about where 'it' all goes.

Definitely think I'll get these for DD when she starts though.

Joffreyscoffees Yes I can. But I go to bed with my babies at about 7pm. So 12 hours awake with them on and 12 overnight. But if you go to bed late and/or have an especially heavy or clotty period, you'd maybe change them after work as well so every 8 hours or so.