Vintage sanpro: anyone remember giant towels with loops and belts?

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The first ones mum gave me were huge affairs with an elastic waist belt. There were these loops at each end that you threaded through to wear - felt like you were straddling a hammock and made you walk like a jockey. The horror.

Then there was the Bunnies incinerator at school - a terrifying steampunk monstrosity that you fed the used towel in and it would make an appalling noise as it mashed it up. Oh, I wonder if that was why mum called towels 'bunnies'?

I quickly discovered Vespre towels - someone had the rather bright idea that regular press on towels always bunched into a particular curved shape in use, so why not make them in that shape? I liked those.

I was a late tampon adopter - started at 18. Tho I liked the ones with the pull-out compact applicator (Compak??), I always wondered - who the hell thought those sharp plastic teeth was a good idea??

I went meno before mooncups happened, sadly so I can't comment.

Ah, memories ...

@MeadowHay I am a similar age to your mother and discussed everything from periods and masturbation to oral and gay sex with my two. Granted, one didn’t want to hear, and walked out of the room with her fingers in her ears, but I bought her a book and she read it. I made sure they had a plentiful supply of sanpro of different types and sizes, as my mother wouldn’t let me use anything apart from a mini tampon and regular flow towels, which were completely inadequate for my needs.

Yes, in the UK, I wasn't trying to say all women of her generation would be like my DM but clearly some of them are, as she is! She's from the NE. I have a toddler DD who will I will ensure will have a vastly different experience when she is older.

what I remember coming after the looped towels was (I thought) the very first stick on pads, annoyingly I can't remember the brand name- what was distinctive was that-1, they had a very small adhesive patch at the front- say about 3cmx1cm and 2, they had a double layer- this was supposed to be a fantastic advantage, there was a thicker layer joined onto a thinner, wider layer at the front, meaning you could use both layers on heavy days and just the thinner layer on light days
anyone else remember them?

When I was at school, if you started your period unexpectedly you were given the delightful towels with loops, and a couple of safety pins to attach them to your knickers! And I can remember the incinerators in the girls toilets - but they never worked.

I remember towels that were encased In net which sort of held the layers together. I was taught by mum to rip them up and chuck them in the toilet. I guess there was no plastic in them tho.
I hated them. I remember calculating how many years and periods I would probably have in my lifetime and how many of the hateful things I'd have to rip up. They didn't even stick on.
Bodyform (remember the ad 'oooooo Bodyformmm.. made for comfort, made for youuuuu') were amazing.
And I have never gotten on with tampons.
My DD uses a mooncup

This is a rather lovely essay on

A Histoty Of The UK Sanitary Bin in the Twentieth Century

(yes honestly)

www.technologystories.org/feminine-waste-only/

I remember my mum using the loop and mattress thingy, and yup she called them bunnies too.

As teenagers we had the stick on ones and thought we were very edgy calling them 'fanny pads'.

The boys used to call them 'jam rags' - in an attempt to ridicule the girls. My friend Sue, fell foul of this when the contents of her bag ended up on the floor. I can still remember the satisfaction the girls got when the ringleader of the boys discovered one smeared with actual jam, and rolled up like a swiss roll, in his lunch box.

I started my period in about 1974/75 and had "stick on" towels. Some brands had netting over them and a fuzzy foam strip on the back to "adhere" to your pants but in reality you needed to wear two pairs of knickers to be secure. Some brands had a stick on strip but they were stingy with the glue - it was just two thin lines so not as secure as pads today and the pads weren't as absorbant. The stick on pads were more pricey than the looped towels, I had to be "economical" with them and my mum rationed them so I lived in constant dread of leaking at school - always had a jumper in my bag to tie around my waist and wore my thick Ladybird/Cherub blue knickers.

Quite a few of my friends had mum's that made them wear the sanitary belt combo. (Better value and more absorbent than the stick ons). Luckily my mum hated the belt so I didnt have to wear it or safety pin towels to my knickers. Many parents wouldn't allow their girls to try tampons as "they interfered with your virginity." It seemed to be their dads that were especially worried about this.

Bodyform had a big hump at the front of the pad which curved down thinner at the back - bit of a nightmare to place.

This is why they were known as, “ A hammock for a lazy cunt.”

They were awful. The first time I had to wear a Dr Whites I felt like I had a huge pillow between my legs. The belts were fiddly and the towel would stick to you sometimes. You were so uncomfortable you'd nearly be in tears by the time you got home. We didn't have school dinners so we walked to and from twice a day.

No incinerators at our old Victorian school so we had to take our 'dirties' home concealed in a brown paper bag at the bottom of our satchels. Grim. They were bulky and we'd feel so self-conscious at PE - would other people see? It was probably a good thing that it was an all girls' school. I dread to think how it is today with adolescent boys around. My generation was brought up to feel ashamed of what is perfectly normal. Thank goodness times have changed.

Nearly 50 here. Dr white abs looped towels were around but actually thick pads were what was given. My mum used lil let’s but I never got to grips with them and used tampax from about 20-40 and then shock of shock I tried pads again and my period pain all but disappeared except on day 2.

I still think with disposables versus wash your own the environmental impact is put on women rather than work load and ease. Same with nappies.

I went to biodegrade ones (pads) and then thought £3 for a pack versus £0.89 is shocking same on nappies.

With pads thinking the water, drying, washing powder is not so environmentally friendly. I shouldn’t have the environmental impact guilted on to me.

I really wish for a day when we as women are provided for it as a medical need rather than a choice. Ie free through collection at gp.

I remember Dr Whites and the belt monstrosities. However, my dear stepmother found a cheaper sanitary towel and I had to use them. They alwayed chaffed the top of my legs and I used to have to rub vaseline on the sores.
Does anyone remember the brand Lillia in the late 60s early 70s?
I hated them and secretly started buying lillets tampons when I was about 15.

I remember Lillia.

Sounds like a song 🎵

I'm in my fifties. I thought the not using tampons was because there was a load of publicity about toxic shock syndrome, maybe around 1975(?), which put off a lot of my schoolfriends from using them.

My mum gave me my dead grandfather's old brushed cotton nightshirts to tear up and use. Bloody typical.
I remember that anything to do with periods mortified me. We had to drive past the Whites factory quite a lot and I used to be so embarrassed. Weird.

I think we get more chilled as we get older. I remember my mum going to a Fancy Dress party as a gangster, zootsuit, wearing a little moustache - and a tampon safety-pinned between her shoulder blades and a sign underneath it saying, “IT’S A STICK UP!”

I was absolutely mortified when I found out

Winter that's right. There was a lot in the news late 70's/early 80's about toxic shock syndrome (on World in Action/Panorama type programmes). IIRC the advice was not to leave tampons in overnight. I remember being worried as I forgot once.

I wear towels with belt, but find it hard to get any recently. Any one know where I can purchase them in UK?

I wear sanitary towels with belt from front to back but finding it very hard to find where they are sold. Any ideas.

Yes remember these, I still wear them but where can I get them?

Welcome to Mumsnet.
Google is your friend - or maybe where you last purchased some.

Really? I can’t imagine there is a woman in the U.K. who is still of an age to be having periods who ever used looped towels.

@FlamingoAndJohn I remember them! I'm 58, and as a child my mum used them, so they were the first ones I used. But without the belt. Just the looped towels. The loops were a mystery to me! That was before, as I said above, moving on to the horrible netted ones.

I remember them, but I can’t imagine that there is a woman out there still actively using them.