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I don’t like my period… never have and I doubt I ever will. I have a friend who once told me they liked their period because it made them feel more connected to their body every month. I couldn’t relate less. For me, I have a lot of pain, my chronic illness symptoms get worse, I get depressed and it’s just very inconvenient.
I know my period is coming when a couple of days before I have a nightmare that I have leaked through everything and there is blood everywhere. And, in reality, one of the things I am paranoid about is leaking, having had a very unfortunate experience in secondary school that we won’t go into here!
One of the things I have always hated are sanitary products. A quote I’ve always strongly related to from The Vagina Monologues is “Like tampons – what the hell is that? A wad of dry fucking cotton stuffed up there.” Because, let’s be real, that’s what it is. And sanitary towels are itchy and uncomfortable, and in my experience prone to leaking.
I had heard and seen of period pants before, but never really trusted that they would be something I would like to test, and they have quite a hefty price tag for someone who doesn’t have an income, so it just never felt like a viable option for me, given I didn’t know I would like them. They range from £18-24 per pair.
But then I was chatting with a friend and she mentioned how much she loved using her period pants. And she highly recommended them. So, I asked Santa to bring me a pair at Christmas last year. And as requested, Santa left a pair in my stocking – not quite your conventional Christmas gift, but hey! Having tried them for almost a year now, I feel very qualified to give my opinions on them. It took somebody I trusted reviewing them to allow me to give them a try and, honestly, I want to revolutionise everyone’s periods, because using them has, in a non-dramatic way, changed my life considerably.
Positives of period pants
1. Period pants are so comfy
The joy of period pants is that you don’t really notice that you are wearing them. I will admit the first time I wore them it felt a little odd and I kept worrying that I would bleed through them. But they feel just like any other pair of comfy underwear. And that is so luxurious after a lifetime of using scratchy, itchy menstrual products.
2. They are less likely to leak
You can choose all sorts of different absorbencies, but I always choose full coverage, and the highest absorbency which, with certain brands, modi bodi included, can absorb up to 4 tampons worth of blood. That means I feel a lot less likely to leak and feel very safe, because even with a heavy flow you don’t have to change them as often.
3. There is less risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome
Wearing tampons or sanitary pads, and I believe even menstrual cups (although it is a lower risk) can all cause toxic shock syndrome. Period pants have a far, far lower risk of giving you TSS.
4. You cannot feel the blood
One of the things I worried about before trying period pants is that I would feel the blood in the pants if it is catching quite so much – or that they might feel wet. And I really didn’t fancy the idea of walking around feeling like I’d wet my pants. But in my experience, this has really not been a problem as the blood is totally absorbed. I’m not a scientist and I don’t really know where it goes, but the main thing is you don’t feel it.
5. Its more eco-friendly
This is always a good thing, if it’s achievable. For me, period pants work a thousand times better than any other menstrual product I have ever tried. The fact that they are more environmentally sustainable is an extra bonus.
Things to be aware of
There are a couple of things that I have learnt now that are good to know.
1. Washing can be a faff
I don’t want to have my washing machine running all the time, and frankly I don’t have enough washing for that. This means that sometimes when I am on my period, I have to hand wash my period pants. And I believe that is better for them. It is for me, as someone with a chronic illness, quite tiring washing them out. I can also imagine that for anyone squeamish about blood, this isn’t so pleasant. However, it is also really easy just to pop them in the washing machine, and they dry quicker that way too.
2. To completely move away from disposable products, you do a need a few pairs.
Because they are so absorbent, period pants can take a while to dry (I’ve no idea about whether you can put them in a tumble dryer or not as I don’t have one). This means I do still have some disposable bits lying around the house in case I don’t have a dry pair in time for when I need them.
3. You cannot tell how much you’ve bled
I find it very hard to know how much I have bled and whether I ought to change my pants. On those occasions where you put a fresh pair on a while ago but you don’t know how heavy your period is, I find it hard to make the call on whether I should change my pants or whether I will get away with leaving them on whilst I pop to the supermarket. Not the end of the world but good to be aware of.
4. Some designs can be leaky
I have one pair of period pants that I decided to buy much more cheaply, and they are a brief cut. On one occasion, I leaked round the sides of them, which wasn’t ideal. In general, I tend to buy the fuller coverage period pants, the big shorts – so that I get as full a coverage as possible, and as little stress. I haven’t ever had an issue with them.
Period pants are totally worth it
For me, using period pants has completely revolutionised the way I feel when I am on my period. I am no longer paranoid that I will leak, and I no longer have to suffer from sensitivity to these scratchy cotton wads. I have literally spent this year recommending period pants to so many of my friends with periods, WHENEVER we have conversations that tend that way. So, I figured that I ought to share my joy at the experience. I do know that they do not work for everyone; periods are so individual. I hope that if you are wondering about them this helps you figure out what you think.
As a final remark, I am a firm believer in buying the non-branded version of things. A lot of the time it doesn’t make much quality difference and is a good deal cheaper. However, having tried that with period pants and bought a much cheaper brand, I really noticed a difference between my cheap pants and my modi bodi ones. From experience, the modi bodi ones are very good. But I have only tried two brands so I couldn’t tell you more about other brands. Feel free to drop recommendations in the comments. For this reason, I have made the decision to start slowly collecting the more expensive ones, rather than go cheap.
Feel free to drop me any questions about them. I’m by no means an expert but I am very willing to help! I would also be interested to hear if anyone has tried the period swimwear that has now come out and what they thought about it?
