1. Pads, pants or both!
It's easier than you think to make the switch to cloth sanitary pads or period pants, and here's a couple of suggestions for additional items to make life easier for yourself, whether you are using them at home or when at work or out and about. Firstly, you’ll need the pads or pants themselves - and if you'd like some help estimating how many you'd need for a 'normal' period, we've got that info here. Popper the pads into your pants patterned side / label side down and plain side towards your body.
2. A wetbag or two…
We also find it helpful to have a little wetbag to carry your pads / pants around in. The reusable sanitary pads fold in two and popper shut so that they can be discreetly carried, but our double wetbags have got two pockets, so you can keep a fresh set in one pocket and your used ones in the other. There’s no smell from the used pads / pants so don’t worry about that!
3. A Soaking Container or Strucket
Cold soaking your dirty period pants or pads with a scoopful of oxy stain remover is an easy way to avoid stains, alongside washing well! Our soaking container and mesh bag come as part of our cloth sanitary pads full kit, or the new ‘Strucket’ is a revolutionary strainer and bucket combined. Either works well - but in fairness so does a bucket in your sink! You will know what works best for you.
Which are the best pants to use with cloth sanitary pads?
It goes without saying that our period pants work really well to provide backup to cloth menstrual pads, but any pants with a decent percentage of lycra in them (at least 5 percent) will work to hold the pads in place and stop them moving around.
How many cloth sanitary pads or period pants do I need for my period?
By far the best way to get an answer on this will be to complete use our ‘reusable period protection’ questionnaire. Otherwise it's sort of 'how long is a piece of string'....
As a rule of thumb, if you have a washload going on every other day and you would normally change your pad or tampons 4 or 5 times a day then you'd need around 12 pads or pants to give you time to wash and dry between uses.
We normally use a combo of period pants in conjunction with our reusable period pads because we find that works best for us. Period knickers alone on our lighter days when we won't have to change them often, adding a pad which can be easily changed on our heavy flow days. Then, we'd recommend six pairs of period pants and maybe 4 to 6 pads for your period, again, washing every other day. It’s difficult to give an exact number as so much depends on the heaviness of your period, whether you're at home or in a toilet cubicle at work / school during the day and how often you have a washload going on. You know your flow, and will quickly find what works best for you.
Best way to get a more definitive answer is to complete our reusable period protection questionnaire.
Which cloth sanitary pad option is best for me?
We have two different types of cloth sanitary pads, our 100% cotton cloth sanitary pad and our bamboo plush pads. In addition the bamboo plush come with two different top layers. Here's how to choose which will suit you best:
Cotton pads
Brilliant if you’ve got ‘normal’ periods (i.e. you can just wear one type of period protection at a time and your periods last 4 or 5 days). 100% cotton sanitary pads, which makes them cool to wear and more slimline than our bamboo plush pads. They're still really absorbent and come with a grey cotton top for the more squeamish! As they’re made from cotton, they tend to stay in place a little better in your knickers
Bamboo Plush Pads
Fantastic for heavy flow periods and post-natal use. The bamboo cloth sanitary pads are thicker and more absorbent than our cotton pads and come with a grey fleece topped option which is brilliant if you’re worried about staining. Alternatively, we find the bamboo topped ones to be slightly cooler to wear, though of course they need a tiny bit more care to remain stain free. Even if they become stained if you accidentally wash at too high a temperature (remember COLD washing is key for blood stains), they'll still work perfectly (remember, they’re in your knickers and no one will see them except you!)
Is this your first foray into Cheeky Pants?
Check out our 90 day Period Pants Trial Policy.
Still got questions? Drop us an email, Jo and her team all use the pants and pads themselves and are always happy to help. Don't worry, nothing is too much information for them!
