Okay guys, I know what you’re thinking… “Hey? This isn’t Nat’s usually kawaii content…?” and you’d be right! I decided to change it up a little this week and talk about something important* for a change (*to all my plushies, figures and pins… You’re still important to me :P).
A couple of months ago I decided to try reusable period products from Bodyform and I’ve never looked back. I recently shared on my Twitter (@maybeecoffee) about how I’d purchased some more period products from Hey Girls and asked if my readers would love to see me talking about reusable period products. There was an uproar of yes, so here we are! It feels like this post has come at the right time too, considering last week we were told by the UN chief that a report stated “code red for humanity” in regards to climate change.
So, I hope this post really helps anyone thinking of making the change from one use sanitary towels, to reusable ones instead. 🙂 I’m going to share my experiences so far, good and bad. I want to be honest here, some people don’t talk much about the bad and I really want to. This being said, please do not let this put you off!
I’m going to jump straight in and say, I LOVE using reusable period products, especially the pants.
I decided one day back in May whilst doing our monthly Tesco shop to pick up some of the Bodyform Intimawear Bikini pants as they were on offer (£20.00 instead of £24.99) and I love a bargain! I’d thought about trying period pants for a while, but was never sure, so when they were sat on the shelf in front of me… I decided to finally give it a go!
The Bodyform bikini pants come in two colours, burgundy and black, I went for the latter. They also range in sizes S-XL (UK clothes sizes 8-20), I went for an L which is UK size 14-16. These are for a moderate flow.
Alongside the Bikini style there is also the Hipster, which is the same price at £24.99, comes in both burgundy and black and runs S-XL. These are also for a moderate flow.
I own two of these pairs as the next month (June) when I was in Tesco again for my monthly food shop, I noticed the pants was still on offer at £20.00 and I couldn’t NOT take that up! I picked both sizes up in an L.
Bodyform claim that you can wear the pants for up to 12 hours. In the past I’ve worn these for almost 24 hours, which I know isn’t good but this was on lighter flow days. This being said, I’ve only done this a few times and no longer do it. I DO NOT recommend wearing over 24 hours. You could ideally pop a pair on in the morning and then before bed, which is what I do.
The Bodyform pants are really good, comfortable and after a while you forget you’re wearing period pants. Inside the pants there is a massive soft “pad” that I know some people have commented saying it feels like a nappy/diaper, which I can understand. As I said though, these are comfortable and that “nappy/diaper” feeling goes away.
I recently wore these out and about for a shopping day with my best friend and I was anxious the whole day about leaking, but when I got home and got ready for bed I realised that the pants had kept me dry all day! They were so comfortable the whole day too and I didn’t feel like I had my period to be honest.
I’m going to cover the part that puts everyone off getting reusable pants and pads… Cleaning them.
Cleaning them is really straight forward and simple, but the first step is a bit… Grim. Personally, it doesn’t bother me, but I know for a lot of people it will/would. I’m just going to go through what you are told to do and what I do.
For the Bodyform period pants it stats on the website:
“Just quickly rinse in cold water and then throw into the washing machine with your usual wash. Maximum performance for 50+ washes”
Whereas on the packaging it states:
“Cold rinse after use (if you can). Then wash at 40°C without fabric conditioner. Wash with the rest of your underwear and simply hand dry or tumble dry on a low heat. Full performance lasts up to a minimum of 50 washes.”
In the morning if I’ve worn the pants in the night, I will jump in the shower, take them off and rinse under the cold bath tap until the water runs clear. Then when I get out of the shower, I’ll pop them in the washing machine with some washing gel and laundry sanitiser. When they’re done I pop them on the airer to dry.
I follow the same process with the pants I’ll have worn in the day but instead I’ll rinse them in the sink.
I want to say, I didn’t wash them under cold water recently and I DO NOT recommend. I hate how Bodyform suggests “if you can rinse them”, when realistically you do.
I forgot to rinse a pair recently and even after putting them into my washing machine twice, they still held blood in them. It was only from rinsing them under cold water that I found this out and I was horrified. Please make sure to keep rinsing them until the water runs clear.
My experience with the Bodyform period pants are AMAZING and I’ve been recommending them to everyone!
Now onto the Hey Girls reusable period products. I have quite a few things I want to address with this brand that I think are amazing!
First of all, for every product you buy/order you make Hey Girls will purchase the exact same products against your order and donate them to someone in need.
“Here at Hey Girls HQ, we’ve pledged to bring an end to period poverty in the UK. When you purchase our products online, from a supermarket or from one of our independent eco stores, you buy one for a UK girl or women in need too. Since launching Hey Girls in 2018, we have donated over 14.9 MILLION period products to communities across the UK!”
You can read more about their impact on period poverty here.
Hey Girls also sell Pads4Dad period kits too, so dad’s can be more understanding and supportive of what their teenager is going through, what she needs, etc. As a teenager my mom was mostly the one who helped me when it came down to my period, but there were occasions as a teen and in my early twenties when my dad would need to help me out. Especially if I wasn’t very well and on my last pad! Granted men are becoming more understanding of periods, but these kits are handy for men who don’t know what they need to get for their teens.
Finally and it’s what will bring me onto talking about Hey Girls pants, their sizes range from UK sizes 6-22 (XS-4XL), which I think is amazing! A lot of plus size women I’ve spoken to have told me how they can’t buy period pants due to lack of sizing, but alas Hey Girls has their back! 🙂
So, as you gathered I picked up some period pants from Hey Girls, the Super Soft Cherry Period Pants to be exact, as well as some of the Reusable Pantyliners.
The period pants had been on my wish list for what feels like forever, partially for the gorgeous cherry red colour and the fact they’re high waisted too. I decided to order an XL and they’re super comfortable with plenty of room for throughout the day, the night and especially those bloated tummy days where you need the comfy space AND bit of flattening for the tummy too.
Unlike the Bodyform pants, these have a high absorbency, making them great for your first/second day of your period OR if you have a heavy flow all month. Similar to the Bodyform, these can be worn for 12 hours and both day and night. The pad inside of this is a lot thicker, which will be great for those first and second period days when it’s really heavy.
Again, like the Bodyform you rinse out the pants in cold water until it runs clear, throw into the washing machine at a 40°C, without fabric softener and then air dry or tumble dry on low.
These cost £18.95, so WAY cheaper than Bodyform at their full price. I’m really happy with how much I paid for these. I love the colour, how they make me feel protected and especially the fact I’m giving back when buying a pair. I highly recommend these if you’re after some period pants! It’s all well and good buying on Amazon, Etsy and other brands but they don’t give back like Hey Girls do.
Alongside the Super Soft Cherry Period Pants there are also various other pant styles to choose from:
Essential Bikini, Basic Brief and Mid Waist – Both comes in black and grey, sizes S-L (UK size 6-14).
Super Soft Black Cherry – Sizes XS-4XL (UK size 6-22).
I’m a tad disappointed by Hey Girls that they could make the super soft cherry style period pants inclusive to plus size, but not the others? I mean, it’s better to have two pairs for heavy flow and plus sizes than none, but it just sucks a bit.
As I mentioned before, alongside the period pants, I also picked up some of the pantyliners too.
The reason for my order from Hey Girls initially was down to buying the pantyliners. I’d been after some reusable ones for a while and even after recommendations of pantyliners on both Etsy and Amazon, I still couldn’t find what I was after. Alas, Hey Girls did.
The Reusable Pantyliners are perfect for when your coming to the end of your period and have a lighter flow, or for everyday wear, which is exactly what I wanted them for. They did have pantyliners like this on Etsy and Amazon, but they seemed far too big. The Hey Girls ones are only 17cm which was the size I was after, which makes them perfect for throwing in your bag too for travelling and lighter days.
You get five pantyliners as well as a wet bag to keep you used and un-used pantyliners in, which was well worth the money. I’m planning to use the wet bag for used pantyliners when I’m travelling and out and about and may need to change. I’ll buy or re-use a pouch to keep clean pantyliners in.
These are super soft and feel really comfortable to wear! You simply place the grey side facing you into your underwear and using the poppers, clip the pad into place. Simple! I did feel a bit anxious on my first wear of these, just in case it unclipped but I didn’t face any issues. You can wear these for up to 12 hours like the pants and then change them for another.
In regards to the clip mechanism to keep the pantyliner in your underwear, you can also use this to clip the up after use too, as shown in the photos.
Like the pants, the pantyliners are just as easy to wash! Rinse under cold water until it runs clear, throw into the machine for a 30°C – 40°C without fabric conditioner and then leave to air dry. I find they’re tricky to dry on an airer so I ended up clipping them up and hanging them off of the airer. I don’t think this is recommended however.
At the time of writing this post the Reusable Pantyliners are out of stock, but keep your eyes peeled if you’re after them as stock does come back around quickly! For the five pantyliners and the wash bag these cost £18.05, which I think is a fair price!
Alongside the pants and pantyliners, Hey Girls do sell various reusable and none reusable period products, including a Menstrual Cup, Reusable Period Pads Day or Night, Full Cycle Kit and even a First Period Starter Kit.
Overall I’m so glad I made the jump from one use period products to reusable. I know I’ve only just started but I already feel like I’m doing my bit for the planet. I still have some one use period products in my house and intend to use them up slowly. I’ll probably always keep one use in my house, not just for me but for any of my friends who come over and may find themselves in a spot of bother.
I also find that I’ll save money using the reusable products rather than buying packs of pads and pantyliners at £1-£3 a month. PLUS I never have to worry about running low or out ever again with the reusable pants and pantyliners either.
What do you think of reusable period products? Do you already use them, if so what do you use? If you don’t use them (yet… :)) has my post today encouraged you to maybe think about it? Make sure to let me know in the comments!
Until next time guys I hope you’re all well and staying safe! 😀
There Might Be Coffee 