Lady's Health & Plastic

Fair warning: This is a post about periods and sanitary products. If you're squeamish or not comfortable reading about this sort of thing, give it a miss. My next post will be about my diving trip this weekend, come back for that.

About this time last year, I was beginning my journey into reducing plastic. One of the guides I looked at outlined the fact that women's products - tampons and sanitary towels - are a massive contributor to plastic pollution and talked about how to reduce that. Honestly, the way it came across was a little "just bleed less", which is definitely not how that works. But some further research and discussion with friends and family did uncover some alternatives to the plastic heavy products the market is full of.

The obvious choice was to go for a Mooncup - as they are probably the best known alternative. But they weren't for me. I have never used tampons and these are a natural progression from there. Plus, I don't really work in an environment where I can spend ten minutes in the toilet, faffing about with rinsing out a moon cup and popping it back in. I get about a minute to pee at any one time, and there is usually someone trying to come in because the concept of a lock on the outside and inside of the door is lost on most people. Honestly, don't even go there.

So really, not an option for me.

I have always used pads. I looked for plastic free disposable pads because I thought that was probably my only option. They do exist. I bought some from our local health food shop. They were much more expensive than regular pads and had little variety. Read: no variety. There was one box, suitable for mid-flow and not heavy nights. Since going on the pill my periods have become unpredictable: sometimes they are heavy for days, sometimes not, whereas before it was just always heavy. So while there was nothing wrong with the plastic free disposables, they weren't great.

But thanks to this research and trying alternatives, I started getting adverts for others on my Facebook and Instagram - because they know!! Instagram went for the period pants which you wear in lieu of products. I had a look into those, because it would be nice to have a period without getting a swampy butt from where the products make you sweat. However, they are upwards of £20 and when you think about buying enough to last a week, it gets very expensive very quickly. While I am aware that the initial cost is still probably less than what you'd spend on pads over the year, it is a lot in one sitting. I do still want to try these, but I might wait and catch a special offer because £20+ on a pair of pants is still a lot!

Facebook had the better tact, it started advertising Cheeky Wipes to me. At first it was just baby products, so I didn't really pay it much mind, but then their reusable pads started cropping up. This was the first I'd seen of anything like that! And it seemed like my sort of alternative. Very similar to what I already use, just non-disposable. Admittedly, I did find Cheeky Wipes prices a little much for me but, knowing what to look for, I found some similar products on Amazon.

The first ones I tried were from Pop Pads, who I now can't seem to find a website for. Like Cheeky Wipes, they are made from a soft, bamboo cloth which is super absorbent. And they come in a funky flamingo design - some are even wearing party hats. They sit comfortably in your pants and I was only as aware of them as I would be a regular pad. I get anxiety over migration and leaking, which I'm sure many more do too. But they don't move about and I have yet to leak out of one. They are very easy to rinse as well and it takes barely a minute. The water squeezes out of them nicely, leaving them not overly soggy when leaving to dry. At the end of my period, I chuck all the ones I used through the washing machine, just to give them that extra clean, and they have not lost any softness or absorbency.

I will say, however, a pack of five is not enough. Even with them hanging over a radiator clothes horse, you know those little ones which go over radiators, they sometimes wouldn't dry out in time or there would be a hint of dampness. The wing material can be a little irritating at times but I didn't really notice that until I bought some more from a different brand Rovtop, which had the bamboo cloth over the wings as well. The second lot, which I mostly got to boost my numbers so if the ones drying still felt a little damp then I still had plenty of dry ones to choose from, were also purchased on Amazon. These came in a variety of patterns and came with a little bag to keep used ones in.

This batch it worth buying for the bag alone. I was hesitant to use it as first because I was sure that it wouldn't hold the water and my bag would become damp. But a situation arose where I couldn't avoid it, but now I honestly don't know why I was. It is waxy on the inside and the outside is made of a similar material to the patterns on the pads themselves. And it does not let moisture escape at all. It fell out of my work backpack and into the box I keep that in, I legit forgot about it for a week and it was still dry on the outside. Seriously, this bag is brilliant.

I am a definite convertee. I was using a mix of disposables and reusables while I still had a packet left to use. Initially, I was going to keep a box of plastic free disposables for night times and early start combos but I honestly don't feel the need. I did not feel secure at night with the plastic free disposables and the rinsing really does take zero time. I have yet to be late for a 6am start because of it. Because I went back to bed for too long, totally, but not from rinsing pads!

Ladies, how do you keep your plastic consumption in check with your periods? Which method do you use? Let me know, below!

Listening to: This Is Marshmello