Note: some of the items included in this post were sent to me for review but all opinions are honest and my own.
If you follow me on social media, then you will know that in the middle
of last year I decided to ditch tampons and disposable pads. I made this choice
for a couple of reasons, but the biggest thing was the environmental benefit. I
can't imagine how many tampons get flushed every day and even though we are
told that it's okay to flush tampons they still must go somewhere right? It's
the same with disposable pads. Every period since having Smidge I had been
using pads as I found them more comfortable and I was throwing at least 8 pads
per period into the bin and there for straight to landfill. I hated knowing I
was having that kind of impact. It just made no sense to me and I figured that
there must have been a better way, so I started researching and found a whole
new way to have a period in an eco-friendly way. At the start of this new year
I’ve seen so many people posting about how they’d like to be more eco and
sustainable and making the way when it comes to your period is a great place to
start. There are so many different options available and what works for you
will be personal to you. I have tried a couple of different eco/reusable period
products, so I thought I’d share my pros and cons in the hope of inspiring you
to try a different way if you aren’t already.
Lets start with the product that started it all for me...the menstrual cup. I personally use the OrganiCup
and have done since the middle of last year. I used the 'Put a cup in it' website to
see which menstrual cup would be best for me and OrganiCup was the one it suggested
to me. There are loads of different cups on the market, but I’ve found the OrganiCup
to be soft whilst still being sturdy enough not to cause any leaks. It cleans
up well and doesn’t discolour and it is a great price at just £19.99. I brought
a B sized cup as that was what the website recommended to me because I’ve had
children but if you are young and/or haven’t had children then they do a
smaller cup too. There are a couple of downsides with cups though. The first is
that you do have to get a bit intimate to put them in and remove them. There
are loads of videos and websites that can help you with different folds and
ways to insert them but I found that I was having to get right “in there” to
get it in place and to make sure it was comfortable and wouldn’t leak. This
doesn’t bother me, but I know some people don’t really like the idea of having
to do this. The only other downfall is emptying it. When you’re at home it’s
fine and you can just put the blood down the toilet and then rinse the cup
before reinserting but it can be difficult when you’re in a public bathroom
where the sink is outside the toilet cubicle. I found the best way to get around
this was to empty the cup in the loo and wipe it out with some loo roll. Then,
head to sink and give it a quick risen (even though most of the blood is
removed when you wipe it with loo roll) and then head back into the toilet to
reinsert. It’s a bit of a faff and you can get wipes that you can use to avoid
having to go in and out the loo if you want them. Overall, cups are great if
they work for you. I know some people who love them and some who hate them
so it’s really down to personal preference.
Working on the same principle
of things going inside you to capture your period, you can now get reusable
tampon applications and biodegradable tampons. Obviously they aren’t as eco as
cups and some of the other options as the still take a very long time to
decompose and they aren’t as friendly on your purse as you still have to buy
tampons as you need them BUT they are better than conventional tampons and the
plastic single use applicators . I haven’t used either of these as I use my cup
so if you’ve used then then let me know how you find them!
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Photo from WUKA website - definitely NOT me! |
Next up we have probably my
favourite of them all and a pretty recent discover for me... period pants!
Period pants are basically a pair of knickers that have a reusable pad built
into them. There are a few different brands available but there are two in particular
that I have been loving. Modibodi and WUKA are the brands you want to check out
if you fancy making the swap to period pants as I have tried them both and they
are both brilliant. WUKA trumps it between the two of them though as I find
their sizing better and the pants slightly more comfortable. The thing I love
about period pants is how comfortable and convenient they are. You don't have
to worry about shoving anything up your hoo haa which is great during the heavy
periods that happen sometimes, and you don't have to worry about emptying them
when out. They have a super long absorbent bit along the centre which means
they don't leak, and they absorb super quick too. The only con that I've found
is that you do need to buy about 3 or 4 pairs as I found that I was needing to
wash the 2 pairs that I had quite a lot which can be a pain especially if
you've caught up with all your washing. Overall though, I am loving period
pants!
The final product I want to
mention is reusable pads. I haven't actually tried these yet, but I am hoping
to soon. Reusable pads are exactly what they say on the tin. They are menstrual
pads that you can wash and reuse. There are loads of these on the market at the
moment, but my favourite brand has to be Wear 'em Out by the lovely Lauren! I
have been following Lauren on Instagram for a while now and the amount of work
that she has out into making these pads perfect is insane! She has literally
thought about everything from a pattern that isn't garish or in your face to a
little double-sided bag that you can keep your clean pads in and pop your used
pads into when you’re out and about. Her pads are hopefully being launched in February
and I, for one, will be grabbing myself some to try that out and I am so excited!
If you want updates of when they are available to order just head to the Wear 'em Out page here.
So, there you have it. So many
options to help you have an eco-period. There really is something for everyone
and I would strongly suggest giving something a go from this list as we don't
need a handful of people doing this perfectly, we need millions of people just
doing whatever they can!
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