Let’s face it, all over the news at the moment is about reducing waste and using less single use products which with period products isn’t easy so I thought I’d share the plastic free period products I’ve been using for the last year.
I have quite a few like minded friends who are looking for more eco friendly options and share with me their friends and Cheeky Wipes came recommended to me be a friend who has kids and went down the cloth bum route. She’d highly recommended the baby wipes and period products so I placed and order which also included a cotton pad alternative too. You can see my first post on the products I switched up around my home here.
I ordered a selection of the cloth sanitary pads to see what size and material I liked to switch to a plastic free period. I order the minky bamboo panty liners and day pads and the charcoal panty liners as well as the cotton panty liner. At the time I ordered there was a special offer if you spent a certain amount so I also ordered the washable cloth bamboo minky baby wipes, make up removal pads and a wet bag (not pictured)
When I shared a post on instagram on how I switched to a plastic free period alternatives I had a lot of interest in them from quite a few people so I thought I’d share what ones I liked and how I’ve got on with them so I thought I’d share the plastic free period products found worked best. Personally I didn’t like the cotton ones I found them too big. I’ve also discovered I personally prefer the panty liner size, unless I’m having a really heavy period I use the panty liner size and just change them more. I find with using the minky ones the panty liner size is perfect for me for about 4-8 hours depending on my period. I keep a them in the ‘wet bag’ as it has two pockets so I can keep clean and dirty ones separate but what I love about the design is they fold over themselve so the bit that is face up is always covered whether clean or dirty. (trying to make that make sense without being crude!) Since I got these a year ago I’ve had mainly plastic free eco periods. Occasionally if I’m doing sports that involve a lot of movement or swimming I do still use a tampon but I’m moving towards a plastic free period.
So onto the honest part…. how do they wash up. In full disclose the charcoal one above has been used for about 9 months, as you can see it has no staining and still looks pretty new. The bamboo one’s pictured are new as lets be honest it’s white, it’s not a miracle my bamboo one’s have some light staining and I’m not about to share that on the internet. The washing them…. so you can get boxes where you soak the used ones in cold water (never hot it sets the stain!) and then put them in the washing machine if you don’t want to really touch them. For me I choose to grab the days reusable cloth pads and rinse them in the sink with a bit of soap. They wash up so well with just this and then I put them in my next load of washing. I’ve had no issues with blood in my machine. They wash up so soft and feel comfortable against the skin (aunt flo is actually in town so I’m using them at the moment, if you’ve not used pads for a while you will notice them in your underware but almost a year in and I really don’t any more). Top tip for summer if you have access to a garden if you dry them on the line the sun is great for bleaching stains, that was a tip from my cloth bum mum friends!
In all honestly since switching up to a plastic free eco period I really wouldn’t go back, I find them so comfy and they wash really well, plus nothing goes to landfill. A year in and they are still in perfect condition so I imagine they last a while. These are a great alternative for people that want the plastic free eco period that don’t like/fancy the idea of a moon cup. As I’m on the implant I don’t have super heavy periods but my friends with children have highly recommended the maternity pads for when my time comes!
The reusable make up pads have impressed me so much, I don’t know how they do it but mascara doesn’t stain these bad boys. I use them for toner, miceller water and to remove a cleansing oil and mascara. The pads end up either skin toned or covered in mascara and a quick rinse with soap in the sink and then thrown in the next load and they come up so clean! I expected by now they would be stained and a bit mucky like cleansing clothes but you can see as above they’re not, a few are grey from accidentally going in grey loads! I’ve ditched the cotton wool pads now and not only that so has my mum and brother who have both order sets since I’ve raved about these!
Lastly the baby wipes, oh my the minky wipes are so soft and if you tumble dry them they go soooo fluffy. We use them around the house as you would a baby wipe, my OH uses them to clean his hands before dealing with contact lenses. My main use for them is my cycle commute to work. I ride to work in the summer and unfortunately my work doesn’t have a shower so I used to use baby wipes, these have replaced those not only for me but for the two other collegues who cycle to work as I smelt so good ha! I soak them in the esstential oil which is a mix of lemon tea tree oil, it only takes a couple of drops in a bowl of water. I put them in a wetbag and they are good for the day, they leave me feeling cool and refreshed and feel much better than a tradition baby wipe. The lemon tea tree combination feels so clean and fresh! One colleague is a big cyclist and now takes them for her teenage daughters when they ride in competitions to keep them fresh and cool after.
I can’t rave about or recommend cheeky wipes enough as a brand and I love when friends try these I recommend and get on with them too. Now just to convince a few people to try and plastic free eco period. I think people are most grossed out by this change but it’s really not bad!
Would you try cloth sanitary pads or an alternative to baby wipes/cotton pads? If anyone fancies placing an order if you go through here you can get 15% off a £40 order, this does give me a discount on my next order. Each month they aslo have a great deal so it sometimes works better to wait for that!
Love M
xxx