EN | £ Becky’s Boudoir review our reusable sanitary pads
The Month I Ditched the Disposables (and tried reusable sanitary pads)
The lovely Becky, writer of ‘Becky’s Boudoir, Motherhood & Me’ went reusable for a month, and here’s how she got on.
She’d used TotsBots nappies for her little boy, and from there discovered Bloom & Nora. Having never heard of reusable sanitary pads before then, Becky was curious:
“I kinda liked the idea of not having to waste anymore and I definitely warmed to the idea of saving some cash in the process. But this was surely a lifestyle that was new to me; one I admittedly felt a little bit grossed out by.’’
It’s quite common at first for people to raise a bit of an eyebrow at the thought of washing sanitary pads but like Becky, the idea of less waste going to landfill and saving some money at the same spurs people on to give reusable sanitary pads a go. In reality the only thing to be grossed out by is the thought of all those chemicals stuffed into disposables.
Becky preferred the look of a typical sanitary pad so opted for our stay-dry bright white Noras. She found them comfortable, really absorbent and loved that they stayed put once on.
‘’ I found using my Nora pads really simple, not unlike using my usual disposable pads. The only difference this time, Nora’s poppers meant they secured much better in my knickers – the poppered wings connect together keeping the pad in place – which I found a little boost of confidence. I changed the Nora pads just as often as I do with disposable. Even the smallest pad was substantial enough to hold a medium blood flow, although the longer maxi pads gave the most security.’’
As for washing and caring for your reusable sanitary pads, it’s simple, a quick rinse under the cold water tap, pop your pad in a waterproof storage bag until it’s time to wash, then into the machine it goes. Becky was really happy with using them at home, but felt a bit reticent about the idea of using them on the go. Again this is quite common when first making the switch but there’s no need to fret, and no need to rinse in a public bathroom (!) just pop your pad in the Bloom & Nora zipped waterproof bag and rinse when you get home.
Final verdict, although she admits to initially being a little grossed out at the idea we are happy to report we have another convert! ‘’Overall, I found using washable sanitary wear an easy concept to switch to. The Nora reusable sanitary pads were really easy to use – the poppered wings were the best as they were much better (more reliable and less fiddly) than sticky backed pads. And they felt much kinder to my skin compared to the chemical impregnated throw away counterparts.’’
Great work giving them a go Becky, every little really does help! You don’t have to go all or nothing, even starting off using reusable sanitary pads at home, going part-time or using them over-night will reduce your contribution to landfill, so go on, give them a go yourself.
For Becky’s full review, check out her blog here, and why not give Bloom & Nora a go for a month yourself, this month we’re giving 15% off reusable sanitary pads and accessories.