I have been looking for an alternative to the usual pads & tampons for a few reasons. My interest in “period pants” was piqued when I read this review by The Lingerie Princess so when WUKA reached out to me and offered to send me a couple of pairs to try out I was fully on board.
A little about why I was looking for an alternative
I was diagnosed with PCOS at age 20. I had never started my periods, having only 2 bleeds up until starting the pill at 17. When off the pill the bleeds disappeared again and I began to have, at most, 2-3 periods a year. After my first two children I had a fairly regular cycle for around 12 months then they would vanish again. After my third baby in 2016 things changed… I had very erratic and heavy bleeding and although this did settle after several months, it didn’t last and for the last 7-8 months my periods have been hell.
Typically I have heavy bleeding for 14 days then a week break, spotting/light flow for a few days, week break then back to the 14 days of bleeding. Using around 6 or 7 packets of night pads and a box of tampons each time. I found them so uncomfortable to use not to mention how environmentally unsound all of this waste was plus the prolonged use of pads and tampons was giving me thrush! I love being a woman but it’s bloody hard work at times.
How did I find the period pants
WUKA offer size 4-20. I went for a size 20 as I would usually wear a 20-22 brief but I would have preferred some more larger size options & I hope they expand into plus sizes soon. The pants sat on my C-Section scar which I absolutely hate as it makes me feel all funny and I like my knickers to be full on belly warmers however if you have a flatter belly or one that hasn’t had a few babies removed from it this may not be an issue for you. Despite being low rise on me they ae fairly comfortable, there’s no digging in on my generous hips, the band doesn’t roll and there is a good bum coverage.
The “heavy” pants have 4 layers of fabric through the gusset and round to the bum (side note; the bit of padding on the bum gave me a fab silhouette and several people commented ha!) The inner & outer layers are a soft, breathable fabric with the middle layers being super absorbent with antibacterial properties and hold at least 4 tampons worth of blood.
Leaks, smells and other problems…
My concerns about using period pants were 1/ leaks 2/ smell 3/ feeling “wet” however I was so surprised to find that none of these things were an issue. The smell was non-existent and I normally hate that horrid perfumey smell you get with pads so it was refreshing to not have that! even on my super heavy days I didn’t leak at all. I wore the pants for a good 8 hours and never felt uncomfortable, the pants felt dry and secure all day.
Washing was easy. rinse through, chuck in the machine with my blacks and wash at 40 degrees. Drying was more of an issue. The pants can’t be tumbled but I found they took 2 full days to dry properly and only having 2 pairs this meant I still needed to use pads in between so I think realistically I would need 4 or 5 pairs on rotation. Even with using pads in between the amount of waste was dramatically reduced during my period which made me feel like a little eco conscious warrior.
WUKA stands for “Wake up and kick ass” and genuinely you really could rock the heck out of your day in them, unlike me who prefers a more “wake up and drink tea under a blanket” approach to my period. I am super impressed and fully converted. If I could get a high waist and/or size 22 option then I would buy five pairs tomorrow!
You can buy WUKA here and if you do let me know how you find them.
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