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the wuka wear heavy flow period pants* are a gifted item. all thoughts and opinions remain entirely my own.
#wakeupkickass – YES! wuka* is a new uk based company that produce eco-friendly period pants that can be worn, washed and re-worn in an effort to reduce waste. i’m by no means an expert at living a zero waste lifestyle but it is something i’m very conscious about and really want to do my bit where i can, so when i discovered this brand through one of my favourite lingerie blogs – bigcuplittlecup – i knew i had to try them.
i reached out to them last week when one of their instagram posts popped up on my feed – i was due on my period in a couple of days and i wanted to know if they would arrive in time for me to try them out if i placed an order. the lovely ruby, co-founder and ceo of wuka, offered to send a pair out for me to try.
they arrived with me just in time for the 3rd day of my period, which is usually my heaviest flow day and i couldn’t think of a better day to try them out on. i did play it safe and stayed at home most of the day but really, i didn’t need to worry! so you guys get a bit of an idea, although my period shows up like clockwork the flow is quite irregular. i don’t get on with tampons because i end up not bleeding by the time i need to change (anyone who’s pulled out a dry tampon understands the pain and discomfort) – or bleeding to the point where i’ve leaked everywhere and would need to change my tampon every 10 minutes. i’ve tried a mooncup but i wasn’t convinced it was the right thing for me, similarly to the tampon issue i found it would fill up too quickly at times. reusable sanitary towels are something i’ve considered in the past, but i never got round to buying any and generally just stuck to single use pads. so to me, period pants seem like a logical step into the world of reusable period wear.
so let’s get to the deets! as i said previously, these got their test drive on the heaviest day of my period. i usually go through 6 or 7 pads on this day, sometimes more, so yeah – that’s a fair amount of blood. their website suggests you can wear them for 8 hours on light days, 4-6 hours on a heavier day, or overnight based on customer feedback – but they do stress that ultimately, you know your flow best! i was fully expecting to wear them for 4-6 hours like it suggests for heavy days, but i didn’t even come close to needing to change and in the end i wore them for just shy of 12 hours.
it was a little strange at first, the padding extends quite far back (which is a good thing!) compared to a regular pad, and it felt a bit like a cushion for my butt. the outer layers of fabric are super soft cotton-like fabric that’s moisture wicking, while there’s an absorbent layer and a leakproof layer between the outer layers. i felt like they were quick at absorbing blood, i wasn’t really left with an awkward wet feeling and even when i clotted it wasn’t hugely uncomfortable for too long, again it absorbed pretty quickly.
the actual brief is fairly full coverage, and the waistband is soft and elasticated so it’s perfect if you bloat on your period. the side panels at the hips are slightly sheerer (due to the awful lighting in my flat i couldn’t quite capture it, but you can see it on the images on their website!), so it gives a really nice style to the brief overall. i would LOVE for them to bring out other styles (high waist, tanga, boy-short etc) as well as colours, but these are so similar to what i normally wear on my heavier days so they’re absolutely ideal in my opinion. sizing wise, i’m usually right in the middle of a UK size 8 and 10. i opted for the 8 and they were a perfect fit: secure and snug without being uncomfortable or digging in awkwardly!
to wash them, wuka suggest hand washing, or rinsing the blood out then throwing them in with the rest of your dark laundry at 40 degrees, or machine wash them at 40 degrees on their own. they also state to not tumble dry the pants, as it can affect the fabrics. i chose to rinse them by hand and then throw them in the washing machine – i just jumped straight into the shower when i was ready to take them off and rinsed them in there! they do take a while to dry due to the thickness of the fabric, so if it’s something you’re considering using as a total replacement to pads/tampons on your period then you may wish to consider purchasing their multipack of 5 pairs.
i would 100% recommend these as a waste-free alternative to standard menstural products!
would you give wuka wear* a go? i’d love to hear if you’ve tried them too, or anything similar!
xo, the lingerie princess
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