How to stop reusable period pads from slipping or moving about
The best way to stop cloth period pads from moving or slipping about is to wear them inside the right type, style or cut of knickers or underwear.
How to get cloth pads to stay in place
A snug fit with a large as possible gusset area is the best (think bikini, high waisted or midi style briefs). Bridget Jones is still a style icon two decades after the first film, and there is nothing wrong with full coverage in this day and age!
This blog comes from my own experience of trying various types of reusable cloth pads, inside various styles of knickers, and is written using terminology from Marks & Spencer’s available range, (usually multipacks), which should be pretty much universally understood by the average woman living in the UK.
What’s the secret?
If you've not found cloth pads secure enough before, this little nugget of knowledge can be an absolute game changer. Pads are held in place primarily by tension, so a bigger surface area will help to keep them secure.
To make larger winged pads work best, channel your inner Bridget Jones!
The bigger the better!
Snaps do their job to clip together the wings, but it’s having a decent amount of good elastic either side of your groin area that will pull the pad into shape both at the front and the back. That and full bum coverage means you can wear reusable pads with larger wings because the wings will wrap around the gusset completely and hold securely.
Styles to avoid
Anything that is cut to reveal parts of the bum cheek will generally have a shaped/smaller gusset, that is designed to fit closely to your most intimate curves; and in some cases right into the crack (forgive my frankness, but here it’s necessary, see image below for a visual explanation).
This includes the obvious thongs and brazilians, but also french cut and shorts, boy shorts or shorties. These styles don’t usually have a wide enough gusset area to provide any tension and therefore the pad will be held in place at the front alone, allowing it to move or slide.
Although I love them for reducing VPL, shorts & cheeky pants provide no tension so are not great for wearing with period pads.
High legs can work, however these do tend to have smaller gussets and you probably want to look for pads with smaller wings. Larger wings can be too cumbersome on these shapes.
Pads to suit all styles
My shop has a menu to allow you filter brands based on the above styles. Or message me any time if you would like a chat or a personalised recommendation.
There is only one pads brand that I would say suits nearly all styles of underwear, and that’s Wear ‘em out.
Wear ‘em out are the most adaptable because the double row of snaps does the job of holding the pad secure with tension, no matter the coverage of your knickers.
I do however include a caveat here, that it’s the lighter absorbency pads that this applies to. If you require a pad for the heaviest flow, then even Wear ‘em out’s mega or mega-mega flow pad isn’t suitable for wearing with cheeky shorts or a thong. Only the lightest of panty liners specifically shaped in a V for thongs will suit this cut but they are not designed to cope with a heavy flow.
So if you do have a heavy flow, your best bet is to stick with big girl or granny pants.
Life changing
If you’re still a bit on the fence, I’m here for you. And if you would like to see some testimonials of women who I have introduced pads to for the first time, read my quick guide.
Help guides
For more straight forward practical tips on how to switch to reusables without adding to your existing workload, have a read of my further articles/blogs:
