Can you prevent leaks on your period?

Yes! You can prevent leaks on your period by - 

1. Switching to extra absorbent washable bamboo pads
2. Wearing non slip cloth pads with wings, especially at night
3. Wearing absorbent heavy flow period underwear
4. Wearing period pants with absorbency from front to back waistband 

Leaks are the bane of every menstruating person. From hitting puberty and the fear of leaking during school and not being allowed to the toilet, the horror of the white jean and surprise appearance of your monthly period, perimenopausal flow and wondering if ANYTHING can hold back the flood!

Follow our handy step by step guide to staying free of leaks and have confidence in reusable, sustainable, washable period pants and pads!

1. Switch to extra absorbent washable bamboo pads

The absorbing capabilities of bamboo make it the ideal fabric for reusable period pads. Our washable bamboo pads manage to soak up far more than disposable towels or tampons whilst staying slim. It manages to avoid chemicals, super absorbent polymers and bleaches whilst being super thirsty even when thin. The antibacterial properties of bamboo help to keep you fresh and cool. We can't quantify it (YET) with scientific data but customers report a reduction in period pain, the amount of bloodloss and period length when switching to reusable products - this leads to less leaks and less disruption to your daily routine. Tampons unfortunately absorb more than blood, they absorb all of the natural lubrication in the vagina which can lead to changes in the bodies pH causing an increased chance of infections like toxic shock syndrome. Experts recommend tampons are not used overnight. 

2. Wear non slip cloth pads with wings, especially at night

As you move around during the day or fidget about when you are sleeping at night our non slip winged organic pads will keep you leak free and stay in place, aiding restful sleep. No glue to give you an uncomfortable bikini wax! They are made with organic cotton and are cooling. They feel the same texture as your normal underwear, the black fabric makes them less obvious and are great for those who don't want to see too much blood, or for the gym or for teens and tweens leotard for gymnastics or ballet!

3. Wear absorbent heavy flow period underwear

Flooding, clots, heavy periods, postpartum bleeding, endometriosis, bladder weakness - they handle anything and everything! As well as wanting to feel confident and safe when you have your period, comfort is a massive factor. Our pants have varying levels of absorbency to give you support on light flow and heavy flow days. In over a dozen styles, with three different 'feels' - satin, jersey and bamboo, in low rise and high waisted pairs, we are sure we have every customer covered.

For days where you would change tampons or disposable pads every few hours or avoid being away from a toilet or leaving the house for fear of leaking our Feeling Fearless heavy absorbency pants will last you perhaps double the time -  I can wear them up to 8-12 hours even with perimenopausal flooding, perfect for overnight. I would change at this point more for freshenss and hygiene.

For light periods or moderate flow, one pair may last you all day. We have plus sizes in production too!

4. Wear reusable pants with absorbency from front to back waistband 

Now available in supermarkets and on the High street, period pants are rising in popularity so quickly and are now part of the mainstream. When making a choice of which brand to try, making sure that the waterproof layers AND absorbency in your menstrual underwear goes from the waistband at the front through to the back waistband gives you the most chance of staying leak free.

Cheeky Pants have a cooling layer of cotton next to your skin, then at least 2 absorbent layers (even more in our heavier flow pants) - all vegan approved - no wool, then a waterproof TPU layer to stop leaks. This goes all the way through meaning if you were to sleep or lie down on the sofa you know you are covered and won't leak over the top of the gusset.

Wondering how to store your used underwear and pads?

We have lots of advice on storage and how to wash your period pants and pads, you can soak them in our mucky box or mini strucket with a drop of tea tree oil, some stain remover or a scoop of your normal washing powder until you are ready for a load to go on, or once rinsed they can be dry pailed in our mucky box or in wetbags! Be sure to stick to a cold wash up to 30 degrees and avoid fabric softener!

We hope you've enjoyed our Cheeky guide on preventing leaks on your period and that if you haven't tried a pair yet, you feel more confident to. We are so sure that you will love our period pants and pads that we have created a 90 day trial scheme for them, so if they don't work for you, we'll refund you in full.

If you enjoyed this, we think you would like this blog on Can I swim on my period? Absolutely with our leak & period proof swimwear! or have a browse of all our blogs!

As always, if you're unsure of what you need to make the switch, please do drop the team a line or use the online chat function. The team all use the products themselves and just LOVE to chat pee poo and periods, all day long, nothing is TMI and we all love to overshare based on our own experiences...

About the Author:  Kirstin Scriven is part of the Customer Experience team at Cheeky Wipes, which since 2008 has been selling the original reusable wipes kit. She is mum to 3 and loves the forest, the sea and the hills!

Along with the rest of our crack team, she spends most days talking about poo, pee and periods and loves a chance to overshare. The business was recognised with a Queens Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development in 2021, celebrating their hard work over the last 13 years.