A Period Pant Hack For When You Are Out And About

Worried about changing your period pants when you are out and about – particularly in public toilets? Here’s a clever hack to make your life easier.

Period pants are a great sustainable and zero-waste option but they have one challenge. Changing them when you are out and about can be tricky – particularly if you are at work, school or other places where you need to use a public toilet.

I’ve been using period pants for well over six years now (here are my favourite non-toxic period pants), and thankfully I’ve been able to overcome that particular challenge. One of the most effective tricks I’ve found is so simple, but means I don’t have to resort to using disposable products when I’m not at home.

What is this hack? Wearing a reusable sanitary towel over my washable period pants when I’m out and about.

How & Why This Works

If you’ve not tried it before, this might sound like doubling up for no reason. However, I’ve found that changing my pants in a public toilet can be a challenge.

Lots of public toilets aren’t the friendliest for that. As such, it’s not always practical to switch them out on the go (particularly in some of the public toilets in Edinburgh – let’s just say Trainspotting wasn’t too far off the mark). And some outfits aren’t the quickest and easiest to take on and off in a confined space.

This is where the reusable sanitary towel really comes into play. Before I leave the house for an extended period of time, I pop a reusable pad over a fresh pair of period pants. This means the towel takes the brunt of my flow.

And then, when it feels like it’s time for a refresh, I take the pad off, pop it in my wet bag, and carry on with my day in clean, dry pants. There’s no awkward undressing in cramped toilet cubicles. And there’s no feeling damp and uncomfortable, and worrying about leaks until I get home.

If I’m going to be out for much longer, then I swap the reusable pad for a fresh pad. Then I can remove that later, and switch to just using pants.

Making Reusables Work For You

I’ve found this approach is really simple, and means I don’t have to resort to using single-use period products.

You might think that layering up overcomplicates things, but to me, this hack is all about making reusables work for you, not the other way around. I’ve found it makes my period less of a logistical faff when I’m not in the comfort of my own clean and relatively spacious bathroom. And it means I’m not taking ages in a public toilet when my kids are (patiently/impatiently) waiting for me outside.

From a practical perspective, towels take up very little space, they’re quick to swap, and they can be folded up neatly in a wet bag. And if you’re heading somewhere during your period where you might not have great access to loos – think festivals, long walks, or travelling – this approach becomes even more of a practical choice.

Have you ever tried this towel-over-pants trick? Let me know how you get on!