GETTING PERSONAL. MY F WRAP PRODUCT REVIEW.

So just a few disclaimers before I start:
1- I am going to get way personal here, so if you aren't ready to hear about my period please stop reading NOW!
2- I was given the 2 products to test but was asked for an honest review. I have not been payed to be nice, all the opinions are truthful.

The F WRAP is a local brand of reusable cloth pads made by Karen Stoyles, a holistic nutritionist and owner of Nature Prenatal. Last year she was one of the sponsors of the Great Cloth Diaper Change and I interviewed her, make sure you check out the interview to learn more about the F WRAP.
F WRAP stands for:
Forever
Washable
Reusable
Absorbent
Pad

I had first tried her pads a few years ago when they first started but wasn't completely sold on them. They were good as a back up when I wanted a break from disposable pads. See, my periods are really heavy and sometimes last a long time and sometimes are more than once a month, so regular pads can get hot, sweaty and cause chaffing. That is when I'd usually pull out the cloth but I did find that they would bunch and that isn't the most comfortable thing. I had also tried a couple other brands of cloth pads but never found them all that comfortable. One brand I tried was always bunched up. Always! I don't know how much they can hold because the pad was never where it should be. Another brand was just so thick it really felt like I was wearing a diaper! 

Fast forward to now... My period is still really heavy and because of that, I have been trying to find a cup but have yet to find one I LOVE. I never seem to get it in just the right spot, I need to empty it too often and it ends up looking like a murder scene! I have been back to using "super plus" tampons and "extra heavy overnight" pads at the same time on my heaviest day, so when I agreed to test out cloth pads, I was a little nervous! 

One day 1 my usual routine is a "super" tampon with a smaller pad. This time I used my "super" tampon with the "light, short non-organic pad". I honestly couldn't feel it most of the time. It was just there as back up but I never know when the really heavy flow will start, so I need to have it. I went about my day and never did it feel uncomfortable. It never got sweaty and never bunched and got out of place. It will definitely become my go to on day one instead of a disposable. 

Day 2, my own personal hell. When I say it's heavy I am not joking. I can go through a tampon and pad in an hour! Unless I have to, I avoid doing anything that day. I decided that would be a good time to try the "super absorbent, super sized organic pad".  I even went a step further and wore it without a tampon *gasp*. I don't really think it was a fair test but was surprised by how comfortable it was. I also expected it to feel "wet" and really bulky but it didn't! I wore it for 2 full hours before I had to change it. Considering I can go through a "super plus" tampon and an overnight pad in 1-2 hours, I would say that is pretty amazing. I may have been able to wear it longer but it was no longer comfortable. 

Day 3 they went through the wash. I had rinsed them and then I washed them with my normal laundry. Because I am lazy and only hang things in the summer, I through them in the dryer with everything else. The instructions say to let them dry naturally, so you should probably not listen to me on that part. 

Day 4 is when I have what most people would consider a "normal" period. I can wear a regular-sized tampon for about 6 hours. I used the larger pad and wore it for a big chunk of the day, probably about 6 hours and it was comfortable all day. When I use normal pads during that day I usually suffer from uncomfortable chaffing. The F WRAP pads didn't cause that at all! In the end, I could feel the wetness but it wasn't that uncomfortable "diaper" feeling. 

Day 5 is when it really starts to stop. I wore the smaller pad and twice went to the bathroom because I forgot I had it on and actually thought I forgot to wear a pad!! Seriously, it wasn't noticeable at all. 

 Final thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised. I honestly thought these would end up as more "sometimes backup" pads but I can say they will definitely be part of my regular monthly routine. Will I change to all cloth? No, likely not now. There is obviously a cost that comes along with these, so building a "stash" will take a while. They are shockingly comfortable. I really didn't think I'd be able to say that. When things aren't very heavy it does feel like you are just wearing your underwear instead of a sweaty, hot, plastic-y pad. 

Have you tried cloth pads? What have you thought of them?  

Originally posted April 2nd, 2018