When you are first starting out using cloth pads it can be very confusing with the many choices out there. How do you make the right choice for you? Unfortunately the answer is there is no right choice as cloth pads are like clothing, there is not a one size fits all. Some like a favourite "brand" of cloth pads and others like to have a large variety of pads from different sellers. There are a few steps you can take in helping you choose when you are first starting out:
- Read reviews; reading reviews that have been left on the sellers site is helpful. Reviews that are written on blogs can also be informative, but please bear in mind that the blogger has often received a free or heavily discounted product, not always - but more often than not.
- Consider your budget, it is not desirable to buy an instant stash of pads - as if you find they are not what you were hoping for you have wasted your money, even if you received a bulk order discount.
- Start slowly, buying one or two pads from sellers you are interested in before committing to a large order. Wear the pads for one or two cycles to see if the fit and feel is right for you before purchasing more.
- Measure the width of your underwear and look for pads that approximate this in closed width. Typical preferred widths are anywhere between 6.5cm to 8cm, or 2.5-3.0", most wider widths tend to be on longer, or heavy flow pads. If the seller does not list the closed width of the pad, ask them what their pads closed width is. The closed width is the area in black as shown:
