The Best Period Pants And Swimwear, Tried And Tested

We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

It’s no secret sex education in schools was completely inadequate. While we have to give the UK government props for making efforts to change that in recent years, anyone over the age of 25 will know that the information we were taught about our bodies – especially for those with vulvas – barely scratched the surface of everything you need to know when entering adult life.

Inevitably, this meant we were taught the bare necessities when it came to periods – that is, the science behind the menstrual cycle and that the only options for controlling your flow are pads and tampons.

Obviously, period education is still not good enough, because one in seven (14%) girls in the UK didn’t know what to do when they start their periods, and over a quarter (26%) still don’t to this day.

The narrative dictating that periods should be private, and any material that comes into contact with your menstrual blood needs to be disposed of as if it’s toxic waste is incredibly harmful and entrenches shame in us from a young age.

It also goes without saying that presenting pads and tampons as the only option for period care is extremely costly, so much so that 11% of women in the UK struggled to afford period products in 2025, and 36% wear pads and tampons for longer than they should.

Well, we have news for you: the world has moved on from disposable period wear. Not only do we now have a much more comprehensive understanding of the plethora of ways people experience periods, but with that has come a whole new range of products that don’t involve having to run to Boots once a month.

Enter: period pants. Or, pants and swimwear created from super absorbent fabric.

If you’ve never used them before, period pants might sound a little intimidating. And understandably so, they go against everything we’ve been told about how you should treat periods.

Plus, they can seem like a big investment to splash out on all at once. It’s true that they’re more expensive than ‘regular’ period care up front, but we’d argue that they’re much more cost-effective over time because they can be reworn over and over.

They also have a ton of other benefits, including being:

• Time-effective: You can wear the same pair of undies all day, so you don’t have to keep nipping to the loo to check for leaks every four to six hours.
• Body-safe: Period pants remove the risk of wearing a pad or tampon for longer than is recommended.
• Comfortable: There’s nothing worse than feeling like your tampon is slipping out, there’s a string showing, or your pad is moving out of place. Period pants come in a range of colours, shapes, and sizes, so you can find a pair that you’ll forget you’re wearing and that goes with your outfit.
• Easy to wash: All you have to do is chuck them in the washing machine.
• Planet-friendly: Because you’re not disposing of plastic pads, period pants are much better for the planet.
• Customisable: Just like regular pads and tampons, period pants come in a range of absorbencies, so there’s always an option that matches your flow.

Having tested a wide selection of period pants, I can safely say there are good and bad ones. For some reason, the sizing is often extremely off – which I find with underwear in general, but especially period pants.

I’m between a UK size 10 and size 12, and many a time I’ve ended up having to go up to a size 14 in period pants – and it’s not (just) because I’m crazy bloated during my period. There are a few brands that claim to make ‘one size fits all’ pants, which I’m wary of, although there are a few that manage to do it successfully.

Just as when you’re buying any kind of underwear, you’ll want to look out for a few key things when shopping for period pants, such as:

• Sizing: As mentioned, I find period pants can come up small. Size up to be on the safe side.
• ‘Nude’: Period pants are still relatively new to the market and I’m yet to find a brand that has a diverse range of ‘skin’ tones. Challenging any period pant brand founders reading this to do better!
• No silver: In 2023, Which? found that some brands used silver to prevent odours in their period pants. However, the compound has been found to disturb the vaginal microbiome, so look out for brands that don’t include silver (I’ve only included these in my round-up below).

As a staunch tampon and pad hater, I can’t stand having to remember to put period care in every bag I leave the house with. Not to mention having to think about being near a toilet at every second of the day, whether you’re at a festival, on a night out, at work, or on the beach.

While I’ve tested out a whole range of period care, including cups, disks, and sponges, period pants are (in my opinion) the best, not least because they’re as close as I can get to free-bleeding without the risk of staining all my clothes.

Over the last year I’ve been testing all kinds of period pants and swimwear in a range of styles from lots of different brands, to find the best ones.

Here’s a glimpse into what’s in my current period pant rotation.

If you’re looking for period pants that looks nice (in case you feel like showing your underwear to anyone while you’re on the menses), Modibodi is the brand for you. It even has a ‘sensual’ category!

My overall favourite pair of undies, though, is the Boux Avenue option – they’re comfortable, don’t dig in, and they hold a surprising amount of blood.

This sounds more horrific than it actually is, trust me. Once you’re done wearing your pants, this is how to wash them:

1. Give them a rinse with cold water so they don’t smell. You can do this in the sink, shower, or bath. Your call!
2. When you’re ready to wash them, pop them in the washing machine on a delicate wash, or under 30 degrees.
3. Lay them out flat to air dry, and adjust the internal gusset (if there is one) once you’re ready to put them away.