Menstrual cups have been in the market for a few years now and yet, anecdotally, I know very few people who use them. I understand – I, too, used to be afraid of them. Then I had two former colleagues give me the no-questions-barred explanation on why they are the best thing ever and I tried one, and I have never looked back. I would like to free you from the tyranny of monthly tampon buying, and we all need to be having more period-related conversations, so consider this my own tribute to the menstrual cup.
The major thing that stopped me from using a menstrual cup…
Was the rule that you had to boil them between each use. I have no idea if this is an official rule but I kept hearing about it and it was a deal breaker for me. As someone who has flatted for the last decade of her life, at no point did I think it would be appropriate to take a Communal Flat Pot and cook my menstrual cup al dente. “Mmm, what are you cooking?” would ask my (male) flatmate, inevitably, to which I could only respond, “The silicon cup that holds my fresh menstrual blood.” Take THAT to the Citizens Advice Bureau, why don’t you? But then one of these life-giving colleagues told me that she put hers in/took hers out in the shower every morning and night and hand washed it each time. I have done this for years now and it works perfectly.
The major benefit that comes from using them…
On the Carrie factor of 1-10, I would describe my flow as heavy to the point of a massacre and yet a menstrual cup is MUCH more efficient to me than a tampon. Real talk: I don’t use it on day one because I am always too emotionally fragile but I use it for every other day of my period and it works perfectly, doing the old shower empty/wash every morning and every night. This means I am spared having to change my tampon every couple of hours and it also means that mentally, I only have to think about my period twice a day. This is a GIFT.
When the next lockdown comes, you’re covered!
Every time we went into a lockdown, the sanitary product aisle immediately was pillaged and the only tampons left were the ultra-light, which, honestly, come the f—k on. When you own a menstrual cup, you know that you are immediately equipped – no disaster can touch you!
How gross is it?
Look, I can’t lie to you – you do have to get up close and personal with your menstrual cup (and vagina) in order to remove it/put it in. But it’s no more graphic than a tampon and way less hardcore than coming face to face with your own sanitary pad.
Can you have a menstrual cup disaster?
MATE, can you what. I had a day where no matter what I did, I could not get it in the right place and it happened to be the night of an awards event (not glam, I assure you). All I could do was thank my lucky stars that I had chosen to wear a black dress. HOWEVER – as someone who has had many, many tampon disasters over the years, a moon cup is no more fraught to use. You know the chilling fear you get when you know you need to change your tampon but for whatever reason, you’re about half an hour away from being able to do so? That fear no longer exists.
Can you sleep with it in?
100% yes. Every period, I have the fear that it won’t work and that I will wake up looking like I’ve been shot and it hasn’t happened yet.
Can you exercise with it in?
You sure can!
Can you have sex with it in?
I would say no: the stick/pull thing down the bottom would get it in the way.
Can you poo with it in?
You bet!
Can you say the sentence ‘oh, I actually use a menstrual cup’ when a friend asks you if you have a spare tampon they can use, without looking smug?
Nope!
Does it make you feel more like a witch, in that you are a collecting a cup of your own blood and then releasing it to the wild?
YES.
Still period equipment curious? Check out our in-depth review of period underwear
