Period without the drama: Twelve reasons to use a menstrual cup

At the risk of entirely alienating the 1% of my readership that is male (sorry, guys) today I’m talking periods, voluntarily. Specifically the Mooncup menstrual cup.

If this isn’t something you want to read about, I’d probably click away now to be honest.

But if on the other hand you’re a woman who has periods but has never used a menstrual cup, I urge you to read on!

I won’t lie, I think periods really really suck.

Possibly my favourite part of pregnancy was not having to put up with periods every month. There is absolutely nothing glamorous about night sweats and bloating and people that think we need to celebrate our monthly cycles and whatnot are crackers in my humble opinion.

It’s shit and if men had periods, they would have invented 100% safe and reliable ways to get around them by now. You certainly wouldn’t have to spend a fiver each month on managing your period, and be taxed heavily for the privilege.

But I’ll save that rant for another day.

I don’t know what came over me but a few months ago I decided to try out a Mooncup reusable menstrual cup after it was debated in a local mum’s forum.

I’d had a glass of wine and thought why the hell not, it’s only £20. Go for it.

For the uninitiated, Mooncups are a reusable silicone cup which you pop in, like you would a tampon really, and go about your business until it’s time to take it out, up to 8 hours later. There are two sizes depending on your age and whether you’ve had a natural birth.

I am not one for bold statements so I won’t claim that’s it’s changed my life, but I am mildly annoyed that I didn’t buy one sooner. I was an instant convert.

Why?

I’ll give you not one but twelve reasons why you should try a Mooncup!

1. You’re saving the planet

OK that might be a little dramatic but you’re doing your bit to help.

Disposable sanitary ware is terrible for the environment, with some sanitary pads containing up to four plastic bags worth of plastic which is staggering and, quite frankly, scary. If you’re concerned about how much waste your period causes, or even if you’ve never thought about it before now, do consider switching.

2. You’re saving yourself money

A Mooncup costs £20 which, depending on how long your period is, how heavy your flow and what you use, is covered within a matter of months. One Mooncup can last you for years.

I can easily spend a fiver a month, so in a year I will have saved myself at least £40 and £100 by the end of year two. By the time I reach the menopause I shall be able take myself on a cruise.

3. You can travel light

You don’t need to take a big handbag crammed full of sanitary towels and tampons with you when you go out.

4. There’s no chafing

I have found a menstrual cup to be so much more comfortable than any kind of disposable sanitary ware; a huge tick in the pro column. Who wants to be uncomfortable as well as miserable and full of irrational rage?

5. No need for an emergency dash to the shops

I can’t be the only person who makes mental shopping lists and then completely forgets to buy things until it’s too late, and for some reason despite being 34 years old and having almost 20 years of practise, somehow I still hate buying sanitary products.

Even though they serve hundreds of customers a day and could not give less of a shit what you’re buying, it still feels awkward.

No judging me and my flow, Barbara. I’M BLEEDING, OK? And maybe just put that share size bag of Maltesers in there too while you’re at it?

With the Mooncup it doesn’t run out and it’s always in the house, so providing you don’t entirely forget and go on holiday for a fortnight, you’re covered.

6. Less bin emptying

That’s a pretty horrible job but not one you can really delegate to your other half in good conscience. There’s no smell, and you’ve nothing to take home in your handbag if you happen to be visiting someone and don’t want to leave your bloodied tampons or towels in their bins, which let’s face it, a lot of us don’t.

7. You don’t need big pants

All my pants are big pants anyway, but if you aren’t so inclined then you can get away with whatever you like.

Once you get the Mooncup in, it’s not going to leak like a tampon might because without getting too scientific it creates a vacuum.

You may think ‘there is no way this little cup can hold it all!’ but you’ll be surprised, I promise you, at how little blood there actually is compared to how much it feels like when you use towels and tampons, which is another reason I love it.

8. You are much less likely to get Toxic Shock Syndrome

If you’re expecting your period to start about now, but you don’t have a spot-on 28 day cycle and you’re not Mystic Meg then you can pop it in and go about your day, and if you don’t come on then no biggie, it’s not dangerous unlike a tampon which puts you at risk of TSS.

9. You can carry on with life as normal

Go swimming without worrying that the string of your tampon is going to dangle out of the bottom of your swimming costume. Tres glamorous.

You can pee with it in and you won’t pee on the string.

You don’t have to try and cover the deafening noise as you remove it in a public toilet.

Frequently I forget to log my period on my handy app, and then when I try and think back to when it started, or something significant that happened when I was on my period to date it, I can’t. It doesn’t feel significant any more; if a holiday or a night out fell over my period before I’d have been really pissed, but it wouldn’t bother me now.

10. It feels cleaner

I used to really hate periods; they left me feeling dirty and unclean (just in a physical sense) and the smell of blood made me feel sick.

There is none of this now; it’s just like any other day. It’s like cheating at periods.

11. It makes an interesting Object D’art

Leave it on the side for a surefire conversation starter!

But being serious for a second, it gives you something else to chat about on a mums’ night out than kids. Try it!

12. Can be used as a spider catcher

…OK so maybe I was reaching a bit there at the end, but the fact remains that if it is something you’ve not considered before that in my opinion, you really ought to give a try.

I’m not saying it is for everyone, and yes, you need to be prepared to get up close and personal with yourself and it’s a learning process.

You might feel at first like you’re going to suck out an ovary (thanks to Lisa from Pass the Prosecco Please for that image).

But it is worth persevering.

Personally though, I am converted. I think they’re bloody brilliant (hur, hur) and I’ve written this post in the hope that others just might be convinced to try them too!

You can find out more about the Mooncup on their website here and there is a great infographic here. You can buy them direct from their website or even via Amazon here.

Not sure what to go for? Tried a Mooncup and didn’t get on with it?

Perhaps it wasn’t the right cup for you.

There is a really useful quiz which can predict what your ideal menstrual cup is on this site Put A Cup In It. It’s not totally accurate, but it’s a great start.  Here is a comparison chart with all of the available menstrual cups on!

This review was written entirely independently and I bought and paid for my Mooncup.

The pictures were kindly supplied by Mooncup – you just know my flatlay skills aren’t up to that – and they’ve kindly offered one Mooncup as a prize to a lucky winner!

If you fancy trying out a Mooncup menstrual cup for yourself then enter here!

Win! A Mooncup reusable menstrual cup

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