So most of the people who read this blog are women, but I do know there are men who read this blog. Men, this post is not for you. This is strictly girl talk, about girly stuff, you know, periods, blood, women parts, etc… so you can just pass on by now.
Kay?
And now that I’ve got everyone’s attention, ladies (hey men, why are you still reading this?), lets talk about periods.
Bleeding.
Cramps.
Skin irritation.
Needing to keep well stocked in feminine hygiene products.
Trying to figure out with your used feminine products when using the bathroom at someone’s house and they have no garbage can.
Carrying your purse to the bathroom with you or keeping your feminine products rolled up inside your shirt so no one can see that you’re bringing pads or tampons to the bathroom with you.
Those are the things that probably come to mind when thinking about periods. Periods aren’t fun, they’re annoying, despite the fact that they mean that your body is working properly.
But imagine if you could make your period be just the shedding of the uterine lining, with no other of the annoying aspects, no cramping, no needing to buy pads or tampons regularly, figure out a way to unobtrusively bring them with you to the bathroom and then to dispose of them afterward.
It’s possible.
Seriously.
I started using cloth pads a few years ago, after Ike was born and my skin was getting irritated by the prolonged use of disposable pads.
Not only did the switch to cloth pads mean that I had less skin irritation, the surprising new benefit was that I had much less painful periods than I did before. The chemicals in both pads and tampons somehow cause more painful (and generally heavier) periods. Not just theory- it worked 100% for me. On the few occasions that I didn’t have cloth pads with me and I used disposable pads, I had such bad cramping that I was writing in pain, and as soon as I switched to cloth, the pain instantly stopped.
I refuse to put anything chemically based near my private parts, not pads, not tampons, no sirree. Not worth the discomfort.
So I made my own homemade cloth pads, and all was well.
And then someone recommended that I try out a menstrual cup, a green tampon alternative.
Quite frankly, I saw no point. I had a stash of pads, they worked just fine for me, so why spend more money on a product that I may or may not like.
But then I heard about the Mooncup, a cheaper alternative to the Diva Cup and Keeper, costing only 27 dollars. I bit the bullet and ordered it through Iherb.com. There were 2 sizes, A and B, one for those over thirty or who’ve had a vaginal birth, and one for those under thirty or those who haven’t had a vaginal birth. I bought size B, stupidly thinking that it was the larger size, meant for someone post childbirth.
Nope.
Size A is what I needed.
And my size B one that arrived in the mail just wouldn’t fit.
Ugh.
So I sterilized that and sold it to a friend.
And then ordered size A.
Size A fortunately fit me much better, and now I am in love.
The Mooncup basically is a silicon cup that goes beneath the cervix and catches the menstrual flow instead of absorbing it. When it gets full, you dump it out into the toilet, rinse (or wipe) it out, and put it back in. That’s it!
No need to make sure the cloth pads are all washed and dried, or that you haven’t used up your disposable pads. No need to sneak your pads or tampons into the bathroom under your shirt or in your pocketbook, nor do you need to find a trash can after using the bathroom if there isn’t one there (seriously people, why are there some bathrooms with no garbage cans???) nor do you need to hide the used feminine products beneath toilet paper or other trash if its an open can.
Nope.
With the Mooncup, you just reuse the same one over and over again, for years and years, so no embarrassing garbage anymore.
To be honest, I never liked tampons because I always, somehow, had a leak with them. The only time I had a leak with the Mooncup is when I went too long without emptying it when I was first learning how to use it, and it got overfull.
How do you use the Mooncup?
You just fold it in half, insert it up your private parts as far as it can go, and let go. It will open up on its own. I’ve found that I prefer to use 2 fingers, one on either side of it, to push it up even further after inserting it.
To take it out, just grab the bottom of it and pull out. If you can’t reach it, bear down a little bit, and then you can.
The Mooncup has a long stem at the bottom that is supposedly to make it easier to take out, but I find it is too long. I just cut the whole stem off.
Not only that, I also flip my Mooncup inside out (yes, you’re allowed to do that) to give me a better fit.
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| Mooncup inside out. |
When the Mooncup is full and it’s time to empty it out, you’ll start feeling like the Mooncup is “falling out”. If properly inserted, you shouldn’t feel the Mooncup at all. Once you start feeling it again, it usually is a sign that the weight of its contents have pushed it down, and it needs to be emptied.
If you’re in a public restroom and need to empty it, try to find a handicapped stall containing a sink, or just wipe out with some toilet paper and then reinsert.
There is no risk of toxic shock syndrome with the Mooncup, so you can wear it for hours and hours with no concern as to safety. There’s absolutely no problem wearing the Mooncup overnight, or even to insert it when you are expecting your period, and wearing it for a few days straight.
At the end of your period, boil it for 5 minutes to sterilize it, and then put it away until next period.
My favorite part about the Mooncup is that its easy to forget that you have your period when wearing it, since you can’t feel anything. I also love that I don’t have to keep up on laundry in order to have what to use.
And of course, I love that there is no cramping, but I also get that with cloth pads.
My biggest criticisms about the Mooncup:
It comes with this fabric carrying bag. The bags are really ugly and faded (the one that came with my size B one is even uglier) and look stained. If I hadn’t seen them come new in the box, I would have assumed the bag was used. Seriously, prettier packaging, please!
The sizing makes no sense to me. I think its obvious that A is smaller, and B is bigger, but its the other way around.
And the stem is too long.
So, should you get the Mooncup? Is it worth the money?
Absolutely. Every cent. Especially since its only a one time expense.
My only regret is that it took me this long until I tried it out.
P.S. No, I didn’t get paid to review this, nor did I get a free Mooncup. I wish. I am just posting this as a service because I think y’all should know about it because I love it so much.
What type of feminine products do you use generally? How do you feel about them? Love em? Hate em? Would you consider changing?
If you currently use cloth pads, would you switch over to the Mooncup? Why or why not?
If you use the Mooncup or some other menstrual cup, what do you think of it? Worth the money or no?
