I Tried It: The Mooncup
Have you ever tried a menstrual cup? I hadn’t, until recently.
This goop article got me thinking about the implications of the cotton, chemicals and bleach in mainstream tampons. How many tampons do you think the average woman uses in a lifetime? Apparently it’s almost 11,000! That’s nearly 22 every menstrual cycle.
And what are the implications of all that non-organic cotton going into one of the most absorbent parts of your body? Makes you think, doesn’t it?
There are also the effects on the environment to consider. Many women still flush their used tampons down the loo, which puts a lot of pressure on water treatment plants, as tampons do not break down very easily.
After a particularly painful period recently that included a few too many tampon mishaps, I decided to search for alternatives.
Enter the Mooncup.
This is a medical grade silicone cup that gets inserted into the vagina, instead of tampons and is meant to be much cleaner than using pads.
When my Mooncup arrived, I looked at it and I figured, I’ve had a baby come out of there, how hard can this little cup be to manoeuvre?
Well. It does take a bit of practice to get it in, just like it did when I first started using tampons, a long, long time ago. 🙂 And after a while, it becomes natural and effortless. Once you get the hang of inserting and removing it, the Mooncup can be kept in for up to 8 hours at a time, holding up to 15 mL of fluid at a time.
You absolutely need to be comfortable with blood and with emptying and cleaning the cup throughout the day. And that means that menstrual cups just may not be right for some women. Here’s a great primer on how to easily insert and remove menstrual cups (link totally safe for work!).
As for me, I love using the Mooncup and plan to continue using it indefinitely.
Would you ever try an alternative to tampons and pads?
P.S. If you’re not convinced, here’s a great natural tampon alternative.