The new period – menstrual cup

“Half the population on earth have periods for the majority of their lives. Yet no period innovations have happened in over 50 years.”

When I think about the amount of waste we create each month by disposable period products and about the chemicals they contain it makes me cringe. I don´t even want to think about how much money I wasted on those products. If I will have 400 periods in my life, I will be responsible for creating waste with aprox. 6.000 tampons in my life.

Conventional pads and tampons are usually made from a combination of plastic, rayon, bleach, and other chemicals. They pile up in landfills or sewers after women unthinkingly throw them away.

Ladies, there are options, green options available for us now. From menstrual cups, reusable pads, period panties, sea sponge tampons. If you just made a Naaaah. face, or even Eeeww! I don´t blame you, I was not convinced the first time I heard about them either. But hopefully, you will continue reading and maybe, just maybe give them a try. My only regret right now is, not giving them a chance looong time ago.

Menstrual cup

Here are some hard facts about menstrual cups.

less dryness
less odor
less cramps
less waste
more comfort
more confidence
more freedom to do any sports (even swimming)
more money
more sleep (contains 3 times more than pads and tampons)

I took a great amount of time, and many periods to give you absolutely honest review. But I really wanted to switch to organic, certified vegan cup.

OrganiCup is 100% free of bleach, glue, perfume, lotion or indeed anything that doesn’t belong inside your body. And it comes in recyclable paper packaging an organic cotton pouch so you can take her with you anywhere you go.

How to use it

Easy. Fold the cup on half an insert. OrganiCup unfolds to form a light vacuum keeping it securely in place …and no, it won’t fall out (not even if you do a triple somersault). Due to the vacuum, the menstrual blood won’t come into contact with air = no odor issues, ultra hygienic and antibacterial.

And because the menstrual cup can contain 3 times more than pads and tampons, means most women just need to empty it morning and evening = no interruptions during the day. Or night. I´ve been trapped for hours on a boat (no toilet) or bus just waiting for disaster to happen, but the menstrual cup has never let me down.

Sure, using a cup is more work than just using a tampon in and flushing it down the toilet when you’re done (please at least put it in the trash). It takes care and dedication, not to mention being comfortable knowing precisely what your period blood looks like.

A menstrual cup will have a positive effect on your body, life, environment and your wallet. And we can all agree there’s better stuff to spend your money on than your period. I sincerely hope you will give it a try. And if you have any questions don´t be shy to comment below.

Thank you! :*

Mateja

*In collaboration with OrganiCup

Added afterwards

I´m sitting at home right now hating my period and the fact that I forgot to mention the Cons, not just the Pros of using a menstrual cup.

Previously I used a cup that has some kind of loop on the end, so it was really easy to remove. But some cups, like OrganiCup, have a little tail on the end, so if the cup sits deeper in it´s impossible to grab that little sucker, especially with vacuum in place.
It might (will probably) be that the cup will slide deeper in at night and will be impossible to reach in the morning. Don´t panic, leave it in for another hour, ignore it …. I guess the movement, gravity or just morning coffee bring it down to a reachable position.
Google “things to do if your menstrual cup gets stuck” the posts you will find will make you laugh so hard the sucker will have to move.
Any time you’re putting a foreign object in your vagina, there’s a chance you’re introducing some unwanted bacteria up there too. You need to keep the cup clean. Don’t use soaps with perfume or fragrance to wash your cup out, because these mess up the pH of your vagina And please wash your hands before using a cup. Boil your cup for few minutes, before every period.
Some women do get more urinary tract infections (UTIs) when they use menstrual cups. Professionals think this happens when the cup is situated so that it pushes on your urethra a bit through your vaginal walls, trapping your urine in your urethra or bladder. A UTI occurs when you get bacteria trapped in your urinary tract; usually, your body takes care of this by flushing it out when you pee, but if your urine is trapped by the pressure from your cup, the bacteria has more time to make its way up into your bladder and set up shop. If you’re getting recurrent UTIs, consider trying a different cup, since a different size or shape may not push on your urethra as much. If it’s really becoming a problem, the cup might not be the best solution for you.

I´ve been using it regularly, but some days (like today) I would send it to hell in the morning and be best friends in the evening.

Are they messy?

Again, you might need some time (or not) to master it. After the first period, you´ll be a pro and it´s not it´s a lot less messy than using tampons or pads. You simply flush your blood down the toilet (or down the sink or shower). Once you’ve emptied your cup, rinse briefly in warm water (in a sink) and re-insert. If you are not at home, just find a toilet with a sink or simply wipe out the cup with a piece of toilet paper. Since I carry my water bottle everywhere, I can simply rinse my cup with that water. But since the cup can collect the blood for so long, I usually just wait to come back home.

At the end of your cycle, I boil my menstrual cup to prepare it for my next cycle. And I store my cup in the cotton bag. Just don’t store it in a plastic box, because it needs to breathe.

Thank you!