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The Scuba Species
Menstrual Cups - A Mini Miracle and Why You're Missing Out
Let’s face it periods suck. Between the pain, fatigue, bloating, nausea, stomach trouble, breast tenderness, change in appetite, anxiety and emotional mayhem that goes on in our bodies, when it comes to managing the messier side of our menstrual cycle we tend to just stick to what we know.
For the majority of women this means we either opt for pads – the first safe, easy and and no skill required period protection our mothers had the pleasure of introducing us to – or if your feeling a tad more adventurous then the tampon. And as long as it works why fix it?
Well because it could be so much better! Enter the Menstural cup. A small, flexible funnel-shaped cup designed to be inserted into the vagina to collect your period. Then removed, washed and reused at the wearers discretion.
These little miracles have exploded onto the scene in the past decade partially thanks to availability of medical grade silicone and partially because of conscious consumerism. Now almost everyone who try them become complete menstrual cup converts and can’t stop raving about them to every vagina owner they know. Here’s 7 reasons why you should too..
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you go through them to make a purchase you will not pay more but we will earn a commission. These links help to promote products we personally believe in and fund more resources for our readers.
1) Menstrual Cups are... Comfortable
Now I know you may be skeptical that shoving a little cup up your cooter is comfortable but it’s true.
Once you learn how to insert a menstrual cup correctly you should not even be able to feel it. In fact compared to tampons which absorb our natural moisture making us feel dry or pads which create a damp environment conducive to yeast infections and odour, menstrual cups hit the nail on the head. They find the perfect balance between collection without interfering with our own delicate systems.
Not to mention that unlike pads and tampons which can contain a range of toxins, perfumes, bleaches and leave residual fibres, menstrual cups are made from super safe medical grade silicone.
2) Menstrual Cups give... Confidence
For some reason there is a taboo around talking about our periods. God forbid somebody sees you searching for a menstrual product in your bag and makes the connection.
Most women have some kind of anxiety around bulky panty lines, strings escaping from bikini bottoms or worst case scenario a leak! Although all of these things should absolutely not be a concern it is nice to feel confident in our bodies.
Amazingly menstrual cups can eliminate most of those worries. Everything is internal which means even if your strutting around naked no-one would know you were ever on your period.
And leaks? Well they occasionally do happen but not nearly as much as with other products. Especially if you learn to use it properly. If it really is a concern there is always the option of doubling up with a sexy pair of period pants or otherwise a pad for added security.
On top of that, the intimate nature of application, sizing and ability to accurately calculate flow all help us to better understand our bodies and get in touch (literally) with a part of ourselves which for the most part stays out of sight out of mind. It’s empowering! Some even claim that menstrual cups gave them the confidence to start exploring their contraceptive options and in turn completely changed their life.
3) Menstrual Cups are... Convenient
Although menstrual cups may be a little more complicated to use at first, one of the biggest benefits is that once you get over the learning curve they are SO much more convenient.
Thanks to the fact that they don’t require bulky materials to function, menstrual cups have 2-3 times the capacity of even the most absorbent tampon or pad. For this reason we can wear them for up to 12 hours without changing them. That is an entire day or night without worrying about where the nearest bathroom is! Plus it means that although inserting them can be a bit fiddly the least you will have to do that is twice in 24 hours. Pee and poop to your hearts content without worrying about what might be getting in the way.
That is an absolute game changer especially if you are a busy professional or manic mom who simply doesn’t have the time for it. Or nomads who never quite know what each day brings. Or a sportswoman who needs period protection that can keep up with the rest of her body.
Speaking of which, as menstrual cups are not absorbent they don’t act like a sponge when it comes to water-sports. Now you can swim, surf, scuba dive on your period or just sit in a jacuzzi to your hearts content. Realistically it is the only period product that can boast that.
4) Menstrual Cups give... Self-Sufficiency
I was pretty reluctant to try menstrual cups when I first heard about them. But one of the main things that pushed me into it was that at the time I was living on a tiny (I mean 2 by 1km tiny) island that didn’t even have shops, just stalls out the back of peoples houses. Here tampons were hard to find and exclusively sold to tourists so had crazy prices. A box that might just last two days would set you back about 8 USD. It just wasn’t sustainable.
The only solution was to tackle my fears and get myself a menstrual cup. So on my next trip back home I stocked up and prepared myself for the steep-learning curve. Turns out it was one of the best things I ever bought.
Instead of having to constantly hunt for period products and figure out foreign branding, I had my trusty cup ready and waiting whenever I needed it. Now I never have to worry about running out and wasn’t reliant on high priced period products to do the dirty work for me.
And although being self-sufficient is amazing for those of us who live in the first world, it means even more for those from low-income countries who may miss out on basic activities like going to school or work because of a lack of period protection. Bloody Good Period are a great charity fighting for menstrual equity and equal rights.
5) Menstrual Cups are... Compact
Unfortunately period products are not ‘non-essential, luxury goods’ as the UK tax department likes to claim. Women need them. So when it comes to packing, tampons and pads take up a decent chunk of space. Particularly if you’re a minimalist mover like me.
Make way for the menstrual cup and you will barely even notice it’s in your bag until you need it. Especially if you opt for a collapsible Lily Cup Compact.
6) Menstrual Cups are...Eco-Conscious
The average woman has roughly 456 periods over their lifetime. Using tampons that equates to about 9,120 pieces of plastic per menstruator! As many also aren’t aware of how to dispose of period products a lot of these also get flushed down the toilet straight into our water system. So it’s no surprise that according to the Marine Conservation Society, 4.8 pieces of period product are found per 100 metres of beach cleaned. If this sounds a lot then you’re damn right.
Funnily enough menstrual cups have been around for over 80 years and one of the reasons they were never very popular was because they were not disposable. Nowadays this is one of their biggest selling points. In fact one cup can last up to 10 years! Ergo over its lifetime it only generates approximately 6% of the plastic waste of tampons and 0.4% of the plastic waste of pads.
7) Menstrual Cups are... Cheaper
Now if you’re still not convinced then this will probably do it. Money talks.
Did you know on average restocking tampons and/or pads can cost you between $50 to $150 USD a year. Times 10 years that comes to between $500 to $7500 USD!
Now although a menstrual cup could set you back around $40 (although most only cost around $20) and this may seem extravagant for period protection, when we add a bit of perspective this one time purchase is actually making you a crazy amount of savings.
So instead of shelling out on something you never really wanted to buy in the first place, get yourself a cup and use your extra cash for a nice meal out or a mini-break instead.
To Conclude...
Despite the many benefits of using a menstrual cup, awareness is still low. In fact reports have found that out of 69 educational puberty websites only 21 even mentioned menstrual cups as an option for mangling periods. Why? Well mostly because there is still a stigma around our menses.
Even now young women are embarrassed to ask questions about their bodies and find creative ways to stash tampons up their sleeves when they shouldn’t need to. So it’s no surprise scare stories prevent people from exploring their options and taking the chance.
But we’re here to say stuff that. I’m not exaggerating when I say menstrual cups can be life changing. They certainly were for me. So why not make periods a positive experience and give menstrual cups a shot?
Here’s how to become a complete Menstural Cup Convert.
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