Menstrual Cups: The 8th Wonder of the World
"Menstruation
is
sacred beautiful
lunar ancient
holy
female power ."
– Nuit Moore
Menstruating can be one of the most annoying monthly occurrences for us. Or can it be... liberating?
image via
I'm here to share not only my experience but also answer questions I've been asked previously and share the pros of menstrual cups, because they have seriously changed my life for the better. I also saw a statistic in a commercial for the Diva Cup that NINETY! percent of women recommend menstrual cups, and I was like, "YUP!" because I recommend it to anyone and everyone who will listen.
1. They are eco friendly! Plastic applicators, unnecessary garbage waste... Cups eliminate that completely. All cups last up to 20 years or more, and are reusable, making them... SUSTAINABLE! Isn't that wonderful? The trees will thank us. Mama Gaia will thank us. Your body will thank you.
2. They are wallet friendly! And a worthy investment. You know how much tampons cost. The unfair taxes on tampons and other female hygiene products? You know them too. Pantyliners, pads, and whatever other accessory you might need for your period: it adds up!
Cups range from $20-$40, but they last for years. The impact is huge. Not only can it feel wonderful to stick it to "the man," but you are able to spend that extra cash on something nice for yourself, like our future period packages.
I also can't explain how much my Lunette cup has saved my life when I have no money for tampons, too. Most of us have probably felt the struggle of spending $10 on tampons when our bank is at $50, dreading our period because it's making us spend money. With a menstrual cup, you literally never have to think about that. And you don't have to resent your sacred cycle either.
3. They are yoni and uterus friendly! Most tampons contain chemicals and potentially dyes. We all know the scares of TSS, no matter how rare it is. Most cups are made from body safe silicone.
4. They are efficient! You can leave them in for up to 12 hours. They're leak proof (unless you've put it in wrong or it's full).
5. They are COMFORTABLE! When inserted properly, you can't even feel it. Honestly, a lot of things don't feel worse to me than a painful tampon going in or out of my yoni. Whether my period is too light, or I put it in uncomfortably and have to readjust (aka change it out for an entire new tampon and waste it and my money)... It's the worst. That doesn't happen with a cup.
Sometimes they are uncomfortable when you first put them in, and then you just move around until it forms to your body. Or sometimes you have to readjust or reinsert if they don't pop open when you insert the first time, but those minor moments do not even come close, for me, to the pain of dried cotton in a semi-dry(er) vagina. Nope. No way. I'll take the cup any day.
6. They are awakening! One of the craziest experiences I've had with my cup is seeing my own blood and having to be more intimate with my lady parts. It's not in a masturbatory way, and that's what makes it completely different. You feel your body in a new way that is kind of indescribable, but liberating, because considering how sexualized our bodies are, this is a completely nonsexual experience that makes me feel closer to myself. True Goddess Awakenings! I laughed at an article once where the author made a joke about how her blood looked like someone just got murdered. At first it was funny just how she wrote it, but then when I experienced it for myself I was like, "Holy shit, she was right!" Which reminds me...
7. They are helpful! As you go through your period, you are able to keep better track of your flow. It's wonderful. You can see what days are your heaviest, what your flow actually looks like, and they hold so much more than a tampon. It's actually really cool to me to see how much blood there is, and to see that it's a healthy color. I feel more in tune with what's happening with my body. Tampons not only do not hold as much, but also they aren't a great indicator of how much you're bleeding. Not to mention if you have heavy flow you will need to change your tampons 10x more than you have to empty your cup.
8. They're sanitary! Now listen, they could easily be unsanitary. Half of that work is up to you. However, in theory, they're fabulous. They keep odor contained, which is a godsend, and very unlike tampons and pads. You don't have to throw them in the trash either, which relieves so much planetary waste and won't make your trash smell either. I grew up with two older sisters, I know what a period trash smells like in the bathroom with the combination of all three of us. Not pleasant. If you know what I'm talking about, you could potentially never experience that again. Or ever worry about smelling like your period either! Which is more worth it to me.
image via Lunette
Keep in mind that there are multiple alternatives to tampons aside from cups, and we will certainly be going through them all, in time. So stay tuned.
Have you tried a menstrual cup? Tell us your experience below! Please feel free to ask any further questions in the comments or find us on Twitter @pvssymagic.
xo
