Moon Cups for the Ladies' Moon Days
Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 9:09PM 
Today ladies we’re going somewhere Natural Beautee has never gone before. We’re going to your nether regions and talking about moon cups (known as diva cups to US readers). Men, if there are any of you reading this, turn away, turn away now.
So, what is a moon/diva cup? Quite simply it’s an alternative to tampons and pads which is exactly what it says it is: a cup. I’ve been using one for about 18 months now and I’m never going back to tampons. I was talking with a friend about it last summer because we were shyly discussing various period issues and it eventually came out that we were both moon cup converts. It was a sort of “a ha!” moment we’re we both looked at each other “wait, do you use a moon cup?!” “do you???, I do too!” Then more recently my flatmate caught me cleaning my mooncup in the kitchen (i.e. boiling it in some water) and she was like “what IS that?” When I explained she was skeptical. This is what I told her:
Pros:
Cost effective – It cost 20 pounds, which over 18 months is a little over 1 pound per month. How much are your tampons/pads costing you each month?
Eco-friendly – You’re not disposing of pads, applicators, tampons, etc each month. According to the moon cup website:
On average, one woman will use over 11,000 tampons or pads in their lifetime, which will end up in landfill or in the sea.
Holy crap, that’s a lot of tampons!
Better for your health – zero risk of toxic shock syndrome. I said zero. That’s because moon cups are made out of medical-grade silicones and not cotton, like your tampons, which also by the way contain bleaches and other chemicals.
Cons:
If you can call it a con, you will have to get a bit more up-close-and-personal with yourself. But, hey, it’s your body, what’s wrong with that? Embrace it.
Emptying moon cup – you’ll need to take a cup or bottle of water into the toilet stall with you when you change your moon cup. This is so you can rinse it out after you’ve emptied it before inserting it again.
You may find that you need to wear pantyliners in addition to the moon cup not for major leakage but more for added protection while you’re emptying and reinserting the moon cup. (You’re going to have to trust me on this one, any more detail and I’ll be way past the line of decency).
So, there you have it. I hope that some women out there will find this useful and give the old moon cup a try. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic if you’re brave enough to add a comment to this post. Or for more discrete questions/dialogue e-mail me at Katherine [at] naturalbeautee [dot] com.
[Side Note- Can I also just add that I really like the name “moon cup.” In many of the yoga classes that I’ve attended menstruation is often referred to “moon days.” I love that there’s this cosmic reference to something that is very mundane, annoying, painful at times [insert how you really feel about your period here.] However, there is something very powerful about the fact that the average woman’s menstruation cycle is the same number of days as it takes the moon to orbit the earth.]
Reader Comments (1)
Moon Cup was a brilliant invention! You quickly get used to it and then you can't imagine using anything else. It is cost effective, eco friendly and much more comfortable than the alternatives. I recommend this to everybody!