SISTERS - MAKE WAY FOR THE MOONCUP!!!! (The Mooncup)

Member Name: katestuartuk

Product:	The Mooncup
Date:	17/01/07 (1550 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: GREENER, HEALTHIER, CHEAPER AND NO LEAKS!!!!

Disadvantages: CAN TAKE A LITTLE GETTING USED TO.

MoonCup


I remember very clearly the first time I got my period. I was 12 and totally unprepared. I’m 32 now, and have spent 22 years dealing with incredibly heavy periods with a combination of tampons and sanitary towels. Leakage has always been a huge problem and until as little while ago, I was simply resigned to the mess and the distress of my heavy, heavy periods. And then I discovered The Mooncup. Well, to be fair, my sister discovered it and in the true way of sisterhood, she told me all about it. The Mooncup is a wonderful and not at all new concept which has stayed well out of the public eye for the simple reason that as we all know, big companies rule the world.

When we eventually had our “Periods” talk in school at 15 (I went to a catholic girls’ school and I think the teaching staff there realised that if they had to explain periods, they’d have to explain sex, and as we all know, good catholic girls don’t partake in that till they’re married…..), we were shown sanitary towels and tampons…and that was it. The leaflets we were given were printed by the sanitary towel company and there was never a question in my mind that anything else was out there as an alternative. But there IS!!!!

So what is a mooncup? Well, quite simply, it’s a soft cup shaped affair, made of medical grade silicone, that you insert into your vagina in exactly the way you would a tampon, and which collects the menstrual liquid, allowing you to carry on your daily life without having to worry about changing towels, leakage or the worry of toxic shock syndrome.

When I found out about Mooncup, I bought one straight away, and the first time I used it was like I wasn’t even having a period. Because the silicone is very soft, there is no discomfort, and for the first time in 22 years, I went to bed DURING MY PERIOD with no underwear on!!! No leaks, no mess, just an immense sense of freedom. I went swimming, I stopped having to check my seat at work in case I had leaked through my clothes, and I just felt like someone had taken all the stress and bother of having a period away. FOREVER!!!!

So why should we all use a mooncup?

Think about it – sanitary towels, tampons. How many do we use in each period? Think of the number. Times your number by twelve, and then by however many years you’ve been having periods, plus the years you’re likely to keep having periods. Then think about how much that all weighs, and how much space it would take up.

That’s one hell of a lot of landfill.

The average woman uses over 10,000 tampons in her lifetime. Pretty scary stuff!

I have always been concerned about the amount of waste I send to landfill and where before I could reduce my contribution to the big fill problem by composting kitchen waste, recycling tins and bottles and papers and all that sort of thing – the one place where I felt I had no control was my monthly sanitary waste. I mean, I couldn’t just stop having periods, could I?!! But one mooncup, at a price of about £20.00, will now last me the rest of my menstruating life. So not only will I save a lot of money, but I will be helping the planet in a really positive and proactive way. And that makes me very VERY happy! Not only that, but my risk of getting toxic shock syndrome is pretty much non existent now, and that means the health benefits are huge too. No more fibres from tampons getting stuck up there has to be a good thing!

Buying your Mooncup

I actually bought mine from www.Boots.com, where it sells for £19.99 plus postage. Or you can order it direct from the Mooncup website, which is www.mooncup.co.uk where it’s slightly cheaper and they don’t charge delivery.

When your Mooncup Arrives

Your Mooncup comes in a lovely white box made of 100% post-consumer recycled cardboard. It is very simple in looks with a lovely image of a marigold flower on the front and lid. Inside you will find an information leaflet, your mooncup, and a small, drawstring bag to store your mooncup in.

Make sure you sterilize your mooncup before you use it for the first time – there are instructions on the box. I boiled mine in a pan of water for 10 minutes when I got mine. Another thing which is good advise is to have a go using it before your first period arrives – use some KY Jelly or some other form of lubrication, and don’t get stressed out if you can’t do it first time. I found it took me a couple of goes to get it comfortable but now it’s easy as can be since I’ve had a bit if practice!

Using your mooncup

The leaflet inside the box your mooncup comes in will explain how to use it and there are diagrams to help you. I find it very easy and usually insert it while standing up, and remove it while on the loo, but you’ll find your own way I’m sure! Inserting it is fairly easy as long as you keep relaxed, as when you tense up, all the muscles contract, making it more difficult to get anything up there! You fold the mooncup in half, and then half again, and push it up and back, so its almost pointing towards your spine. The Mooncup then sits comfortably in the entrance of your vagina. If you can feel it and are uncomfortable, try pushing down with your pelvic floor muscles until it feels more comfortable. When it is in place you shouldn’t be able to feel it, unlike when you’re using a tampon.

Getting your mooncup out again is also very easy. The leaflet recommends that you leave it in for between 4-8 hours, though you may need to empty it less or more often depending on your menstrual flow. I find it easiest to sit on the loo, and push down with my pelvic floor muscles until I can feel the top of the mooncup. Then I push one finger up the side of the cup to the rim, and sort of push the rim inwards, which breaks the seal the mooncup has formed in your vagina. It’s then just a matter of pulling the mooncup down and out of your body, emptying it, rinsing it and popping it back in again. If you are away from home, you can rinse it with bottled water if you’re using a public loo, or just wipe it with some loo roll. I change mine three times a day on a heavy day – once in the morning, once when I get in from work, and once before bed, and each time I rinse it under the tap. Once your period is finished, sterilise it for the next month and store it away in it’s little fabric bag.


It really is easy to use a mooncup and there are so many benefits. It does involve being very close to your body, and though it’s not something that you may feel comfortable with to begin with, I can promise you that once you’ve used a mooncup for a few months you will be liberated and free in ways you won’t even imagine now. We women have the right to choose how we deal with our monthly cycle and whilst the mooncup may not be for everyone, I think a lot more women would choose it over costly, ungreen, unhealthy options like sanitary towels and tampons if they simply knew more about it. I hope reading this review has helped you to understand why the mooncup should be openly discussed and offered by all chemist and pharmacist shops, and why we need to tell our sisters and our mums and our daughters and our girlfriends all about it!

If you need more convincing, go and read some of the testimonials on www.mooncup.co.uk. Women all over the UK are discovering that their period does not need to stand in their way, that there is a greener alternative, and that they do not have to bow to the pressure of the big companies who control the sanitary product marketplace. Be free. Buy a mooncup!

Thank you for reading, Kate x

Summary: GIRLS YOU WON'T KNOW YOURSELF ONCE YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE!!!