Save Money, Save the Planet, Save the cheerlea...ah (The Mooncup)

Member Name: SapphireSunflowr

Product:	The Mooncup
Date:	11/02/09 (317 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, lasts many many years, very convinient and comfortable once you have the hang of it

Disadvantages: You will see, and touch, fresh menstural blood. But it's not that horrible, trust me!

Pre warning - men, I'm sorry to be sexist but I'll be mentioning blood and ladybits in the same context, so if you don't want to hear about those things don't read. Just give me a Very Useful and walk away ;) I jest, of course, but please be pre-warned that I'm talking about periods here!

Okay, I've been using my Mooncup now for nearly three years and I wouldn't go back to tampons (or pads) for anything. My efforts to persuade others to try it in the real world invariably are met with accusations of being a "hippy", but you lot seem a lot more open minded so I shall share my experiences!

I had two reasons for getting a Mooncup - to save money and the help the environment, both of which it has done admirably. At £17 it starting paying for itself after only a few months, and now that I haven't had to buy sanitary products for nearly three years I've saved an awful lot of money. Add to that the fact that my sanitary waste is no longer clogging up landfills, so I get environmental brownie points too. Now, given my own experiences I personally can't work out why every woman isn't using this product, but I've heard a few negative Mooncup myths that I want to rubbish straight away:

1. It's unhygienic. Not at all. The fact that tampons carry a small Toxic Shock Syndrome risk and Mooncups don't suggests quite the opposite. Mooncups are boiled prior to use, so when inserted with clean hands are completely germ and bacteria free. I would much rather put that inside me than a piece of cotton which has been bleached and wrapped in chemical plastic and I have no control over the disinfectant of. And it is SO much more hygienic than walking around with a pad full of blood in your knickers, right?? Plus, you'll never have that pee-and-then-find-your-tampon-string-is-wet experience again... .yuk.

2. It's messy. Okay, you do have to handle seeing actual, liquid blood (well, it's sort of slimey, actually... Sorry guys, I warned you!), but it's your own blood and it's clean - much nicer and fresher than stale soaked into a pad stuff. Just be ready with a it of loo roll to catch stray blood that follows the mooncup out, and tip it down the sink if you can as blood seems to sink to the bottom of the loo and can take two flushes to get rid off. If you're in a public loo, I put a small bit of loo roll in the toilet first to tip the cup out onto, to ensure nothing is left after I flush. But, if you see the next point you may well find you actually don't even need to change it anywhere but home....

3. It's inconvenient. How? So you do have to remember to have it clean and boiled in time for coming on, but once that's done you can store it in it's pouch ready for when you need it. Plus, it's safe for use when you're not actually bleeding, so if you know you're coming on soon you can pop it in ready. You no longer have to lug your bag to the loo or attempt to subtle-y sneak a tampon up your sleeve, and you may not have to empty it at all during the day - the Mooncup holds much more than a day's worth of blood.

4. It leaks. When you first try it you do have to get used to it - but remember getting used to periods full stop, its just like that, finding your body adapting to a new method. I had problems with night leakage at first, but the Mooncup people were super helpful - even offering to phone me and talk me through it! - and the problem quickly went away, I can happily sleep naked in bed with my other half and know I won't be let down or embarrassed by my Mooncup. And while you are getting used to it, it's noting a panty liner or pair of knickers under your jammies won't solve.

5. It's difficult to use. Once again, it just takes practise, but now I'm a dab hand a folding, pushing up and rummaging around to get it in place. And then, you can't feel a thing. On removal, it's up into your ladybit again to break the seal and pull it out. It's just like the first time you tried tampons, only slightly more hands on.

6. It makes you a hippy. Honestly, I shave my legs, I don't suit headbands and I only *sometimes* smell of patchouli. This is the modern woman's sanitary product, nothing hippy about it...

And now some good things to encourage you a bit more:

1. Some people find it shortens their periods. Seriously! I know it gets rid of the has-it-or-hasn't-it-finished stage at the end that always seems to drag on. And it makes them more comfortable too

2. It's a LOT more comfortable to remove, especially at the end of your period, than tampons as it doesn't dry you out, if you know what I mean. People who are happy to have sex during their period report that it makes this more comfortable too for the same reason, but as I haven't tried that I can't offer any personal experience I'm afraid!

3. You can swim, and exercise in it - anything that doesn't involve turning upside down!

4. If you really, really don't get on with it you can return it for your money back. It's completely risk free, so that's your last excuse gone, get one!

And I mentioned it saves me a fortune, didn't I?

Summary: Seriously, think of all the landfill and the floating tampon beaches - do the right thing and try it