Now I wish this was a sponsored post because it’s going to seem ads-y, but I promise, my life has been changed by my menstrual cup so much that I just HAD to tell somebody! On the advice of some public health friends, I decided to try out a menstrual cup and after some research, settled on the orange Lunette Cup in a size 1, for pre-childbirth folks. I’ve been using it for the past six months and now can’t imagine how I’ve been managing for the past 10 years without it! Here are a few reasons why you should use menstrual cups as the only sensible option for periods.

1. Menstrual cups make periods less painful

I’ve never been the kind to like to take medication for pain or colds, and have been known to suffer from an ailment a few extra days simply because I didn’t want to take any meds. However, I pretty much subscribed to Midol from ages 13-23. It wasn’t until recently when I started working out and committed to eating healthier that I began to have less severe cramps during my period. However, I always knew that on Days 1 and 4, I would have at least a few sharp shooting pains throughout my body that would leave me doubled over. Before purchasing my cup, I read somewhere that cramps are often caused by a reaction to tampon fibers/dyes or something of the sort, so it’s possible menstrual cups reduce cramps. Now I don’t know the validity of that statement, but I do know that since using my Lunette menstrual cup, I’ve had exactly five cramps. Not five days of cramps, but simply five cramp sessions, in six months!

2. Menstrual cups prevent your period from interrupting your life

The worst feeling during your period is knowing that your pad/tampon is full and there’s just no way for you to change it. Either you’re at a public place or you’ve run out of supplies on the go or you’re in a mandatory work meeting that you can’t simply slip out of. Or you get your period at the most inconvenient of times – in church when you’re sitting in the absolute middle of the row, while on a run, or while on a BoltBus for 4 hours. All these things have happened to me, and let’s just say, your period + regular feminine products can throw a huge wrench into your plans for the day. However, a menstrual cup is non-toxic so you can insert it before you anticipate your period, holds a large capacity of fluid so you don’t have to change it as frequently (up to 12 hours!), and best of all, DOES NOT LEAK (if inserted correctly). It’s kind of like a Crockpot – you just set it and forget it!

3. Menstrual cups are cost-efficient

Tampax Pearl, my preferred brand of tampons since high school, cost about $8-9 for a pack of 40 regular sized. Considering that a pack would last me maybe 2 months, and I’d also buy pantiliners, I am going to very conservatively guess that I averaged about $60/year on feminine products. My Lunette cup was $40 on Amazon. So not only is it cheaper compared to traditional feminine products, but when you factor in the cost of the significantly fewer pantiliners and ruined panties wasted while using a menstrual cup, you definitely save quite a few dollars, which can be spent on more important things – like chocolate.

4. Menstrual cups are good for the environment

In a similar vein as the cost-efficiency, menstrual cups are reusable and thus contribute much less waste to the environment. While I’m not an extremely queasy person, but I don’t exactly like gross things – I ran home a few days ago because I saw a rat in these dirty NYC streets. Anyway, I was surprised at the ease of which I could remove, dump, wash, and reinsert my menstrual cup in my bathroom. In the very rare times I’ve had to change it in a public bathroom (normally I can get through the whole day if I insert in the morning), I just carried a water bottle into the stall with me to pour on the cup. You can also just use tissue to wipe it clean between installs, but my preference is to wait until I’m home and wash with soap. Between cycles, you just boil your cup to sterilize it, and store it away for the next month!

Have you tried to use menstrual cups during your period? Did you enjoy your experience?

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