For the past 17 years of my life I have struggled with tampons, pads, panty liners. As an active woman I find tampons are uncomfortable and unreliable for certain activities. The inconsistency of the flow, the timing of my start, and my tampon strings tendency to make a guest appearance have plagued me every month to this day.
This is why I feel it is necessary to get the word out to as many people as possible about menstrual cups.
I have heard about sponges to help save money and protect the environment, but never a menstrual cup. At the beginning of this year, January 2014, my life was forever changed.
As if visiting Bali isn’t life altering enough, I received some unexpected advice from the blackboard painted walls in the Hubud workspace in Ubud. Scrawled underneath a drawing of what I thought was a diaphragm were the words “MoonCup” with a smiley face and a web address.
Despite all the technological progress that’s been made since the early 1900s, little about tampons or sanitary pads has really changed since they were first introduced almost one hundred years ago.
Menstrual cups are a modern, liberating way to deal with menstrual hygiene and one that solves many of the problems associated with traditional, antiquated methods.
There are many choices when it comes to menstrual cups including, SkoonCup, Miacup, Lunette, Mooncup, DivaCup and many more. All are made from medical grade silicone and share these features in this table.
If this isn’t enough to make you curious, then just read below to our 18 Reasons to Ditch the Tampons and Get a Menstrual Cup!
| Features | Menstrual Cup | Tampons | Pads | |
 | Safe to wear overnight |  |  | |
| Needs no changing for up to 12 hours at a time | | |||
| Nothing to throw away | | |||
| Comfortable | |  | ||
| Highly reliable | | | ||
| Suitable for swimming & other sports | | | ||
| Entirely invisible (no external parts) | | |||
| Requires little space to store/pack (ideal for travelling) | | |||
| Can be comfortably worn before start of period | | | ||
 | Does not interfere with the body’s natural processes | | | |
| Contains no harmful substances | | |||
| Leaves no fibres behind | | | ||
| Not associated with TSS | | | ||
| Not associated with other fungal or bacterial infections | | |||
| Does not irritate or dry | | |||
 | Environmentally friendly | | ||
| Lasts for years | | |||
| Cost effective | | |||
| Can be used with an IUD | | | | |
| Unaffected by a tilted uterus | | | ||
| Hypoallergenic | |
18 Reasons Your Should Switch to the Menstrual Cup
Ditch the tampons and make your life cheaper and easier.
1. One menstrual cup will last you forever.*
giphy.com / Interscope
According to Diva Cup’s website, you should replace your cup annually.
*Many other eco sites actually claim that with proper care, one cup could last 10 years.
2. Save money.
Besides the green benefit, buying even just one cup (about $30 USD) a year will cost you much less than a box of tampons or pads each month.
3. Visit the pharmacy less.
Or at least visit only because it’s time to update your nail polish collection. Even if you replace your cup annually, that’s 11 times fewer a year than if you used disposable products.
4. Get an extra five hours in between changes.
Tampons offer just eight hours before TSS becomes a possibility. With menstrual cups, you can go up to 12 hours in between emptyings.
5. Hold more liquid.
A normal tampon holds between six and nine grams of liquid. Menstrual cups hold almost five times that amount, capable of up to one ounce (about 28 grams). This makes life a lot more easy for ladies with a heavier flow.
6. Dodge chemicals going *up there*.
Cups don’t contain latex, BPA, dye or other creepy additives. Not to mention, almost all tampons contain bleached rayon—a material that creates the possibly carcinogenic byproduct dioxin. Plus, that is BLEACH you’re shoving up there. Menstrual pads aren’t any less innocent, only slightly less invasive.
7. Suffer less leaks.
With proper insertion, your menstrual cup should form a suction. Meaning, all liquid should pool directly into it without a hitch. When a tampon shifts or becomes saturated, that’s when leaks can happen.
8. Decrease your chances of TSS.
TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome) is a bacteria-spurred illness that can kill you. If your tampon has even a slightly higher absorbency than your actual flow, you risk shredding. Tiny bits of cotton can cause small cuts in your vaginal walls—a perfect breeding ground for the bacteria causing TSS.
9. Don’t dry out.
Cotton in tampons can strip your vaginal walls of naturally occurring lining, making your lady bits more susceptible to disease.
10. … no, really.
Tampons absorb extra juices tiny ducts in your vaginal walls release when you’re sexually aroused. So when you remove it before Bonesville, it could make for, er, a rougher trip.
In addition, some brands like the Softcup claim that you can wear it during intercourse mess-free (!!!).
11. Ward off rashes.
Yep, adults can actually contract diaper rash. Pads can create chafing in the absolute last place you’d want it.
12. Lighten your purse.
No more self-combusting tampons or runaway pads to tote around or accidentally fall out with your wallet! You have your cup and that’s all you need.
13. Juggle less.
Cups can handle any stage of your period—unlike tampons, with which you should be careful to match an absorbency to your specific flow that day.
14. Sleep better.
Even if you’re having a super night, the cup holds more liquid so you won’t have to fumble in the dark to change your tampon.
15. Rock on after childbirth.
Both the Diva Cup and the Moon Cup come in two sizes—one before childbirth, one after. The one after is slightly larger and accommodates your body’s changes.
16. Go untethered.
giphy.com / Touchstone Pictures
Tampon strings have the pesky, gross habit of getting soaked in pee or worse—popping out to make appearances at the pool or beach… or bathtub.
17. Get to know your body.
Since the cup clears up all mystery about your exact flow volume, you have the chance to learn about your unique cycle. It’s your body, after all, shouldn’t you know these things?
18. They aren’t that scary.
Cups are just as comfortable as tampons, once you get the hang of them. (Remember middle school? See, Tampax weren’t always your BFF.)
You can maintain cups in a public restroom, but you probably won’t have to because you can keep it in for so long. Just wash your hands and wet a paper towel to bring into the stall with you. Then you can safely empty your cup into the toilet, wipe it out with the towel and pop it back in for another dozen hours.
Does the idea of collecting your flow in a cup gross you out? Then likely collecting it in a cotton vagina plug or slab of adult diaper does, too. In that case, good luck.
Special thanks to: Beca Grimm
Goodbye Tampons, Hello Menstrual Cup
