Each month Mother Nature delivers us ladies our monthly gift. We dread its arrival and all of the side effects that come along with it. Between cramps, headaches, bloating, and a wave of emotions, our periods can be a difficult time of the month. But what if I told you a menstrual cup could make your period a whole lot better?
Like most women I started using tampons from a young age. I was (and still am) extremely active and couldn’t fathom wearing a pad during the day. I never read the warning labels about what could happen if you left a tampon in for too long and didn’t understand how a piece of cotton could give you toxic shock. I remember when I was younger my sister’s friend got toxic shock and had to be admitted to the hospital. At the time I thought it was scary but couldn’t comprehend how it had all happened.
The past few years I have become increasingly interested in learning more about holistic living and researching what I’m putting on and in my body. It didn’t take long for me to realize that tampons (the major brands like Playtex and Tampax) were full of harsh chemicals. Many brands spray the cotton they use with pesticides and a residue of that ends up in their products. Tampons that are marketed as odor neutralizers and artificial fragrances usually contain adhesives, polyethylene, polypropylene and propylene glycol, chemicals that have been linked to disrupting your natural hormones.
And if this wasn’t bad enough I was sick and tired of spending so much money on tampons each month. Tampons are taxed which raises their price making them unaffordable for many women in this country and around the world. If I wanted to buy natural and chemical free tampons they were even MORE expensive than the major brands.
Lastly, I began reevaluating how much single use plastic items I was using (in all aspects of my life). I was doing everything I could to move towards a zero waste lifestyle. Yet I realized how many plastic tampon applicators I used on a monthly basis. Even if this was the only plastic I was throwing away, over the course of a year it added up to A LOT of plastic. So you may be wondering…what the heck do I use?
All of this research and realizations led me to finding the magical and wonderful Diva Cup. The Diva Cup is a menstrual cup made of silicon that solved ALL of my problems (and then some). It doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals and can be left in for up to twelve hours before changing. The cup only costs about $30 but you can use it for upwards of two years; this factors out to being less than a dollar per period! Since the Diva Cup is a cup and not a tampon, it doesn’t require any applicator and therefore NO PLASTIC (woohoo)! If we’re being honest I was someone who had to change my tampon every two hours but the Diva Cup has solved that problem too. It holds much more liquid than traditional tampons or pads and so I can go eight hours without having to change it. Lastly, the cup is totally and completely workout proof. Like a tampon you can’t feel it at all and I have been able to run, bike, hike, ski, and swim with no problems whatsoever.
If you couldn’t already tell I’m pretty jazzed about the Diva Cup. And while this was the brand that I ended up buying and loving, there are plenty others out there such as the Lena, Lunette, or Moon Cup. All of their websites go into greater detail on how to properly use and clean your cup so you’ll know exactly what to do. And no I am not sponsored by Diva Cup in anyway; this is my honest opinion of a product that I love. In my eyes there are no downsides to using a menstrual cup, just a plethora of benefits. And I know that at first it may seem ‘gross’ or ‘weird’ but menstrual cups are better for your body, better for your wallet, and better for the environment!
If you’re interested in buying a Diva cup be sure to check out the SHOP tab on my page, it can be found under BODY CARE and ZERO WASTE. If you simply want to learn more about menstrual cups be sure to check out the links below!
What is even in tampons?
What is the environmental impact of my period?
The Diva Cup
What is a menstrual cup?