My story with menstrual cups

Welcome to my website! My name is Mandana, I was born in France but have been living abroad for over 15 years, I currently live in between Bali and Europe. I’ve always worked as a free lancer on the net and as you may have noticed, I am a big fan of menstrual cups. I just wanted to share with you my experience with menstrual cups and how the idea of this website came to me. I apologize in advance if that was too much information for you at times :D

Me “before the menstrual cups”?

I’ve always hated pads, I found them unhygienic, uncomfortable, highly unsexy, and the amount of waste they produce is just something I started feeling more and more conscious about. As for tampons, it was the only other alternative I could think of at the time. I couldn’t handle the ones without applicator because they are difficult to insert, so to increase my guilt, I only used the ones with plastic applicators…Then again it’s the same problem with the wrapping and plastic left behind. It just seemed crazy to me to throw away an applicator I was going to use for 3 seconds to put another product that I was going to keep 4h.

Instinctively it felt wrong putting a bleached cotton thing inside of my body. I often could feel it, it caused me irritations and pain specially at the removal. The smell that goes along is not very pleasant either…I spare you the details, I think all tampons users out there can relate to what I’m saying here.

I wasn’t surprise to read later on about tampons, the TSS (toxic shock syndrome), the rayon fibers, the dioxin etc…I knew there’s gotta be a better and easier way to handle our menstrual flow!

• Removing the tampon
  I often found it painful specially when it wasn’t saturated, which happens quite often if you change it every 4h as you should. It actually causes micro lacerations to the vagina wall leaving you prone to infections.
• Getting rid of the “body”
  If you are at someone’s place, it’s always embarrassing leaving your soiled tampon behind hoping that someone will change the bin in the next couple of days. But what can you do? Sticking it in your handbag is not really an option. The problem remains the same at home, they don’t look/smell any better your bin! That’s where the temptation of flushing it down the toilet becomes irresistible…No need to say that is causing lots of plumbing problems on top of polluting.
• In public places
  These so called “Hygienic bins” (when there is one available) where you have to take toilet paper to open the lid maculated with blood is never very inviting. I’ve always wondered: what do they really do with the waste anyway?
• The smell
  Tampons or pads, the problem remains the same. Let’s be clear: if you keep something absorbing blood for hours that is in contact with the air (yes even if you wear a tampon) there is an oxidation that can not be stopped. That’s why your tampon has a funny color and a funky smell. Who can honestly say that they didn’t sometimes wonder if anyone else could smell it at times?
• Leakage issue
  When a tampon or pad, no matter the size, has reached its maximal potential of absorption, well then they don’t absorb anymore and you will leak…
• Chemicals
  When I looked into all of this cup vs tampons, I read lots of articles about TSS (toxic shock syndrome) and started to hear all about those chemicals used in tampons and pads and of the dioxin that is known to be linked to cancer (why and how do you think those tampons are so white?). Cotton and rayon fibers that leave fibers behind, stick a tampon in a glass of water and see how many loose fibers are floating around…That is something your body will have to flush out on its own. Actually a tampon is made out of about 5% cotton and the rest is Rayon/viscose which is made from plastic. There is a few brands who makes tampons in 100% organic cotton woven in a way that don’t shed fibers. It is much better but it’s the whole idea of absorbing the flow that might cause TSS.

How I discovered menstrual cups?

In 2009, I was living in Australia at the time, I walked into a little herbal store and saw this little thing looking like a funnel, it was written “menstrual” something so I assumed it was for periods, but didn’t have a clue how it worked. I was traveling a lot specially at the time and finding tampons in India, for example, was quite a challenge so I liked the idea of this little device that could fit in my handbag ready to save me anytime wherever I was. I thought about it for a bit, did a bit of online research and made up my mind. I knew it couldn’t possibly be worse than tampons so it was worth a shot.

When I first started using menstrual cups, I must admit, it was a bit challenging. I couldn’t understand out how it could hold like that by itself, how come I couldn’t feel it since it was bigger than a tampon, why it didn’t leak etc… No longer than a few days later I was convinced. I was so enthusiastic about it, I gave the sale speech to all my closest girlfriends encouraging them to get one to try it out!

My first time with a menstrual cup

My first cup was a Divacup. Even after reading the whole user guide, I struggled to insert it, I even thought I’ll never make it. I couldn’t keep it folded and insert it at the same time, I wondered if it was placed correctly etc…3 days later I got the hang of it and never looked back since. Try to remember your first time with a tampon, probably wasn’t easy, now there is a revolutionary product. You may feel clumsy the first few days but it won’t last. I am positive you will be as thrilled as I was and as the other millions of cup users out there!

My mission

It didn’t take me long to talk about it in my inner circle of friends and whoever wanted to hear about it. I got a bit surprised by the common “yak” reaction. What’s with the disgusted faces? It was mostly the idea of re-using that was the main issue. Once I explained more in details with pro and cons, attitude changed toward a curiosity to try it. The feedback was very rewarding, no one went back to tampons or pads, they all said they felt cleaner and that it made their periods a lot easier. As I talked about cups around me I realized it’s a very appealing product, how can a woman not be in interested in:

• Being healthier
• Preserving the environment,
• Saving money,
• Not having to worry about buying disposables every month.

I wanted to share this with as many women as possible. What better ways for that than internet? It is my field of work and I was happy to use my skills for this good cause.

I had a look on the net to see what was out here and was happy to find out there is actually many brands manufacturing cups. I wanted to make this site like a portal of information for all the brands available on the market today. You can compare menstrual cups in terms of sizes, colors, prices and country of origin.

What can you do? Sign up here to become an affiliate

The goal of this website is not only to help you choose the right cup but also to encourage the word of mouth. This is why I have created an affiliation program. It is the best way to get women to try it and spread the word to their friends. And just because you are a man it doesn’t mean you can’t advertise it to your girlfriends ;)

Once you are an affiliate you can simply send your link thru facebook, twitter, email, blog etc. Your 10% commission will be credited on your paypal account every 1st of the month on whatever sales has been made thru your link. You can also choose the Store credit option which will give you 15% commission to use on any item on my online shop.