I Tried A Mooncup And It Wasnt As Weird As I Thought

This is definitely not a product for someone who is seriously squeamish.

Hiya, I'm Abi and I really fucking hate tampons.

Abi McIntosh / BuzzFeed

I skipped to tampons pretty much after my first period because I have no patience for the faffing that comes with pads, and also it was my best friend’s birthday and we were going swimming. Using tampons for me is like when your best friend also has a best friend, and you don’t like them but there is nothing you can do so you just get used to having them around.

I feel like there has never really been an alternative to tampons, so I just put up with them.

Instagram: @plannedparenthood

I knew there must be an alternative, and while perusing the Amazon review section, which is honestly one of the most entertaining places on the internet, I accidentally stumbled upon the most impassioned Amazon review I have ever seen.

amazon.co.uk

The whole way through I was like, "YEAH", "YAAASSSSSS", "PREACH". I'm not easily persuaded but I decided to give the Mooncup a go.

Mooncups are a cup you insert into the vagina that collects rather than absorbs blood. They currently come in two sizes, A (4.6cm) and B (4.3cm).

mooncup.co.uk

The sizes are related to whether or not you've had a child rather than your flow, which I thought was a little bit confusing. I'm under 30 and I have never had a child so I went with size B.

The Mooncup was a lot smaller than I expected it to be, which was worrying, considering it claimed to be usable for up to eight hours and to collect three times as much as a tampon.

Abi McIntosh / BuzzFeed

Abi McIntosh / BuzzFeed

The cup is made of silicone and to me it looked kind of scientific so I was a little apprehensive about putting that in my body, even though I shove tampons made out of cotton and rayon up there without a second thought.

Inserting the Mooncup wasn't as weird as I thought it was going to be.

There are lots of different ways to insert a menstrual cup outlined on the pamphlet that comes with it. I was in a rush so I just read the instructions for the first one, the C-fold, and went for it. It didn’t take long to insert and once it was in, I didn’t really feel it.

The C-fold

mooncup.co.uk

Abi McIntosh / BuzzFeed

When I put it in, I was super aware that it was in there and I was terrified of going to work in case I had a horrible accident, so obviously I packed some backup tampons in my bag.

Using it at work was definitely a struggle. The disabled toilet has a private sink (you need one to empty the Mooncup) but it is also the designated poo toilet, so it is NEVER, EVER FREE.

Abi McIntosh / BuzzFeed

The first time I took it out at work I definitely did not put it back in correctly, and on the walk back to my desk, which is kind of like a catwalk, I realised that I was going to have to go back to the loo and reinsert. So I had to awkwardly sit at my desk for, like, half an hour before pretending to take a phone call and nipping to the toilet. But it was easy to use once I got the hang of where exactly it is supposed to go, which is slightly lower than tampons.

I was thrown in at the deep end because my period arrived on the first day of a bank holiday weekend I had planned to spend VERY drunk.

The last thing I really wanted was to be testing out a product that might actually be a messy disaster. I feel like I really put my cup to the test though. It survived a day at work, a train journey, a hostel, a hotel, and many, many nightclubs and restaurant toilets. I feel like all those toilets have made me a Mooncup EXPERT.

Abi McIntosh / BuzzFeed

Drunk me was very happy about not having to remember to bring tampons with me on a night out.

Abi McIntosh / BuzzFeed

Drunk me also wanted absolutely everyone to know about my Mooncup. It was actually a lot easier to use in public than I thought – most independent restaurants just have one toilet instead of single stalls, so I had no problem if I needed to empty it.

Although I was not convinced when I first saw it, the cup does actually hold a lot more than tampons do, so I didn't have to worry about changing so often. Which meant I didn't have to get up in the middle of the night to empty my Mooncup.

Abi McIntosh / BuzzFeed

This is definitely not a product for someone who is seriously squeamish, because Mooncups collect menstrual fluid rather than absorbing it, so you can’t avoid the blood altogether. I had never been face-to-face with my period before. Which was weird at the beginning and I’m sure people in neighbouring cubicles wondered what was happening when I gasped out loud the first few times. I did not realise how much blood there would be!

Once I got used to my Mooncup I didn't feel self-conscious about it at all.

Final thoughts:

Instagram: @plannedparenthood

* Once I got the hang of where exactly it was supposed to sit, my Mooncup was so much more comfortable than tampons.

* It was definitely easier to use at home than at work because of the easy access to a sink.

* I really enjoyed not having to do the awkward fumbling for a tampon to take to the bathroom thing, and I never had to remember to bring backup tampons in my bag.

* Sometimes it makes a sort of suction noise when you pull it out, but if you just cough over it no one will know.

If you're interested in menstrual cups, there are plenty of others available. I personally loved the Mooncup, but there's also the DivaCup and the Lunette.

I have used a Mooncup for three periods now and I can honestly say that I will never ever use a tampon again.