Let’s Talk About the Menstrual Cup

I’ve been using a menstrual cup for almost six months now, and it’s for sure the best menstrual product I’ve ever tried. I’m not the only one who feels that way, either: According to the BBC, while the search term "menstrual cup" had a popularity score of 21 in 2013, five years later it had increased to 83. And the interest in the cup continues to increase: according to studies, the global menstrual cup market accounted for around $600 million back in 2018, and it’s expected to reach over $900 million by 2026.

While menstrual cups have been around since the 1930s, they were popularized by the British brand Mooncup, which created the first silicone menstrual cup in 2002. “It started as a niche product, in natural products stores, and today it has become a mass product that reaches the whole world,” gynecologist Victoria Destefano told the FBomb.

Many people, myself included, decided to start using the menstrual cup because it’s better for the environment, our bodies, and our wallets than options like tampons and pads, which often contain chemicals that could provoke allergies and other health problems. Destefano says the cup “does not alter the vagina’s pH and maintains its microbiota (the bacteria that normally inhabit our vagina),” which prevents gynecological problems. A cup can also replace over 2,000 disposable menstrual products, significatively decreasing the amount of waste people generate during their menstruating years. The cup is also economically beneficial; a typical menstrual cup can last for up to 10 years, according to Healthline, so in the long run costs a lot less than buying one-time-use products month after month.

Carla Giacummo has been researching and working with the menstrual cup since 2010, first for her own personal use, and later to share the cup’s benefits to the world with her company, Eco-Ser.

“I didn't like the disposable devices because they’re annoying, uncomfortable, and also generate a lot of waste,” she told the FBomb. Giacummo used the cup for five years, until she entered menopause. She loved it so much that educating girls and women about it became her purpose. Carla founded Eco-Ser in 2012, to sell menstrual cups, and a few years later the company started a new business unit in order to distribute Menstrupedia, a comic magazine for young girls and adolescents who want to learn more about their menstruation. Menstruating is “a bond that [menstruating people] have for 40 years, more or less, and we don't take enough care of it,” she said. “We don't understand it enough, or all the impact it has on our life. It is not only menstruation, but the whole cycle and how our body changes. It is a link to cultivate, in my opinion.”

The cup can be intimidating for some people, since it’s not something we’re used to. The first time I saw the cup, I remember thinking, “How am I going to put it up there?” However, it’s easier than it seems.

“For some months, I postponed starting to use it because I thought it was going to be very difficult to put it on and take it off,” 28-year-old Alana Constenla, who has been using the cup for one year, told the FBomb. “I thought that it would be uncomfortable or difficult not to get stained, or that it would be less practical than the tampons. But the truth is that from the first time I used it, I had no problems at all. It didn't fall off, it didn't fit me wrong, it didn't bother me. Everything was great.”

Lívia Neves, who is 29 and has used the cup for over 10 years now, took time to adapt to the cup until she found the right size and how to manage it based on her menstrual flow. “At first I mixed it up: Sometimes I used the cup, sometimes a pad, sometimes tampons,” she told the FBomb. Now Lívia, who is very physically active, mostly uses the cup, which makes her feel like “menstruation is no longer something that is going to make you stop doing things. The cup makes you feel more confident.”

Some people may also have negative reactions to the cup because our society still fails to adequately educate people about menstruation. Giacummo notes this is the case in her country, Uruguay, and Latin America in general.

“I realized that there was a lot of misinformation about menstruation,” she told the FBomb, noting that potential users would call the cup “disgusting” and express confusion about how to put it in or take it out. This confusion led Eco-Ser to create and distribute a comic to girls that teaches them to speak about menstruation without shame and as something natural, as well as how to take care of themselves and have healthy experiences.

Some of the important things to consider when using the menstrual cup:

• Follow the instructions to find out the right cup size and characteristics for your body. Check out different options and brands to discover the most comfortable one for you. Usually, a small size is recommended for people who are under 30 and/or who haven’t had a natural birth. For those who are over 30 and/or who have had a vaginal birth, a larger size is recommended.
• As with any menstrual product, it’s fundamental to prioritize hygiene. Wash your hands before and after handling the cup, and empty the cup every eight hours (or less depending on your menstrual flow). Every time you empty it, you need to wash it and sterilize it accordingly before putting it back in. “Not all places offer a hygienic environment to use the cup,” Lívia warns. “If I am traveling or trekking, sometimes I can’t go to an individual and clean bathroom, with running water to wash the cup, clean it, and put it in again. I always have to carry alcohol gel and a towel with me, for example, although I'm used to it now.”
• When using the first time, Destefano recommends trying different ways of folding the cup until you find the most comfortable option for yourself. “It’s common to introduce it by folding the cup in a U or a C, or folding the upper edge down. Once inside, you can check that it has unfolded all the way by running a finger along the edge. It has to be fixed on all the edges against the vaginal walls. Although it’s not necessary to put the cup too deep inside the vagina, always make sure the whole cup is inserted, because otherwise it will bother you.”

If you are considering the idea, don’t be ashamed to talk with your friends or ask your gynecologist for advice. Destefano points out that talking about menstruation is a scary thing for the patriarchy. “Talking about menstruation, something that has always been censored as if it did not happen,” Destefano points out. Menstruation is still “seen as a threat, as the possibility of the feminist advance that many oppose. Not being able to talk about what happens to half of the population is undoubtedly a form of oppression.”

Using the cup helps people “approach [their bodies] and this intimate area in a different way, to know it better, to know what can be normal or not” Giacummo said. “You have to cultivate this link with the cycle and the body, because it is yours.”