I recently interviewed the Co-Founder and CEO of the menstrual cup company, Ruby Cup. Following this interview I decided to give their product a try and see what it was like for myself!
Before trying the cup, I was pretty nervous. The whole cup thing seemed a bit weird and complicated, especially as no one I know uses one, or speaks about them. I couldn’t really ask for advice from many people, and so used my interview with Julie to find out more about the product and ask any questions I needed to before trying the cup!
After tackling my fear of trying the cup, next came the fears about writing it. I worried that it was a little too intimate a topic to write about. However, after a long hard think, I decided that the embarrassment and negativity around periods is the exact reason I should write about it. Periods have been a taboo topic for so long now; from a young age I and most of my friends have been embarrassed about it. In school, a period was a fear of leaking and stressing about who to ask if you forgot a pad or a tampon. Then it was break-outs and bloating and generally feeling like crap. It also became an excuse for people to patronise your feelings, a whole week where anything that annoys or upsets you is put down to you being ‘on’. After speaking with Julie, I realised that these issues were small in comparison to those endured by our sisters across Africa and in other less economically developed countries.
(image from smartgirlsgroup)
So, with this in mind I decided to give it a go and let you know what happened!
When the Ruby Cup arrived, it came in a little box with instructions and its own cute little bag. It wasn’t as other-worldly as I expected; I was thinking weird, scary grapples, but the design was simple and the cup is silicone so, no scariness there. I used the medium size and it fit perfectly.
I can safely say that day 1 with the cup was a definite learning curve. It took me a little while to get to grips with using the cup properly. However, even the first try, despite not getting it totally right, I could immediately feel the difference. After reapplying it and getting it right the second time, I didn’t need to change it all day and, if it wasn’t for the occasional cramps, I would have forgotten that I was on my period altogether.
The removal was the part I had been most nervous about, so when it came to actually taking it out I had the worries of, ‘what if it never comes out- has it been sucked up into my stomach, never to return again?’ Thankfully, this didn’t happen. I’ve always been a worrier so when I noticed myself doing it again, I told myself that worrying wouldn’t sort anything and decided to see it for what it was, it wasn’t a big deal. At first, it is a little weird. It feels like more work to remove than it takes with a tampon or a pad, but if you take your time and use some help from your pelvic muscles, it’s really easy. I mean, this is day 1 and I’d pretty much gotten the hang of it.
(image from hercampuslancasterinstagram)
Day 2 came and I’d used the cup throughout the night and the removal was noticeably easier than day 1. I emptied it out, rinsed, reapplied and got on with my day. Whereas with a tampon you have the worry that after a certain time you might need to take it out in case you’re heavier than you expected, I didn’t have this worry at all with the cup. I didn’t have any fears of leaking when I got up.
Day 3 came and I was in work. I work as a cleaner in a hotel and so I’m always on the go. I decided to make this day a little test for the cup and see how it worked when I was active. I did a whole shift without noticing the cup at all. The next day I went to the gym and same again. No pain, no discomfort, no leaks. Removal at this point was easy. It took me 5 minutes max before bed to rinse it out and reapply and 5 minutes to do the same again in the morning.
(image from pinterest)
After my period was over I sterilised the cup in some boiling water and now it sits in its little bag, ready to go when its needed!
The Ruby Cup is literally the best product I’ve tried in a long time, completely overshadowing tampons and pads, giving me an immense freedom that I haven’t had before. There’s no more fears of leaking, leaving it in too long or the serious risk of toxic shock syndrome. As it’s a one-time buy, you’re also free from the financial strain of buying tampons and pads. There’s no double checking every time you take out a new handbag, incase you forgot to pack emergency tampons, as you’ve just got one handy little product. It’s great to know that wherever I end up I have a safe, reliable product. Plus, I get a nice little feeling every time I remember how using the cup is promoting eco-friendly living that’s completely safe to use, and is helping to educate girls all over the world.
Using Ruby Cup has completely changed my perception of periods, I’m so much more laid back about it now. As a professional worrier, it’s nice to see a few worries knocked off my extremely long list! For any more information about the cup have a look at my interview with Julie or visit the Ruby Cup site!