MeLuna – My Thoughts

I found out about this brand in a post on the Menstrual_cups community. I must say, I found the picture of the dolls wearing the cups as hats to be just waaaaaaaaaay too cute to not have a fondness for this company right there! (I love it when a business has a sense of humour and fun about them).

I wrote to them and asked if they could send me some samples, and asking for some more info on the cups, and I got a reply back straight away saying yes, and giving me the info I asked for (and several pictures). Which I was impressed with.

I was excited about this brand not only because of the cup-hat wearing dolls but they are also purple and with a tab stem! I must say though that the plastic composition doesn’t put me at as much ease as it would being silicone, but then that is only because I don’t know much about the type of plastic they use. Apparently the same type of plastic is used in the Instead cups and also in things like baby bottle teats – so I am going to assume it is safe for menstrual cups, as the company says. And to be fair, I was a little wary of silicone when I first started researching cups (hearing stories of killer silicone breast implants [though that is a different type of silicone])… I think sometimes we are always wary of something new, and that doesn’t always mean bad. But I do know that a lot of people (myself included) are a little scared of all plastics, with the things you hear about (chemicals leaching out etc.)

They do however have a “flaw”, which I assume has to do with production, that the silicone cups for some reason don’t have.  It is a round mark on the rim, you can see in the picture below.

The price is certainly good, which is one benefit of using the plastic they do, instead of the silicone.

Testing it out – Firstly, it’s a very stiff material. Much more so than the other cups. It has the same sort of shape and rim as the Lady cup. With the folding tests I did prior to inserting the cup, I was a bit worried about the strength of the “pop” the cup does as you unfold it. But it pops out less violently when doing the “punchdown” method, so I used that.  It is actually nice to have a cup that pops open without problems when I’m inserting it on the toilet – I normally find that position a bit challenging to get the cups to open fully.  Even if once it did pop open too suddenly and give me a bit of a surprise

I first tried the cup with the tab stem. I found it very hard to grasp that stem. The cup has a lot of suction (more than I have experienced with other cups), so I wasn’t even able to pull the cup down a little to better reach the rim, as I am normally able to do. It took a bit to break the seal (especially since the rim is stiffer than other cups), and it was still more difficult than other stems to keep hold of (it was a bit slippery and thin).  Then I tried the ring stem – I was able to grip that better, so I would prefer this stem to the tab one.

Removing the cup is a little more “uncomfortable” (not painful, just not comfortable) than the other cups due to the stiffness.  I think the smoothness of the inside might make it easier to wipe clean than the other cups – it seemed to clean slightly more easily.  I like the  fact there is no writing or markings on the cup at all, so nothing to collect blood.

I noticed that when you fold the cup fully, little crack-like lines appear in the folds, which doesn’t happen in the other cups, so I assume it has to do with the plastic vs silicone thing? (or perhaps the cups they sent me are different in quality to what you would normally buy?) The “cracks” completely disappear when the cup isn’t being held in the fold, so I don’t think it is doing any permanent damage…. and also I didn’t boil the cup, I just poured boiling water over it and used a mild natural soap….. and I tried to fold it while still warm from the water, and it distorted the shape (oval). I folded it the other way to bend it back to round again, and it was then fine, but I don’t know if it would have stayed in that shape if I’d not folded it the other way.

I was trying the large size, and I had no leaking, though so far I haven’t worn it long enough to get anywhere near the holes.

Gear – I don’t know how they are usually packaged, but mine were packaged in a small plastic bag each, and then put in a mailing envelope. I assume customers actually buying these will get instructions – and I don’t know what other packaging they would use.

included with my samples was a pouch. Which is made from a blue suede-like fabric, with a silvery printed design of the woman and a moon. I quite like the pouch

Personal Observations – I’ve been impressed with this company. Not only with the fact they offer a good range of colours, but also a choice of stem types! Which is a great idea!!! When I have contacted them, the response was very quick and in good English (useful for us non-German speaking people)… and they have been more than helpful with providing extra images, and a sample of each of the colours and stem types of the cups!

Ratings

I’ve rated all the cups I’ve tried. They can be found here: http://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/my-comparisons-and-ratings

MeLuna Pictures

The very generous people over at MeLuna have sent me some of their cups!  So I thought Id take some photos of them.

This is all the colours of the cups, and the pouch.  The pouch is a sort of suede-like fabric, it feels very smooth and nice.  The black is actually black!  solid colour (not transparent) and very black!  I’m sure there will be lots of gals who will love that.

I don’t know how they will show on your screen, but the green is a lime green, the blue is a quite bright blue, the purple is gorgeous   The “red” is a sort of orangish red.  They are all quite vibrant colours.

Cup pictures from MeLuna

I e-mailed MeLuna and asked if they had any pictures of the coloured cups. They replied back straight away, and sent me several pictures! Including pictures of the cups next to tampons, which is a great visual reference for people who have never seen a cup in real life.  They are also sending me samples, so I will be able to include the MeLuna in some photos with other cups!   So here they are.

This shows the stem types available
(Ring, Classic stem, ball and no stem)

Shows the colours available

MeLuna

http://www.meluna.eu

Country of origin: Germany
Composition: FDA approved TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) Which is apparently a (BPA-free) plastic that is used to make medical equipment such as catheters, as well as other products such as baby bottle teats and some vibrators. It may also be the same material as Insteads disposable cups are made from.
Sizes: S (small) and L (large) (With an XL coming out shortly)
Dimensions: S = 40mm diameter, 46mm long with ball end, or 55mm long with stem (40mm body and 15mm stem) L = 45mm diameter, 51mm long with ball end, or 62.5mm long with stem (45.5 body and 17mm stem)
Capacity: S = 11mls to holes 16ml to the rim. L = 17ml to holes and 22ml to rim
Stem: Flat tab, ball, ring or no stem
Measuring Lines: No
Cost (RRP): € 12.00 [Currency Converter]
Guarantee: Unknown
Been around since: Early June 2009
Other Details: Colours available: red, pink, blue, green and purple. With the website mentioning glittered and gold and silver options as special editions, and a poll offering options of various colours, including black. First cup manufacturer to offer the additional ball/ring or no stem options

Coloured Cups

I thought I’d do a post about coloured cups, as I know some women are really enticed by colours. There are some great coloured cups on the market – which shows the cup manufacturers are thinking about their customers needs for visual appeal too.

LadyCup – Offers translucent Pink, Blue, Purple, Orange, Yellow and Green

Miacup – Offers an opaque (non-see through) purply-pink as their standard colour cup.

Lunette - Offers translucent blue “Selene”

MeLuna - offers red, pink, blue, green and purple. With the website mentioning glittered and gold and silver options as special editions, and a poll offering options of various colours, including black.

Fleurcup – offers pink, purple, orange and black