About
A menstrual cup is form of reusable menstrual protection. It is inserted into the vagina to collect menstrual fluids. Once in place it forms a seal, preventing blood flowing out of the vagina by collecting it in its “cup” shaped reservoir. Unlike a tampon which absorbs the blood along with the vagina’s natural secretions, a menstrual cup simply holds the fluids until you remove it – so they do not dry out the vagina and do not hold the TSS risk that tampons do.
They hold around 20-30ml, which is for most women will cope with a full day without emptying, and at most perhaps you would need to empty it a few times a day for a very heavy flow. A menstrual cup will last (with proper care) for around 10 years, perhaps longer, so while the initial outlay is high, it pays for itself with savings pretty quick.
This is a sister site to www.clothpads.org. For information on cloth pads, please check that website.
This blog is a place to find information about the different cup brands I know about. All the brands I am aware of, are listed in the menu – Clicking on these brand-name links will take you to a page of information I have about them.
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About
A menstrual cup is form of reusable menstrual protection. It is inserted into the vagina to collect menstrual fluids. Once in place it forms a seal, preventing blood flowing out of the vagina by collecting it in its “cup” shaped reservoir. Unlike a tampon which absorbs the blood along with the vagina’s natural secretions, a menstrual cup simply holds the fluids until you remove it – so they do not dry out the vagina and do not hold the TSS risk that tampons do.
They hold around 20-30ml, which is for most women will cope with a full day without emptying, and at most perhaps you would need to empty it a few times a day for a very heavy flow. A menstrual cup will last (with proper care) for around 10 years, perhaps longer, so while the initial outlay is high, it pays for itself with savings pretty quick.
This is a sister site to www.clothpads.org. For information on cloth pads, please check that website.
This blog is a place to find information about the different cup brands I know about. All the brands I am aware of, are listed in the menu – Clicking on these brand-name links will take you to a page of information I have about them.
Maybe the wrong place to leave this… Wondering if you will be reviewing the EvaCup? I can’t tell if it’s a Diva Cup knock off. Not many reviews on Amazon yet. It’s not as cheap as the really cheap-o $5 ones you discussed in one post, but significantly cheaper than most name brand cups.
I found a discussion about Eva Cup on livejournal… But wondered what your thoughts on it would be…
http://menstrual-cups.livejournal.com/3329369.html
Ps thanks for all the info you provide here 🙂 I just ordered my first cup, went with sckoon 🙂
Hey there – found a new brand that looks like it’s probably a Lunette knockoff but thought you’d be interested in checking it out anyway: http://www.lalunacup.com/
Thank you so much for all the extensive research you have compiled here! What a wealth of valuable information 🙂 Do you happen to know if any of the cups offer any type of warranty or guarantee?
I don’t think many of them do. Diva used to, I don’t know if they do any more.
Thanks for your feedback. If anyone else knows of any warranty/satisfaction guarantee please let me know 🙂
Hi! Have you seen this one? http://www.azencup.com/
Looks like a total Fleurcup knockoff to me. But oh wow, that purple…
Yes, it appears to be the Fleurcup.
Hi obsidian. I love all the work you’re doing to spread awareness and help people choose the right cup. I run http://menstrualcupmap.com – I wanted to make it easy for people to find where they can buy menstrual cups in physical stores, so I made a map of all the retailers I could find. I was hoping you’d consider adding a link to it on your blog somewhere so more people can find it.
WOW! what an awesome and ambitious task!
Could you please add me – I stock Lunette in Ferntree Gully Victoria (Australia) – shop name Obsidian Star (www.obsidianstar.com.au). There are also some ladies selling Lunette, Juju and Diva from http://www.clothpadshop.com – I can get a list of where they are located and what cups they sell if you like. If I find any more I’ll let you know.
What are the blue symbols? I assume the pink daisy is Diva? I worked out the others 😀 Is it possible to include a “legend” to explain what the symbols are?
I didn’t realise you were a fellow Australian! Hi. I usually only add brick and mortar stores, not online stores, but I’ve added you anyway 🙂 I just get the list of retailers from the brand’s website, for example http://store.lunetteaustralia.com.au/pages/local-stockists for lunette.
The map used to have a legend, but I thought it only complicated the interface. If you click on any of the markers, it will give you a link to the brand anyway. The blue ones are a bit different – they’re parcelpoint locations where you can have a package sent and collect it from there.
Jenni: As far as I know, all Boots stores in the UK sell the UK version of the Mooncup.
Moem: the stores listed on http://www.mooncup.co.uk/how-to-order/uk-stockists.html including boots stores are on the map if you zoom in, but I haven’t updated it in a few months so some might be missing.
😀 Ahh thank you, but if it’s just bricks and mortar stores, then you don’t need to add me, that might confuse people.
That makes sense why there were so much fewer than I thought… and bricks and mortar stores makes more sense.
I’ll do a post about it.
Hi,
Since you mention the TSS risk of tampons, you might find this recent article interesting. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4556184/#b5-jidmm-26-218
Hello.
We love this site, it is very informative with tons of great information.
We are trying to find a list of menstrual cups that have been registered with the FDA.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Kindest Regards,
MRF
You can search the FDA database.
Menstrual cups fall under the “HHE” product code, and you’re wanting to search the “Establishment and device” register
This link hopefully will show the current registered establishments/devices:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfRL/rl.cfm?start_search=1&establishmentName=®Num=&StateName=&CountryName=&RegistrationNumber=&OwnerOperatorNumber=&OwnerOperatorName=&ProductCode=hhe&DeviceName=&ProprietaryName=&establishmentType=&PAGENUM=50
Hi, you miss the Luneale :
http://www.easycup.fr/liste-des-coupes/72-la-luneale.html
New French cup 🙂 Made in France and tested by EasyCup
Yes there are a few brands I need to add to the site – however please remember that I do this voluntarily and this time of year is very busy for everyone…. so I will add it as soon as I am able to.
Hi Obsidian – I’ve been a fan of your site for a while. Just wanted to say thank you again. I’ve been using a cup for about 15 years and it was certainly a game-changer for me. I learned about them from Sister Zeus, back when there were about 100 sites on the internet, in total, haha! I recommend them to almost ALL of the women I meet and I usually direct them them to this site for resources. I LOVE how your posts are so informative and well-written. You answer all the questions I have on the various cups. I love how you catch “copycat cups” and post about materials and quality. It’s SOOO important! I TRULY ADMIRE your SERVICE to this community!! Thank you for being such an EXCELLENT source of cup info!!
🙂 Aww thank you! 😀
Obsidian, I really like your reviews thank you. Would you please review the iris cup? It’s so hard to find reviews on it.
I pretty much only review cups that I have been given by the cup manufacturer. I asked them for a sample and they didn’t reply.
Wow! I can’t fathom the amount of information on your blog. Great work. I’ve read through some products and looking forward to reading through the rest of them. Thank you.
Wow, so many menstrual cups on this site! So many information!
Have you seen this before: http://www.lumunu.de/product/deluxe-lumunu-menstruationskoerbchen-moskito-purple-a.1706267.html
Might be interesting. because of the stem design..
Greetings from a german menstrual cup user (Fleurcup is my favourite for now)
Dear obsidian, we love your website and congratulate you on this achievement; it must be an extraordinary amount of work which went into creating it. We are a team of researchers and this is very helpful. We would like to ask you two questions regarding research on menstrual cups. Could you please contact us?
Hi! I am a senior in college, and for one of my classes we are attempting to redesign feminine products. This website has been very helpful for our research. We were hoping some of you would be able to take a survey for us because our current sample is lacking menstrual cup users. The survey is anonymous and will take about one minute. If you have time to take it we would greatly appreciate it! Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/a/umich.edu/forms/d/10HlcRusFDGQ94u9qKFcdJAE5k5A7Gs8plueW3rn8qbE/prefill
Thanks!
Sure, I’ve sent an access request.