If you haven’t heard of menstrual cups yet, I don’t know under which rock you’ve been hiding those past few years! 😀 But honestly, as trendy as menstrual cups have become lately, they really are THE REAL DEAL! 🙂 I’ve been using my menstrual cup for 4 years now and there is just no going back for me – ever. For anyone caring about the environment or looking for an alternative to tampons or pads, I’d highly recommend checking them out!

Whilst there are a number of different brands out there (apparently in some countries you can even buy them in grocery stores now), my favorite menstrual cup brand is OrganiCup, as they’re made from 100% medical grade silicone, no BPA, latex or dyes – and just fit really really well! Apart from that, the OrganiCup is much softer than other cups I’ve seen and very easy to pinch together into a C-fold.

I have to admit, when I first made the switch 4 years ago I was a bit skeptical. A cup seems quite big and complicated in comparison to a tampon at first – but honestly it’s the easiest thing to use if you’re comfortable with your body. At the beginning it takes a couple of tries to get the hang of using it properly, mainly how to fold it correctly to insert it, adjust it so it sits well and properly remove it afterwards. But it really is as easy as inserting a tampon, once you understand how it works.

If you’re worried about how exactly everything works, make sure to check out this guide on how to use a menstrual cup!

In all honesty, there are quite a few changes I’ve made during these past years that completely changed my life. Apart from going vegan, and switching to natural birth control through fertility tracking, using a menstrual cup has been another one! Having your period and using tampons can be such a stressful thing. You’re constantly concerned about leaks and personally (sorry if tmi) they always just felt super dry and just not comfortable, or convenient.

Now, with my OrganiCup, I simply insert it on the day of my period and have nothing to worry about for the next 12 hours. Depending on the strength of my flow I empty it more frequently but usually it’s a time frame between 8-14 hours. No need to change your plans, because you can still hike, swim and do any outdoor activities without worry of needing to get to a bathroom at a specific time or always having a spare tampon.

I know some people are concerned about what happens if you have to empty your cup in a public toilet, but I got to say, the few times that this actually happened to me weren’t bad at all. I’d either use a toilet for people with disability for a few minutes where the sink is inside, or use toilet paper and wipes to clean the cup after emptying it into the toilet. No big deal at all!

Now, let’s talk about the impact of menstrual cups. Just consider the amount of waste created each month by disposable period products. Consider the chemicals they often contain, and that we put inside our bodies. Did you know that just one individual uses about 11.000 disposable period products in a lifetime? That’s just an insane amount of waste that can easily be avoided.

Tampons, pads and panty liners along with their packaging and individual wrapping generate more than 200,000 tonnes of waste per year, and typically all contain plastic. If these products alone are replaced by a reusable menstrual cup that you’ll use for many years the impact is tremendous (it actually amounts to 99,9% less waste)! For more infos on how much waste and money you’d actually save, check out this calculator.

I honestly can’t recommend the OrganiCup enough to anyone interested in trying a menstrual cup—especially if you’re a beginner user who wants something with clear instructions and simple handling. If you’re interested in trying it, you’ll get 20% when using the code TastyK20 so it’ll only cost you around 26€.