Lunette Menstrual Cup – Orange – Model 1 for Light Bleeding

The Lunette menstrual cup has been a total game changer. It’s comfortable, easy to insert and remove, and once it’s in, I forget it’s even there. No leaks, even on heavier days, and I can go hours without worrying about it. It’s also super easy to clean and holds up well between cycles. The quality is excellent, flexible, but sturdy. A smart, sustainable alternative to pads or tampons, and well worth the investment.

After months of going down the dark hole of menstrual cup research, I found this cup. The first time I used it, I took a deep breath and put it in - no problem. Then I wanted to make sure I could get it out - problem. I couldn't get it out. I was panicking and tensing up which made it way worse. I took a half an hour breather during which I watched a YouTube video by precious period stars about removing a cup and instantly I realized my error. I was approaching the cup like it was a silicone tampon. This is not a silicone tampon. This is a cup, along with all cups, that functions primarily by suction, which means if you don't break said suction you will be in a tug of war match with your cervix. Do not get in a tug of war match with your cervix. Just don't do it. Instead, you need to bear down, use the stem to wiggle it down, and then pinch the bottom of the cup to break the suction. You will need to get comfortable with you body including the fact that you will need to bear down to bring the cup low enough to break the suction. See earlier point about this not being a silicone tampon. After my initial episode of putting said cup in and freaking out about not getting said cup out, I kept practicing. Mostly because I was and am too stubborn to go back to tampons and too active to wear pads regularly. Quickly I began to realize my cup was hit or miss whether or not it was comfortable because it sometimes wasn't opening and sometimes it would. When it opened I joined the chorus of women who who wrote odes to their cup. But when it didn't open, oh when it didn't open, I would be reduced to PMS-filled, rage-induced, tears on my bathroom floor. Try as I might, I could not get this cup open consistently. 6 months later, I still occasionally walk out of the bathroom defeated by a stubborn lunette that just won't open. Despite being battle-weary cup user I am, I have learned a lot and still use my Lunette every cycle. Here is my advice for using Lunette or other cups: 1) RELAX! If my muscles are tense this cup won't open. For me this means I can't insert the cup when I'm freaking out or after I've accomplished certain bathroom activities that require air freshener. I have to put a panty liner on and wait a few minutes before inserting. 2) You need to bear down like you're having a BM and yet relax your vaginal muscles 3) I needed to trim 1 notch off the stem otherwise I felt like I was being stabbed - but I didn't do this until I was able to develop the "bearing down skills" I needed to bring the cup lower. 4) If this cup doesn't open, then sometimes "tapping" or pushing a flat edge of the cup inside can cue the cup to pop open. I haven't had much luck rotating (how do you even do that?), pinching (It's a vagina, not a hallway), or pressing the folded edge (it's round, so the fold just moves). 5) If you walk away in defeat, refrain from throwing this cup in the garbage, yelling at people or animals when you're really angry at your cup, burning your cup, or writing an angry review. Sometimes I walk away in defeat, only to come back in 30-60 minutes to retry and have the cup magically open on it's own. 6) I've had the best luck with the "7-fold". I started out with the punch down fold, but this fold very rarely resulted in opening. I have experimented with the C-fold and it is not the most comfortable fold and has also NEVER resulted in Lunette opening automatically. Because Lunette sometimes doesn't open reliably for me, manually opening is hit or miss, and if manually opened I get leaking, I tried the Lena cup. While Lena has great customer service, the Lena cup was too firm for me. Sure, the firmness meant it opened every time without fail, but it created a constant pressure from being too firm. I tried Lena four times in two separate cycles, to no avail. Lunette is still my go to cup, but it is not my goldilocks cup. And I still need to buy pads for when it won't open and panty liners for when I have to manually open Lunette. But I have yet to resort to tampons because of how much more comfortable cups feel (again, when they open and aren't too firm). In the mean time, I shall continue to use Lunette and keeping my eyes peeled for my golidlocks cup. I've added a comparison picture of Lunette and Lena for those sisters exploring options or in the deep dark hole of menstrual cup research.

This is my second small one now. The first one lasted 10 years which I found quite amazing. In case someone is wondering when to get a new one, my cup had gone bad when the discoloration was impossible to remove. I find the smaller size amazingly comfortable. I feel the pressure a bit, especially when the cup is full and heavy, but it is not too bad. The bigger size is stiffer silicone and I found it somewhat uncomfortable to use. I personally only use it occasionally on those heavier days. I know it can be intimidating to start using one of these, but if it works out for you, they are absolutely amazing. I save money and contribute less waste and I am much more comfortable than when using disposable pads or tampons

It takes a little bit of getting used to how to correctly insert it so you won't get any leaks. When you figure it out though it is amazing. Think of it. Being able to go away for months at a time without having to worry about bringing products with you taking up valuable space in your travel bags. Not having to make emergency runs to the store because you ran out of other menstrual products. Only having to carry one thing in your purse instead of several tampons/pads. It's also discreet. It comes in a satiny pouch which just looks like a satin pouch as opposed to pads or tampons which every one can identify. It's also good for the environment as it is reusable. It is also sanitize-able. Unless you don't feel comfortable having to insert your fingers into your vagina I would totally get it. It is a totally worthwhile purchase in both comfort and financial expenditures. Once it is inserted, if you've done it correctly, you won't feel it at all. As opposed to a tampon which can only hold about 5mLs of blood though this cup can hold about 15-20mL. I've kept it in for >12 hrs without having to change it. I usually have more of a moderate flow period so if you have a heavier one you would need to change it more often. As a health care professional though I would definitely advocate this product for those with heavier periods. Many times people with heavier periods want to be able to quantify exactly how much blood they are expressing and if it is significantly more or less than previous months. It can help their Dr's immensely to get a better idea of the level of blood flow. Pros -Not disposable, earth friendly -Cost effective, recommendation for this product is to change every 10yrs. $40/10yrs= $4/yr for menstrual products -Comfortable, if you insert it correctly -Can hold about 2-3x times as much as pads and 3-4x as much as tampons, depending on which model you get -Can stay in place for >12 hrs for light or moderate flow -Does not dry out the vagina like tampons can -Does not make the vaginal area overly hot or wet feeling like some pads can -Also, on the subject of pads, the material wont shred getting bloody cotton bits all over your peri area -Does not alter environment of vagina Cons -Initially more expensive than disposable products -Can leak or be uncomfortable if inserted incorrectly -Takes a few cycles to learn how to insert it correctly, I found the 'shell' fold to works best with insertion for me -Can make certain people uncomfortable being so intimately involved with their vagina or menstrual blood Anyway, I can't say enough good things about this product. Please buy it.

If you’re looking for a cup with the strongest suction, this is it. This was my first time using a menstrual cup. Insertion was fairly easy after a few tries and different fold attempts. Went to bed with no problems. Then comes morning. Time to take it out. It would not budge. I got my finger up as high as I could and could not break the seal. I even tried pulling on the stem at the same time as pushing down with my finger and it would not budge. After some panicking and lots of YouTube videos, I decided to give it some time in hopes gravity would help as it filled up. NOPE. A few hours later, it was still stuck. No matter what position I tried, it would not move. It had been about 16 hours at this point and everything online was saying to go to urgent care. And so I did. It took the doctor a few minutes to get it out which feels like an eternity when you have a speculum in and a strange man digging around your nether regions. He even struggled to release the suction and pull it out. It was painful at times. Afterwards, the nurse said there was no way I would have probably been able to release the suction on my own. I can confidently say I will not be using a cup again. Giving this 3 out of 5 because this could have been more of a me issue than the cup. It was much easier to get in than the cheaper ones I bought so not the worst menstrual cup there is.