Are Menstrual Cups Better Than Tampons

Menstrual Cups vs. Tampons: What’s The Difference?

If you menstruate, chances are you will be used to the age-old debate of tampons vs. pads, but you may have noticed a new contender on the scene.  Menstrual cups have gained some well-deserved popularity in the last few years, but what are they? Are they safe? And can they really compare to tampons?

It can sometimes be hard to find the answers to these questions or to have the confidence to try something new, so here at The Cova Project we thought we’d break it down for you. 

Eco-friendly:

One of the biggest benefits of using a menstrual cup is that they are completely reusable, which is great for the environment (yay!) and an easy way to reduce our negative impact.  They can be left in for up to twelve hours at a time and only require a little water to clean, unlike our old favourite tampons, which are disposable and require a change around every four to six hours. Think about it this way, you can reduce your waste input from 15,000 tampons or pads to just 4-5 menstrual cups over your lifetime. Trust us, Mother Earth will be grateful.

Affordability:

In Australia, majority of us have the privilege to afford sanitary products every month, but for those of us who don’t, the menstrual cup is a great option.  Once purchased, the cup can be kept for up to ten years, saving you the dreaded late-night shop run, the day before your period starts. 

Tampons, however reasonably affordable, are only good for one use which means that they need to be bought every month. That cost can add up, in fact HuffPost calculates that a person spends almost $1,800 on tampons in their lifetime. A lifetime supply of menstrual cups can run at around $250.

Hygiene:

Some people have this image in their head of blood spraying everywhere (a la Jason Pollock) when trying to remove a menstrual cup but as avid users of it ourselves, we’re here to tell you it couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, after your first use you’ll probably be surprised how much you actually bleed. Not only is it incredible easy to insert and remove a cup but it’s safe too. Tampons, on the other hand, are known to contain chemicals and can dry out the vagina (not fun), which can lead to infections.

If you want to find out more about how to use a menstrual cup click here. 

Every time you buy a cup from Flowcup, they donate one to The Cova Project. Buy a Flowcup here

Article by Ellie Busby