No strings attached
Businesswoman Julie created her own brand of the innovative cup that does away with many women’s need for clumsy tampons
Fitted lace skirt, £24.99, www. hm.com Pink coat, £75, www.jd williams. co.uk Cardigan, £39, www.simplybe.co.uk didn’t result in a leak. Julie, from Glasgow, said: “I have found there are tons of benefits. No leaks, no peeing on a tampon string, not having to change a tampon every time I go to the bathroom and being able to go out with full confidence that I don’t have to worry about menstrual blood on my trousers.”
The cup, inserted into the vagina, works by collecting the blood, rather than absorbing it.
There is also no smell as the flow doesn’t come into contact with oxygen, far less risk of TSS (toxic shock syndrome) and there also isn’t the dryness associated with tampons.
They can also avert the nightmare of being caught out without sanitary products.
It comes with a foldable wash cup which can be used in a public bathroom and while travelling, by filling it halfway with water, popping the menstrual cup in and, after a good shake, drying it with tissue. It’s also eco-friendly, clean and won’t block the toilet. Types of the cup have been around since the 1930s but could also hold the key to issues such as period poverty – caused by the punitive cost of buying sanitary products every month.
The controversial sanitary tax – VAT on tampons – won’t be fully scrapped until next year.
The average cost of a menstrual cup is around £20, roughly the same as a six-month supply of tampons, but they can last as long as 10 years if properly looked after. But naturally, they are not going to suit everyone.
Period poverty has become such an issue that the Scottish Government last month announced a pilot project to provide free feminine sanitary products to low-income women and girls.
The six-month initiative across seven regeneration areas in Aberdeen is aimed at tackling the increasing problem of period poverty, which has been compounded by swingeing benefit cuts.
The Scottish Government will use the results to help make policies on tackling the issue across the country but free menstrual cups could be the way forward.
Julie has now created her own brand of the device, named the Unicorn Cup.
Other types include the Mooncup, the Divacup and the Rubycup.