Ruby Cup Review

Now that I have had my Ruby Cup for three cycles, I would like to share my thoughts on it.

To begin with, a menstrual cup is basically a cup (usually made from medical grade silicone) that is inserted into the vagina and forms a light suction to stay there and collect menstrual blood.

Ruby Cup size Medium - Purple

After being introduced to the world of re-usable menstrual products, namely menstrual cups,  I decided upon the Ruby Cup.
I chose this cup for two reasons; one being that it has such great reviews on its stem, silicone and capacity, and the other being that I love their ethics of for every cup purchased, one is sent to a girl in Kenya to help her stay in school and be able to participate in everyday life while she is on her period.

The Ruby Cup comes with a cute little pouch made from organic cotton as well as a booklet with information on insertion and how to care for your cup. I also bought the steriliser (which can be compacted) because it was more convenient than putting in in a saucepan to boil (all you do to sterilise the Ruby Cup is put it in the steriliser and fill with water then put it in the microwave for 3-5 minutes). The cup and steriliser together retails at €39.95.

Ruby Cup, Pouch and Steriliser

Steriliser Compacted

 I would like to say before I start, that since I have not owned a cup before, I am not able to compare the Ruby Cup to any others and my review is based solely on how it has worked for me.


Insertion
Whilst it took some getting used to - being a first time cup user- I found that the Ruby Cup size medium was a good size for me, generally popped open well, and did not leak at all after getting the hang of it.
I found that the punch-down fold was the easiest to insert, and it tended to pop open better than others.


Removal
The Ruby Cup is very easy to remove because of the super grippy stem which is a hollow tube. As you may be able to see in the first photograph, the three grip rings on the cup itself are quite subtle, meaning they are very comfortable but they are not as grippy as some other cups. As I have a very high cervix this was not a problem for me as I use the stem to take it out, but it may be more of a problem for people who need to completely cut off the stem.

* I found that removing my cup in the shower is super easy and efficient especially when just getting the hang of it.


Capacity
The capacity of the Ruby Cup size Medium is somewhere between 24 and 34mL because of the airholes. I found that for me, someone who has a moderate flow that lasts 4-5 days, I would be fine emptying it twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed. Towards the end of my cycle, I also found that I could get away with leaving it in for around 24 hours, you should note however that this is not advised, but after looking into it, I could not see any health risks or disadvantages other than some people found that when removing the cup, it sometime smelled a bit funky.

The measurements of the Ruby Cup size Medium are:

Stem Length: 17mm
Cup Length: 51mm
Total Length: 68mm
Diameter: 45mm
Capacity to Airholes: 24mL
Capacity to Brim: 34mL

Bella
xxx

P.S, If you like my blog, or are intersted in learning more about the environment, feminism an re-usable menstrual products, please follow, either via e-mail, or google with the tools to the right.

My First Experience with Re-Usable Menstrual Products (RUMPs) Part Two

If you haven't already, please read my previous post My First Experience with Re-Usable Menstrual Products (RUMPs) Part One, as this follows on from that.

Day One (Day Two of my cycle):
Upon receiving my cup, I immediately raced to the bathroom to see how it would go.
Armed with my laptop and cup, I prepared myself. I folded my cup using the punch-down fold and tried to insert it.I didn't seem to be able to get it up past the rim.
After beginning to feel as though I had been wrong about my revolutionary world saving menstrual cup, I turned to on of Bree's videos designed to help those new to the RUMPs world. Honestly such a lifesaver!
Bree is a youtuber whose main goal is to help educate people about RUMPs, as well as other matters relevant to the female reproductive system. She has tons of videos comparing different cup, so I would recommend checking them out before purchasing your own.

Anyway, after my many failed attempts at insertion, I finally got it in! The stem poked out just the tiniest amount, but I figured I would wait until I was sure before trimming it, but otherwise it was great! No leaking or discomfort unless I walked around too much.

After around 5 hours, just before going to bed, I decided to take it out and empty it. Honestly, I was disappointed with the tiny amount that was there - the blood only reached the 5 ml measuring line (about 1/6 of the total capacity). I re-inserted, put on a pad just incase and hoped for the best.

Day Two:
The first night of using my cup was fantastic! No leaks or discomfort, but the best thing was I could get up in the morning and take my time to get to the bathroom, as the horrible waterfall feeling when getting up in the morning was now a thing of the past!

However the greatness of this day was short lived. As it was a school day, I put on a backup pad and inserted my cup. It felt as though it had been inserted properly and I could hardly feel it. Spoiler alert: This is when it starts to get bad. Literally within the first two minutes of leaving my house, I began to feel this strange and almost painful rubbing inside my vagina, making it very uncomfortable to walk.I decided that it was fine; I could make it to school, it's only forty minutes away.
Boy did I regret that! The rest of the walk and train ride was filled with pain and images of my cup falling out and leaking everywhere!
As soon as I got to school I raced to the bathroom and had no choice but to pull the thing out.I knew that I was supposed to wash it out with water, but as I had none ( unless of course, I wanted to clean out my bloody cup in the middle of peak bathroom hour!) I used toilet paper, and was happily surprised by how well it worked. I re-inserted and hoped for the best.

By lunch it was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable, and when I went to the bathroom, I discovered that it had started leaking. I pulled it out and noticed that there was some blood in the cup - I assumed that it had not opened properly, so half of the blood was caught, and the other half leaked straight past the cup.

The nest time that I took it out was when I was at work, so again I wasn't able to wash it out. As earlier, this turned out fine, and it didn't leak or feel uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

Day Three:
As this was the forth day of my period, I didn't use it after this day.
Similarly to the previous day, I woke up happy; no leaks, no pain and no complaints. This day was a weekend so I didn't have much on the agenda apart from going swimming in the morning for which I used a tampon just to be sure. The day went on as usual, and passed without many leaks and only mild cramping, which was solved with a heat pack and some Mintec (peppermint oil).

Overall, my experience was not as successful as I would have hoped, but I'm not giving up on it just yet!

Bella
xxx

P.S, If you like my blog, or are intersted in learning more about the environment, feminism an re-usable menstrual products, please follow, either via e-mail, or google with the tools to the right.

My First Experience with Re-Usable Menstrual Products (RUMPs) Part One

Recently, I came across a previously unheard of concept; re-usable menstrual products, or also known as RUMPs. Until then, I had only ever known about disposable menstrual products; pads and tampons. It was whilst tracking my period on strawberrypal.com that I noticed an advertisment featuring the 'Mooncup - a great alternative to tampons.'

Being the curious creature that I am, this intrigued me; 'what other means of dealing with one's flow could there posibly be?' my naive mind asked.

Upon researching further, I discovered this fabulous video debating the pros and cons of both menstrual cups and tampons:

It, and the moon cup websitetold me all that I needed to know:
 - Menstrual cups can be used for up to 12 hours at a time.
 - One menstrual cup can be used for up to 10 years, saving the earth from millions of disposables each year.
 - Menstrual cups have not been linked to any cases of Toxic Shock Syndrome.

As hooked on the idea as I was, I knew that it would be a challenge convincing my Mum of this relatively unknown form of sanitary product (Being only 15 years old, I wasn't able to buy one online myself, nor do they sell them in stores where I live).

Boy did it take some convincing! Luckily I had done my research; she was full of questions.'Won't it hurt? It looks huge.' 'Is it safe?' 'Does the plastic leach?' 'Is it hard to use?' and of course; 'How do you know you'll use it?'

Whilst I had many of these answers already, others would have to come from experience.

Other than the moon cup, there are plenty of other brands that make menstrual cups. Some of the more popular ones are:
 - Lunette Cup
 - Ruby Cup
 - Diva Cup
 - Lily Cup
 - MeLuna Cup
and the list goes on and on.

Most brands have at least two different sized cups, and almost all of them (excluding the Keeper - Latex and the MeLuna cups - TPE) are made of 100% medical grade silicone, meaning they are completely safe for internal use.

In th end I decided on the Ruby Cup size Medium because I had seen some great reviews on the company, but mostly because they have a policy in which for every cup purchase, one will be donated to a girl in Africa who cannot access sufficient sanitary products.

My cup couldn't have arrived at a better time. As I was on the second day of my period, I was so excited to try it out. In the package (a pink biodegradable bag) came my cup in the colour purple, a cotton pouch to store my cup, a booklet on how to care for and use my cup as well as a pink steriliser which I also purchased.

See part two for my daily account of my first time using my Ruby Cup.


Bella
xxx

P.S, If you like my blog, or are intersted in learning more about the environment, feminism an re-usable menstrual products, please follow, either via e-mail, or google with the tools to the right.