REVIEW: JUJU MENSTRUAL CUP (WARNING - GRAPHICALLY WRITTEN FOR GIRLS ONLY)

It's not often you come across a review like this, or at least not on my blog. Periods suck and it seems like an unfortunate taboo that women have to live with which is a real shame as it is only a normal occurrence that usually happens every month for most girls. Sure, there are plenty of embarrassing stories we can share but in the end, they're just slip ups during the monthly pain we all have to endure. In this review, I'll be talking about what the benefits of this cup are and how I feel after I have used them. I'll also give you a run down on how they work so yes, keep reading if you want to know how it works or if you're just interested in the idea. Otherwise, this post might not be for you, but in any case, enjoy reading about my experience!

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get to the nitty gritty bits of these vastly popular menstrual cups. I chose the Juju menstrual cup because it's an Australian product made in our very own country. And it is also the only one you can buy off the shelves without having to order them online. These retail for $55 and I believe there are only two places in Victoria that you can get them from so I was lucky to live close enough to one of the places or I'd have waited a couple of days for it to ship to me and I'm not that patient kind person. 

Menstrual cups are meant to be reusable; meaning you'd only really need to purchase one of them but of course, no one is stopping you from buying more. But they are pricey just as they are. That being said, because they're reusable, you would also no longer need to be constantly purchasing pads and tampons for at least 5 years so if you're usually buying let's say $10 worth of products every month, you'd be spending $600 throughout those 5 years and with the purchase of a menstrual cup you'd have saved yourself $645. Although, this isn't really a selling point for me as we've just learned that it comes with naturally being a woman and we don't think much of buying things for ourselves each month. Menstrual cups should only really be made out of medical-grade silicone and not latex. This means that they should all be hygienic and easy to clean (just rewording what it says on my Juju box). The whole point of these cups is that they are safe, hygienic and most importantly, they are eco-friendly as you would no longer be needing to dispose any used tampons and pads. That was it's selling point for me because when I thought about it, I thought about how many menstrual products I use in one cycle and then I think about how many products other women just in my state alone use and really, that's super gross when you come to think about it. Not only that, imagine how big that pile gets when you add an extra 11 more cycles and perhaps add the rest of your country. That's probably the biggest, most foul and smelliest thing to imagine. But enough of that. If more women were inspired to use menstrual cups, that little imagery I just created for you would be much smaller and definitely better for our biodiversity. 

Using menstrual cups from my experience is not easy, but neither was using a tampon for the first, second or third time. So just like tampons, practice sure makes perfect. Maybe. But with cups, once they're in, you can no longer feel them as they are almost malleable because they shape themselves to fit your vaginal walls. Just like most products, your cups should include an  instruction leaflet about the product and the brand and also how you insert your cup. For me, I've been using a U-shape fold to insert it. Inserting it is no problem, I've only really inserted it in the shower so things are slightly lubricated and there are many ways first-timers can try to put it in there. But for some of us who get surprises when were out, there are also ways you can insert your cup comfortably. Again, refer to your leaflet. Once it's in there, you also have to check that our cup has created a suction inside your vagina so when you tug on the little spine or tail of the cup, it won't want to slip out anytime soon. This is the hardest part for me as I think using the Juju mentrual cup means you'll need to often slip your fingers into your vagina along the sides of the cup to make sure you're really sealed up. That's terrifying to read about I know, but we do a similar thing with tampons. You have to ensure you've created a suction so that your cup doesn't come out, but also so that your cup catches all your blood without seeping out and staining your undies. For my first 3 days of using the cup, I wore a panty liner in case this did happen since I've never used a cup before. You shouldn't need panty liners but I'm glad I did because it did seep throughout my first days. And I didn't know why. By my third day, I think I got better with figuring how and where the cup should sit as I was no longer leaking things onto my undies and for the rest of my period, I didn't have a reoccurring problem. That being said, I don't know what it was that I did to stop that from happening so that was just pure luck that I managed not to make a mess. 

Different brands can provide you with different colours and sizes. Most have standard sizes but they can come in bigger and smaller cups depending on how your body works. They say it depends on age but I've read that it really depends on your body type or whether you have given birth or not. There might also be some of you especially those who have heavy periods that are probably wondering how much a menstrual cup can hold. Now, I'm not entirely sure because everyone is different. My heaviest days are at the start of my period and I was concerned that I wouldn't know unless I took it out. On my first day, I tried taking it out in public toilets as I was out and wasn't able to do this at home. I had intimate wipes with me so I just dip the blood into the toilet bowl and clean it with my wipes before inserting it back without having to leave my cubicle. I thought I'd have bled more than I saw when I took it out. As my pad would have been very heavy if I had been wearing one. I'd had my cup in for 5 hours at this stage and the cup wasn't even near the line towards the brim. It was filled about half way. Our pads have chemicals in them that react to our periods which add weight and seem full to us making us believe that our periods are that heavy. They also have a dried pool of fragrances which is why we also think our periods stink. With the menstrual cup, I couldn't smell a thing. You're supposedly able to keep it in there for no more than 10 hours and I tried this theory on my third day and there was no scent. Think about it, if there's anything you'd be smelling it should only be blood. People bleed and it's not gross and neither does it smell. Your period is merely blood and blood clots so it should only really smell like, well, blood which is nothing. 

After using the Juju menstrual cup for 6 days, I feel like I'm still in no position to recommend this product. I've only tried it for one cycle so I think if I were to try it a couple more times I'd have a better opinion about it. I like the purpose of menstrual cups and I mean, if I were to perfect the insertion of my cup, it would be a no brainer like a tampon and I'd definitely ditch the smelly disposals. Otherwise, I do suggest girls to try it at least once because you'll never know if you like it until you try it. In the beginning, I had strong opinions about not using cups because the thought was gross and unnecessary. But really giving the product a go makes me think otherwise. I will say this, if you're contemplating on buying one, do what I did and read up about them. Read some reviews and watch YouTube videos as well. These really do help with figuring out which menstrual cup you should get and some may even answer questions you have because I haven't mentioned what you're after. But if you do have questions, ask down below and I will get back to you on it as soon as I can. Thank you for reading and good luck with your decision!