Product Review: Organic Cotton Oi Cup™ Medium

If you are a woman of child-bearing age then read on. If you’re not fitting into that category then perhaps you may want to skip this one. Unless you’re a grown man who doesn’t get funny when reading about periods and would like to buy your wife, partner or daughter a gift then read on.

The Oi Cup™ is the New Zealand version of the popular MoonCup. This is essentially a device which acts in the same way as a sanitary pad or tampon except or some key differences. It’s a natural alternative to pads and tampons and is made from reusable and recyclable medical grade TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomers). Basically you insert it by folding the exterior rim of the cup together and then pressing it inside of you. Once it’s inside it inflates into a balloon like shape and then captures blood flow. Afterwards you can dispose of the blood into the toilet and then rinse the cup under warm water before inserting it again.

Benefits

Free of silicone, latex, BPA and phthalates

Hypoallergenic

Reusable and recyclable

Minimal impact on the environment

Need only to change every 6-12 hours

Unlike pads and tampons, with the cup you can leave it in for up to 12 hours. There is also a reduced risk of toxic shock syndrome, even with leaving it in for up to 12 hours. This makes it ideal for travel and far more easier to use on long car and plane trips.

Economically sound

After the initial purchase (I got mine from a Wellness Festival for $30) you will potentially be able to use the device for every period during the rest of your child-bearing years. This means you will reduce the cost overall for buying pads and tampons. This shouldn’t be underestimated as governments all over the world love to tax women for these essential products.

Easy to wash

Boil it in a jar or pot of boiling water, then let it dry and it’s sterile and ready for reuse.

Challenges

Spillage on removal

Going to a fancy restaurant in Melbourne with some friends, I found myself trying to prize this thing out of me in the bathroom and whimpering in pain while there was a queue at the door and someone saying “Darl…are you alright in there?” In the mean time after pulling out the cup, a cannon load of blood came shooting out all over my light blue jeans, my white lace top, the toilet seat and the floor of the cubicle making it look like someone had been fucking murdered in there. I spent the next ten minutes cleaning it all up and then we all had to leave the restaurant afterwards after everyone saw what happened. In short, the cup doesn’t have any of the absorption as you would have with a tampon or pad, so if your cup runneth over, then you will literally find yourself in a flood of blood, when you take it out.

I recommend using pads or panty liners as well to help with this leakage and have on hand a lot of tissues to capture all of the blood coming out when you release it. Otherwise you may end up in the same situation as me.

Pain

Although the Oi cup has very defined sizing, I recommend being careful with sizing and erring on the side of caution and going for a size lower. That’s because if you are given a larger size of Oi Cup and you try to get this out of you easily when your entire body is seizing up, the pain can be excruciating. As the thing slides into you it inflates outward in a balloon fashion so that it manages to capture the blood. When you go to remove it from you, it remains inflated and so causes immense pain as it comes out.

If you have a very light period or you don’t suffer much from period pain then this won’t be an issue.

Overall I rate the Oi Cup a solid 3/5 because of the dramas I’ve had. I’d like to know what you would rate your Moon Cup or Oi cup and any negative or positive experiences that you’ve had with it.

And to end on a happy note, here’s some guys debating the merits of various options