Don't read this if you're male

One of my riskier forays into eco-goodness has been my feminine hygiene products, because that's just not something you want to mess up, and frankly non-disposable alternatives are all quite expensive and not really re-sellable if they don't work out for you. My period only came back a few months ago, and I decided to just take the plunge and if it didn't work out, I'd write it off as a learning experience.

Fortunately, it DID work out, and I have to say I'm sorry I didn't switch to my current system YEARS ago. In fact, even if it wasn't eco-good, I'd be doing this anyway.

The products: 1 Diva Cup, 4 small Luna Pads. Yup, that's it. That's all. For a whole period. But, even that small amount wasn't cheap - the diva cup is around $40 from Planet Organic (I've since discovered that London Drugs sells them too, and I bet they're cheaper there) and I splurged for the organic unbleached cotton luna pads, which were $12 each.

So, good thing it worked out. What really surprised me though was exactly HOW much more convenient & comfortable than tampons & disposable pads this little system is.

Once you figure it out and do the necessary tweaks and playing, there is just no contest between a tampon and a diva cup. There's a bit of a learning curve - the diva cup was a wee bit tricky the first couple times I used it and I had a bit of leakage until I figured out how to twirl it around so it opened up fully. After that, no leaks AT ALL. None, nada, zippo, even on my heaviest days. I did have to trim the stem completely off, contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, but thanks to the internet I'd heard of other people doing that with no horrible consequences. Now I can hardly feel it at all, and as it needs changing less frequently than a pad or a tampon, I really only have to think about my period maybe 3 times a day. Plus, no string hanging out! (I was always totally paranoid about that when I went swimming.) The only concern I have is that some other people have had the diva cup extract their IUDs for them, but so far no worries on that score, and we're close approaching the point where that wouldn't matter anyhow.

The pads are just for the really light days at the end when the diva cup was overkill, and for backup, more for peace of mind than anything. But I have to say, cloth pads are a lot more comfortable than the disposables, particularly since the Stayfree ones I formerly used got reengineered and turned all plasticky with a nasty "odour-surpressing" smell. Since then the best I could find were Kotex, but even their cloth-like covers don't come anywhere near actual cloth for comfort and there's still a plastic backing which gets all nasty and sweaty and sticky if it's hot out. Plus, the cloth pads are easily adjustable if you find they're positioned wrong (unlike disposables where if you peel them off the adhesive just never works again) and they don't have any plastic that somehow twists itself around and sticks to you while you're working out.

And, since I'm washing diapers pretty much every day, washing a cloth pad or two a day is no problem whatsoever. They also fold up neatly for transport in a purse or whatever. I'm totally sold. And I'll probably never have to buy ANY "curse equipment" again. No monthly "oh crap I'm out of tampons", and Stirling is forever exempt from running to LD to buy pads. All in all, totally a good thing.