- [Hannah] Ooh!
Oh shit.
- Did she shit in a moon cup?
(upbeat music)
- Hey guys, welcome to episode 9 of the Hormone Diaries,
trying a menstrual cup for the first time.
And I think the best thing to do here is just to
let past Hannah take it away.
Hello, welcome to my bathroom.
I'm sat on the toilet.
You'll have to excuse the bathroom fan for the noise,
this is what we're working with.
Okay, I'm gonna try and use a menstrual cup
for the first time.
I'm not currently on my period, but it's due any day now,
and I've kind of been told by various sources
that trying it out before you're on your period
is probably the best
way to go.
Okay, so the cup I'm using is the Diva Cup.
I really have no idea about the difference between
all of them, I'm just using this one because
I got it for free.
So it has the stem on it, which I've been told
you can leave, or you can chop off,
depending on if it's sticking out or not.
I have no idea how high or low my cervix is,
so, not entirely sure how far this is gonna go up,
but we'll find out.
I've also brought some lube with me,
because not my period,
so might need a little helping hand.
Let's wash this, and wash my hands first.
So apparently there are like two different ways
that you can fold it.
The first one is you fold it in half, and then you ...
Do that.
And then the other one is you
push that down,
and pinch it like that.
I think I want to try this one first.
I don't know why, it just appeals to me more.
But if it doesn't work, then we can try the other one.
Right. (groans)
I'm genuinely scared, so I'm gonna get some lube.
(laughs, groans)
Oh God, maybe I should have pinched it
before I put the lube on, 'cause now it's slippery!
(screams, laughs)
Okay, putting lube on this is a bad idea,
because now I can't control it.
Maybe let's do this one.
Maybe I should have just put lube on my vagina.
Okay.
(laughs)
The lube just made it fall out into the toilet.
(groans) It's fine, toilet water's clean.
Okay, so the lube did not work for me, so ...
Just gonna go in.
We're just gonna ...
Go in.
Right.
Like, I can't even push it into my vagina.
I'm like, come on, you've had ...
Oh my God.
How do people do this?
Okay, second try, I'm gonna do this other foldy way.
(laughs) I can't balance, I need to hold onto something.
Ooh!
Okay, we're getting somewhere, we're getting somewhere.
Okay, so it's inside me,
but I don't think it's open.
So, apparently I need to like ...
(groans, laughs)
This is the most ridiculous thing.
What if I lose it up there?
Oh my God, like I can't actually really feel it,
'cause it's meant to like pop open,
so apparently I need to get my finger in.
Damn it, I wish I didn't have nails.
Oh my God.
Okay, let's just move it around a bit.
I can still feel the stem bit, which is good,
I'm like reassured that I can maybe grab hold of that.
Okay, it's in.
I can't feel it,
which is amazing.
So I'm just telling you what I'm doing.
I'm moving my finger around the base of it,
and I can't feel any parts of it, that are like dipped in,
so I'm assuming it's all ...
Like (pops lips) out.
Okay so now ...
I'm gonna try and take it out.
Jesus Christ, can I just pull on it?
No, 'cause I think you have to like squeeze in,
like squeeze it ...
Oh my God, how do I get it out?
Nope, that's not gonna work.
How do people do this?
I can't get, oh my God,
I feel like I'm just pushing it further in.
Oh God, this is terrifying.
Am I gonna have to just go to the doctor's now?
Okay wait, I'm going finger and thumb in.
Ooh, I pinched it.
Come on, come on, come on.
Ooh, there we go, it's out.
(sighs)
Are you joking?
I might have to practise this a few more times
before my period, because I'm not
confident.
Let's do it again.
Round two.
Okay, that's easier.
Oh wait, it's not fully popped.
Okay, I think it's in, woo!
That was quicker.
Right, let's pinch it.
This is ridiculous.
Wait, is that my cervix, is that why it's difficult?
Oh my God, I swear to God.
I think I was better with my left hand.
Pinch, ooh, there we go.
Round three.
Okay, getting it in,
I'm like a pro at now.
I'll see you when the bleeding begins.
Alright lads, it's time, we've got this, we've got this.
So I'm just in the middle of filming some vlogs
for LoveHoney, and I just felt it.
I just felt it in my pants, I was like ooh, it started.
And I think you might even be able to see the moment
on my face in the footage when I noticed.
Oh shit.
So I just stopped filming, went to the toilet to check,
lo and behold, there's some blood.
So I just went and put the menstrual cup in.
It's currently in.
I realised that when I was practising putting it in,
I didn't practise like walking around.
So that should be interesting today.
I don't know how long I'll leave it in for.
I'm going over to Lucy's tonight to record a minisode
for the Banging Book Club,
so I might like empty it out, and check how much I've bled
before I go to that.
I'm in a lot of pain, like so much pain.
Day one is just always so bad.
So I've asked Leena and Lucy to come over here
for the Banging Book Club instead of going to Lucy's,
and they said yes, so I don't have to leave my house.
- Well.
- Hi. - Oh what a night.
- So I'm gonna go change my menstrual cup.
- Yeah! And we're gonna record the reaction.
This is a live reaction.
- I wonder if we'll be able to smell it.
- Leena! (laughs)
- [Both] Good.
- Have you managed to empty it?
Is it folding? - If it had leaked,
I'd be worried. - The folding is traumatic.
- Yeah, it's the unfolding, I mean, no, the folding.
- (laughs) She's fishing out.
Do you need a hook? (laughs)
- Is that getting that finger in to pop the seal?
- Yeah.
It's okay.
Just like, relax your muscles.
- Did you say, what if you can't find it?
They're pretty fucking big.
- Pretend you're doing a poo with your vagina.
- No, don't do that 'cause you'll poo, you'll poo.
- As long as it's all coming out, it's all good.
- May, it's not hard to remove, don't worry.
Take your time-- - How are you sitting?
- Don't tense.
Are you sitting on the toilet?
Squat!
I know it's hard.
- You should get her to do her fingers exercises.
- Yeah, it takes a bit of digging.
- I'm gonna have to do it for her, aren't I?
- That's what friends are for.
It's not stuck in. - It's fine.
You just need to relax.
My vagina is getting tense now.
Sympathy.
We're empathetic beings are we, women?
- I'm clearly not empathising
because my vagina is chill.
- Lucy don't give a shit.
How're we doing hun?
- You've gotta get your fingers dirty.
Where did you put it?
Is it sitting at the base?
- I think you need to, like, just sit like--
- Did it go everywhere?
- Do you see what I mean?
It sinks down.
Is it gonna work?
- Well, this was a really nice bonding experience.
- Yeah.
Did we make it, Hannah?
She's emerged! (clapping)
May, how're you feeling?
- Okay, to be honest,
I'm way less scared of period blood now.
I think I put it too far up because--
- [Lucy] Yeah, it needs to sit right at the bottom.
- My fingers were fully in
and that was touching the stem.
- You need to do some more kegel exercises.
- I was just like, I can't get it!
- [Lucy] You should definitely be able to feel the stem
with just the tips of your fingers.
The stem should almost be poking out.
- Yeah, so I definitely put it too far up, guys.
- You live and you learn.
The vagina's a miraculous thing.
- Yeah.
- Your moon landing.
- Yes!
- Good morning.
So, I've decided that I bloody love
the menstrual cup.
I love it, I love it.
It's revolutionary.
So, after Lucy and Leena left last night
and I was lying in bed,
I was thinking about what they said
about when you just put your fingers in,
just like the tip of your fingers
being able to touch the stem.
And so I was lying in bed
and I was having a feel around, and I was like,
where's it gone?
And it was at some really weird angle.
Or maybe my body is a weird angle.
I don't know.
So I went into the bathroom
and I had a feel around and I had a panic.
I was like, oh my god, I'm gonna have to like,
keep it in in this awkward position
and I go to the doctor's tomorrow morning.
But then, I did the thing that everyone says to do,
but I was just like, I've no idea
what they're talking about, and they're like,
when you're taking it out, bear down.
It's the kegels.
It's the muscles in your vagina.
Imagine the pushing motion
of if you were pushing a baby out.
As soon as I did that, it's like the cup was like,
here you go.
It's like (singing melodic phrase).
I didn't take it out then.
I just kind of like, grabbed it, rearranged.
And so this morning,
when I was taking it out for real,
I just grabbed it and it was like
the easiest, smoothest thing ever.
So, the rest of my period went really smoothly.
Once I'd cracked it,
it was an absolute dream and I'm never going back.
I'm going to use the menstrual cup
on all of my periods.
I love it.
I've thought of four main reasons
that I love the menstrual cup.
The first reason is that it is sustainable.
It is so much better for the environment
than pads and tampons, which are disposable.
You buy one cup and it's supposed to last you
between like 10 and 20 years.
So that's amazing.
You just clean it.
You just rinse it out after every use
and then after your period, you clean it proper
in like, a mug of boiling water,
and you're good to go for the next month.
Second reason, is that it is cheaper.
Yes, a menstrual cup is expensive to begin with,
but compare that one off purchase
to the amount that we spend on pads and tampons.
Oh my god.
In the long-run, it is such a money saver.
You may need to correct me if I'm wrong
and maybe it varies between different brands,
but I think they're about 20 pounds.
Third reason I love it, is that it feels clean.
And what I mean by this,
is that the blood hasn't been soaking up in cotton,
it hasn't been just sat outside of your body
in a pad for hours and hours.
It has been sitting in a plastic cup inside your body.
Inside your body where it's all clean inside.
And so, when you take it out,
it doesn't smell bad, it doesn't look gross,
it's just blood and I like it.
It feels clean.
And the fourth reason I love it,
is that it confronts me with my body.
Not just my bodily functions and like,
looking at the period blood
and seeing how much I've bled every day,
but also in putting in and taking out.
You have to really get up in there
and move it around and kinda get to know
that area in a way that I've never gotten to know before,
even in sexual ways.
So that's really exciting.
It's just like, learning new things about my body
and getting to know my body even more.
It just makes periods less scary and less daunting
and less shameful.
I love it. I'm thinking that I may get a smaller cup
for my lighter days.
Because, towards the end of my period,
I didn't want to put the whole cup up there
just for a few drops
and I ended up using my Thinx underwear,
which I may make a whole other video about in the future.
But the menstrual cup worked wonderfully for days
like one, two, and three.
Alright, that is it
from this episode of the Hormone Diaries.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Please give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it
and let me know your thoughts
and experiences with the menstrual cup in the comments.
I love hearing other people's experiences,
but also tips and tricks if you have any advice.
Or if there's a certain brand that you like
and suits you or any recommendations
for a smaller size one for my lighter days
if those exist out there.
Don't forget to subscribe
so you don't miss another episode of the Hormone Diaries
and I'll see you soon.
Bye.
(lively percussion music)