Based on the experiences of people who have had trouble with menstrual cups, how can you use a menstrual cup effectively?

A menstrual cup is a reusable menstrual product that is inserted into the vagina. It can be more difficult to understand how to use than external menstrual products such as pads, and it can take a little time to get used to it.
If you have never used it before, you may be worried about whether you can do it.

When developing its menstrual cup for beginners, murmo interviewed many women about their periods and using menstrual cups.
As I listened to the details of their stories, not only about their menstrual cycle but also about what kind of sanitary products they use and whether they had ever used a menstrual cup, I met several people who had tried using a menstrual cup in the past but had given up because they had trouble putting it on and taking it off properly.
The information we gathered at that time has been incorporated into the current shape and design of Murmo.

In this article, based on the stories of three people who gave up on using menstrual cups, we will share tips to lower the hurdles for first-time users of menstrual cups, such as why they gave up, what hurdles there are to using a menstrual cup, and how to master using a menstrual cup.


1. Characteristics of women who have used menstrual cups but gave up because they could not use them properly

Those who tried menstrual cups but gave up on them faced three major obstacles when using them:

・I couldn't insert the menstrual cup at all. ・I managed to insert the menstrual cup, but I couldn't open it inside, so all my menstrual blood leaked out. ・I was able to insert the menstrual cup, but it was so difficult to remove that I didn't want to use it again.

Let's dig into each one in detail.

I couldn't insert the menstrual cup at all.
→ She had never had sexual intercourse and had previously been told by a gynecologist that the entrance and inside of her vagina were narrow. As a result, when inserting the menstrual cup into her vagina, she tripped and was unable to get it inside.

-I was able to insert the menstrual cup, but I couldn't get it to open inside.
→The woman, who was a mother, was able to insert the menstrual cup, but was unable to open it, causing most of her menstrual blood to leak out, meaning the menstrual cup could not fulfill its intended purpose, and she decided it was unusable and gave up using it.

I was able to insert the menstrual cup, but it was so difficult to remove that I no longer wanted to use it.
→This person was able to insert the menstrual cup and collect menstrual blood inside, but when it came time to remove it, she couldn't find the cup, and even when she did, she had a hard time grabbing it, so she had a very difficult time removing it.It was so difficult that she gave up on using it.

I would like to consider the causes of these failures based on these three experiences.


2. What caused the menstrual cup to fail?

・I chose a cup that didn't fit my body. ・I used a menstrual cup, which is difficult for beginners. ・I didn't know how to use it.

We will also dig into each of these one by one.


・I chose a cup size that doesn't fit my body.
→In the case of a woman who was unable to insert a menstrual cup in the first place, the gynecologist had told her that both the entrance and the inside of her vagina were narrow. Furthermore, the menstrual cup she used at the time was a fairly thick, elastic, and standard-sized cup. We kindly asked her to try out two Murmo prototypes. The Murmo menstrual cup is thinner and slimmer than the cup she had given up on at the time, and the two prototypes were of different softness, but in this woman's case, she was able to use the softer one without any problems.


・I used a menstrual cup, which is difficult for beginners
→ The second mother was able to insert the menstrual cup into her vagina, but was unable to open it and gave up. The cup she used was a soft cup that was wider than it was long, and had a shape similar to a sphere. Soft cups are easy to fold and feel gentle on the skin, making them easy to insert, but they have the characteristic of being difficult to open because they have a weak opening force. Also, the wider the cup, the more force is required to open it, making it difficult to open.


I didn't know how to use it
→ The third person had no problems inserting and using the device, but had a lot of trouble removing it. When we talked to them, we learned that they were using a small cup, which went all the way in, making it difficult to find it with their fingers when trying to remove it. They also used a cup with a short handle, called a stem, at the bottom.
It is natural for the cup itself to sink deeper after prolonged use than when it was first inserted. If you are using a smaller menstrual cup, you can make it easier to remove by lowering the cup when removing it and by relaxing your vagina.
The first is to strain as if you were having a bowel movement, which will push the menstrual cup up and help it to fall further down into your vagina.
The second thing to do is to relax your vagina when removing the menstrual cup. After performing the first straining action, we recommend taking a slow, deep breath and relaxing your body before removing the menstrual cup.


Taking the above into consideration, let's consider the conditions for a menstrual cup that even beginners can use without giving up.


3. What makes a menstrual cup easy for beginners to use?

・The menstrual cup is thin. ・The menstrual cup itself and the stem (the handle at the bottom) are long. ・The softness (thickness) is moderate.

We asked three people who had previously given up on using menstrual cups to test the Murmo prototype, and all of them were able to use it.
I believe this is due to the three reasons above.

The menstrual cup is thin
First of all, this product has the characteristics of being easy to fold, open, and take out.

・The menstrual cup itself and the stem (the handle at the bottom) are long.
This makes it easy to remove.
At Murmo, we make the cup a little longer to ensure it can hold a sufficient amount of liquid, as the diameter of the cup is narrow. We also make the handle at the bottom, called the stem, longer.
When you exert force when removing the cup, the stem tends to descend to the entrance of the vagina, and by pulling on the stem, you can pull the cup out to a certain extent.
Murmo's menstrual cup has a strong stem and a groove called the Easy Line and air hole, so it is designed so that you can pull on the stem when removing it without any problems.
Some menstrual cups prohibit pulling on the stem. When using a menstrual cup, please read the instruction manual (attached document) carefully and use it according to the instructions for that cup.

・Softness (thickness) is moderate
While being as soft as possible lowers the psychological hurdle for first-time users, if it's too soft it will be difficult to open inside the vagina. It's important to find a comfortable softness that balances with the diameter of the menstrual cup.


4. Summary

This time, based on the stories of people who have used menstrual cups in the past but gave up, we explained the reasons for this and the conditions for a menstrual cup that is easy to use even for first-time users.
The shape and sensation of the vagina are all different for each person, so unfortunately, there is no one product that is perfect for everyone.
However, Murmo's menstrual cups are designed to be easy to use, especially for first-time users. Once you get used to using a menstrual cup, you can customize how you use it, such as using one for lighter flow and one for heavier flow.
At murmo, we provide tips on how to use our products through HOW TO videos and Instagram reels, and also provide chat support for purchasers.
I hope that people who are interested in menstrual cups will pick one up and make their first attempt without giving up.