Will Silicone Menstrual Cup be the Future Of Period Care?

What is a menstrual cup?

A menstrual cup is a reusable feminine hygiene device that is a small, flexible funnel-shaped cup and be inserted into the vagina to catch and collect period fluid to prevent its leaking onto clothes. Compared to Tampons, Silicone Menstrual Cups can hold more blood, can keep in body about 4-12 hours, and is reusable, its use greatly decreases the amount of waste generated from menstrual cycles, which leading many women to use them as an eco-friendly alternative.

Menstrual cups' structure: shaped like a bell with a stem. The stem is used for insertion and removal. The bell-shaped cup seals against the vaginal wall just below the cervix.

Menstrual cups are a safe option relative to other forms of menstrual hygiene. Diva Cup is eco-friendly than pads and tampons, because that is reusable, and its use greatly decreases the amount of waste generated from menstrual cycles.

Using Silicone Menstrual Cups not only good for women but also an Environmentally friendly choice, but why menstual cups do not sell well/do not have large market all over the word? Let's move forward to find out the reasons.

Reason 1: The price/quality of menstrual cups on the market varies, and consumers are worried about product/material safety.

With different grade materials and molding processes, the prodcution cost will be much different.

LSR USP_R401_70.pdf

LR 3038 40 K1 10993-5 E.PDF

EL LR3003.pdf

3003-50AMSDS.pdf

3038-50 ISO10993-10.pdf

Here is the unit price comparison:

Medical Biological Compatibility Liquid Silicone > Medical Grade Liquid Silicone > Food Grade Liquid Silicone > Food Grade Solid Silicone (with secondary vulcaniztion) > Common Grade Solid Silicone (without secondary vulcanization)

Normally, because of the usage of menstrual cups, medical-grade liquid silicone (Biological compatibility) should be used for menstrual cups and produced by liquid injection molding (clean room) to ensure product safety. However, due to fierce competition, some manufacturers will use food grade or common medical grade liquid silicone as material to save unit cost. What's more, some manufacturers even use solid silicone as material by compression molding. And for compression molded menstrual cups, some manufacturers will do secondary vulcanization to make sure moon cups vulcanized completely to achieve 100% food grade. Because of the differences, consumers will be worried about that whether the period cups they purchased is safe or not?

With different structure, the production unit cost of Diva Cup is different as well.

There are many types of Silicone Lily Cups on the market. Some with holes and other without holes. Some holes are straight and some are slanted. For the Menstrual cups without holes, the mold structure is simplest, and the mold cost and unit cost will be lower. For the Period Cups with straight holes are cheaper than the one with slanted holes. For the slanted holes on the side wall, the pin is not easy to touch through, and will cause burrs and flashings in the holes, especially after large quantity production. The production efficiency will be lower and need take a lot of time to trim the flashings in the holes.

Reason 2: Different Culture, economic development, and consumption habits.

In economically developed areas, people’s purchasing power is inherently stronger. In terms of product selection, they not only require high product safety, but also have environmental protection awareness. Therefore, for these countries, menstrual cups will be popular and with larger market. But for economically underdeveloped countries, people's living standards are low and sanitary conditions are not good. There is no market for relatively expensive products such as menstrual cups.

Reason 3: Inconvenient use process, troublesome cleaning, and different usage habits.

For many women, they are used to using tampon, it is difficult for them to accept the use of menstrual cups. And the usage of diva cup is complicated:

1. Clean: Before inserting a menstrual cup, you should clean it. Clean your hands with warm soapy water.

2. Fold: Fold the menstrual cup to make the wide opening of the menstrual cup be smaller for insertion. There are several ways to do this:

a. C-fold (Half fold, U-fold): Fold the top rim of your menstrual cup in half, so that it creates a tight C or U shape.

b. Push down fold: Push one side of the rim down into the cup, creating a narrow point.

3. Insert: Find a comfortable position. As you insert the menstrual cup, try to maintain the folded position of the menstrual cup.

4. Open and Check: The cup should “pop” open, preventing any menstrual blood from leaking. To ensure this, hold the cup by the base (not the stem) and turn it one full circle, or 360 degrees.

Wear: Once you are sure that your menstrual cup is set, you can be on your way and wear it for up to 12 hours.

After each period, the cup should be boiled for at least 5 minutes and stored for use the next month.

As a manufacturer of silicone products, we hope to provide good menstrual cups that are acceptable to the public so that menstrual cup can be widely promoted and used. Promote the development of the entire industry.