Lunette Menstrual Cup Review

I’m sorry to say that I don’t know much about Finland. But, I think it speaks very highly about a place when they produce a product that inspires someone to Wikipedia their country. 🙂

Lunette colored cups, note new “purple” and “orange” colors in the center.
Image by Lunette
My Clear Lunette Model 2 and “Cynthia” (frosted wine colored) Lunette Model 1 arrived one day before I began my period. Certainly a good omen.

I was immediately struck by the beautiful shape and color of the “Cynthia.”

Cynthia is the new “purple” model of the Lunette menstrual cup that has just come out on the market, so it does not yet even appear on their website. (Lunette has been around for about 6 years, though.) Not surprisingly, it is already selling out in droves by women who are looking for a colored cup that has a frosted, yet translucent look. The Cynthia is definitely more of a “wine” color than purple, and it is very pretty. But this isn’t what makes it unique in the “cup world.”

Image by Feminine Wear 

The unique factor is it’s shape, which all Model 1 Lunette’s display. There is something very elegant (if you can say that about a menstrual cup…and WHY NOT!) about the design. It has an inverted bell shape which makes for a tiny rim diameter, that billows out into a bulbous body, allowing for increased capacity.

The Model 2 Lunette has more of an inverted A-frame shape, which is unique in that it can hold a large capacity, but is shorter in body than many of it’s competers on the market. It also has a wider diameter than the large Meluna (though it appears to be comparable with large model Diva Cup).

Another thing I noticed immediately was the stem. Lunette offers a flat, ridged stem which I love! It proved to be exceedingly comfortable and functional.

There was a contradiction in the instruction pamphlet, in that it states in one place to boil the Lunette for 5 minutes, but later states to boil it for 10 minutes to sterilize it before using (and of course after the period is completely finished and again before using for the next period). I have since boiled it for both 5 and 10 minutes with no ill effects. Just remember that there must be enough water in your pot to keep the cups afloat, and you should be fine.
I began my cycle by using the “Cynthia”. I immediately noticed that it was extremely easy to insert and popped open simply. Between this and the very unique shape, I feel that this cup would be perfect for a teenager or someone new to the world of menstrual cups with a light to medium flow. I ended up using my Cynthia for the majority of my period, even though it was in the model smaller than what I needed. It performed beautifully, though I had a general feeling of insecurity about it because I worried that the diameter was too small to prevent leaking. (I had only a few minor problems with this as my menstrual flow increased but was able to catch it early and simply reinsert to solve.) Because of the stem, it was very easy to feel where the cup was and to grab hold of it to take out. I didn’t worry about breaking the stem because of it’s sturdiness but didn’t feel it because of it’s flatness.

Image by Lunette
I used the Clear Lunette Model 2 for my heaviest days and had some likes and dislikes about it.

First of all, I finally felt what a good “seal” should feel like. This created some great suction and the cup felt very sturdy yet also so soft that I couldn’t even feel it. In fact, there was a time when I must have inserted it incorrectly and I could feel it, so I simply took the cup out, rinsed and reinserted and there was no longer a problem.

I liked that. It made for “idiot proof” cup use, which is always a good thing.

The other thing I loved about it was the stem. This is a great design! Capacity-wise, I felt that the large Lunette was completely appropriate for a heavy flow. I was finding that I still needed to empty my cup every hour during my heaviest flow days, but it was comfortable and easy to change and I always had just a bit more capacity left, which gave me an extra measure of security.

I was even able to quickly and easily empty and reinsert my Model 2 Lunette in a public restroom at a gas station on my heaviest days with no leakage, and this was phenomenal!

The downside was that I had a much harder time positioning the Model 2 Lunette, and when it wasn’t positioned well, it would leak. After troubleshooting some, I am going to guess that this was because I had positioned the cup slightly off to one side or the other of my cervix (perhaps it got tucked over to the side during a time when my cervix was sitting lower in the vaginal canal, which is common for the heaviest flow days) so that the menstrual flow just went right past the open cup and down the side.

Of course, this is no good at all and defeats the purpose of the cup.

After more extensive reading, I have learned that it can take a few cycles to learn the proper positioning for our own individual bodies, so I cannot lay blame for this on anyone but myself. But it is noteworthy that I am still on a significant learning curve with this model.

The other thing that bothered me, slightly, was that there seem to be measuring lines on the cup but no measurements written so that they are virtually meaningless, and that’s a real shame. I would have liked to have had the meaning behind the lines.

Model size 1 and 2
Image by Lunette

I really enjoyed the (lack of) feel of the silicone. It did seem very natural feeling in the body. I chose to wear cloth pads to bed, but I think on my next cycle, I will try to use my Lunette overnight, as well (and just wake up to empty it out in the night on my heavy flow days).

But here is the really neat thing…I was able to start counting my “white days” 2 days sooner than ususal! My cycle didn’t feel much different in the way of flow and my diet was essentially the same so I can only consider that perhaps the efficient “seal” of the Lunette was a factor.

All in all, the Lunette is a great cup. I was pleasantly surprised by the Cynthia Model 1, which I initially felt  would be a totally inappropriate cup for a woman older than 25 with 3 vaginal births under her belt (literally, ahem). But, I was able to use it for all but my very heaviest days of my cycle.

As for the Model 2, when it worked, it worked beautifully and I loved it for it’s comfort and usability…but when it didn’t, I was back in the bathroom for way too long, trying figure out why.

I’m hoping that with time, patience and practice, I will be able to find the perfect way to insert, so that it will be reliable every time. But of course, this has already happened with the Model 1.

One of the comments I have heard most often about the Lunette is that it is noticably made by a cup user. I would certainly agree with this. The design is unique on both models to be able to hold the most amount of flow in the shortest amount of space and I think that most women will find that this is exceedingly comfortable.  

Wise Woman Fertility would like to thank the lovely ladies over at Lunette for providing excellent customer service, promptness in answering my emailed questions and in shipping and for their donations of the Cynthia Model 1 and clear Model 2 Lunette cups for testing and review. All of the images used are theirs unless otherwise noted and are used with their permission. You can follow Lunette on Facebook here.

Comments

  4. I only have one cup and that's the biggest Lunette 🙂 I also have the issue that it sometimes slips past the cervix, happens about once every third time even if I have used it for almost a year now. Simple thing is to run a finger around the cup and feel if it's circular when inserted, if it's squeezed in at some place just pull gently at the cup and try to "slip" the cervix into it if that makes sense 🙂 no need to redo the entire process, the seal will hold!

  5. 4 Daughters, your Meluna menstrual cup is on the way. Would you mind letting me know when it arrives? Thanks!

    Anonymous, THANK YOU! That makes so much sense. I was running my finger around or doing a twist with the cup and sometimes I would feel that squished up feeling but the top rim/diamater was open. I was wondering why that was happening and figured it was either too low or too high (more likely too low?) I'm just going to have to get some practice with it, I think.

    The other thing I learned about was "residual slobber" as it is (not-so) charmingly called by the cup using community. This is basically for what would amount to my heavy days when I really am bleeding/flowing quite continuously and some blood/flow inevitably moves down into the vaginal canal in the time it takes for me to use the toilet, rinse my cup and reinsert. I suppose that if I weren't already overflowing I could just take out the cup AFTER I've used the toilet and that would help to solve the problem, so I'll have to experiment with that. But what I've learned is that some women will just sweep their finger around to get out some of that residual flow after reinserting so that there are no spots or leaky moments.

    I want to reiterate that this is a non-issue on any day but my heaviest flow days and I would think that it would be much that way for other women as well because MOST of the menstrual flow is a spurt here and a spurt there and not continuous flowing/bleeding, so it's actually quite tidy to empty the cup and reinsert and there is nothing new in the way of flow in the vaginal canal.

    I also suspect this is more of an issue for those with a very heavy flow (like myself) than for those with a more average flow.

    Thanks again for writing in!

  6. I just purchased the Lunette model 2 after having used a Diva Cup and *hated* it, trying sea sponges and liking them at first, and really wanting to use something other than disposable products.

    I did some research on the various types of menstrual cups out there, and decided on the Lunette. It's SUPER-comfy and easy to insert and remove, but I always leak – and I don't know how to fix this. I twist it to make sure it's open, try different positions, but I always need to wear a liner just in case. *sigh*

  7. I've been doing some troubleshooting with mine and what I've learned is that I have to angle mine towards one particular side, I think this is because my cervical os is turned to the side during my menses. If I angle the Lunette to that side so that it is facing the os, it works!

    I would recommend reaching up and feeling where your cervical os is facing and then trying to insert so that the open cup is angled correctly.

    Good luck and let me know if that helps.

  9. Fantastic review, thank you. I use a DivaCup and I also find that, like you write in the size 2 Lunette review, when it works well it works REALLY well, and when it's a bit mis-positioned, it's just a disappointment. I think I will order a Lunette size 1, despite being 34 and after two vaginal births. Your review has convinced me. And just by the way: I know DivaCup isn't most people's favourite, but yesterday I put mine in at 10am, had an hour and a half long surf lesson – lot of jumping around, falling, swimming, etc – came home, did home-type stuff, got kids, made dinner … and at 8pm I took it out. White underpants all day, not a mark on them. AMAZING. Cups rock.

  10. Re the measuring lines on the cups:

    model 1: 5ml and 13.5ml
    model 2: 7.5ml and 15ml

    I guess you were in too much of a hurry to use the cup to read through the instructions page… Fortunately for you, I'm an obsessive reader, even though I've been using a cup for years 🙂

  11. I don't feel like my cup has high enough suction to actually suck out my period. I suspect your shorter period may be due to the cup collecting fluid close to your cervix. This would mean the flow didn't have to go down the vaginal walls and there is less fluid getting "stuck" in the ridges of the vagina. This would give the appearance of a shorter period because there would be less residual blood in the regular vaginal fluids after your uterus walls were done shedding

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