My thoughts on....re-usable menstrual products.

Lets just get it out in the open... we all know what this post will be about. Womens parts, blood, tampons, pads and any other sort of period related issues out there. I'm not ashamed to talk about periods, I'm quite open when I have issues or even when someone asks me a question. I've never really been shy about talking about them from an early age (practically 12 years old), and I remember starting my periods around the age of 12-13. 

I only have a period roughly every other month due to my contraceptive pill, so really, I don't use a lot of menstrual products. I'm not going to lie, I tend to buy the cheapest I can find  for exactly that reason. I have a stash of pads and tampons waiting to be used, okay they didn't break the bank but I just wanted to know what else is available out there. Sometimes I just don't like the feeling of pantyliners or pads in my pants, they just feel uncomfortable. I wont go into much detail but yeh, sometimes I just don't like them. 

Please note, I realise that this post could be seen as controversial but trust me, in no way shape or form am I influencing people's decisions to wear re-usable, disposable or any form of products. This is purely my own opinion and my own exploration into what else is out there.

Now only recently have I come to discover RUMPs or more commonly known as reusable menstrual products. Okay from first impressions, most of you will more than likely be thinking "what, reusable?? that's weird." which was exactly the same as what I was thinking. But, doing more research on these, I'm actually coming round to the idea. 

My exploration into the RUMP world began after I stumbled upon a video on youtube. A young lady, Bree, has made a whole channel (link: Precious Star Pads) dedicated to educating ladies across the world about re-usable products, hosting her own views on cloth pads, menstrual cups etc and has even made her own business from her experiences. I really admire her, at the age of 17/18, she's one of the most inspiring people I've come across and I mean that. She's not  afraid to get into the nitty gritty of periods, in fact I feel like I've learned more from this inspiring young lady about periods than I ever did in school! 

So lets get some facts about why these things are becoming ever more popular.

1. Every woman in her lifetime will have on average 400 menstrual cycles. If you think about it, that'll be around 12,000 disposable products that you'll use in your life time. Each and every one of those has to go to landfill and will take many years to degrade, and surely we all realise the push to recycle and be economical! A reusable pad/menstrual cup should last around 5 to 10 years depending on how they have been cared for. 

2. When a menstrual cup is inserted into your body, you can barely feel it as it moulds to your vaginal muscles. A cloth pad will make you feel like you're wearing slightly thicker underwear. 

3. There's no nasty chemicals that will contaminate your blood...hence the sometimes horrible odour coming from your pad or tampon. Reusable pads are made out of cotton or specifically designed materials that are made to "breathe". 

4. You can make cloth pads/tampons yourself. Yes, you can design your own pads and tampons! You can even tailor them to your own desires if you're not too keen on manufactured pad shapes. 

Of course, there's so many other things I could pick out but I'd be going on forever. The thing that really got me thinking was...how much have I contributed to landfill with my pads and tampons? As I say, I've been having periods now for around 9 years, each time having used both pads and tampons. Not so much nowadays but certainly when I was younger and my periods were trying to regulate themselves, I would go through several packs of pads a week. 

What do these things actually look like? 

Tampon

Pad

Menstrual cup

As you can see, the pads can be made in such attractive fabrics! The menstrual cups intimidate me a little if I'm being honest...I want to have a go but I'm scared I'll do it wrong then never use it again. The tampons are something I'm 99% certain I'd never use as I'm not really keen on tampons anyway, I try and steer clear of them! 

Honestly, my curiosity will get the better of me when it comes to these things. I'm not totally grossed out but at the same time I'm worried about the effort of having to wash through cloth pads. I like the convenience of disposables but at the same time I am really conscious of my carbon footprint, I'm always finding ways to better myself. Maybe this will be my next venture...

I'll leave some links to some useful information if you want to have a further look into RUMPs , I'm pretty certain I'll be trying a cup and a pantyliner pad. If I do, I'll definitely be writing a review as I'm intrigued to see how I feel about these compared to disposable products.

Precious Star Pads, This website gives so much information on reusables and also allows you to purchase from the website.

Etsy. A search for "menstrual" on Etsy brings up so many different products, I've spent hours searching through them!

Feminine Wear. Huge selection of pads, tampons and cups. Again, really good website to have a look through.

What are your thoughts on reusables? 

♥

Lush R&B hair moisturiser

I know I know, I've been meaning to do this post for so long it's unreal! However, finally finding time to sit down and blog, here we go. 

This is yet another product from Lush I'm going to sing praises for...I first discovered this when one of the kind ladies in my local Lush convinced me to try it in my never ending quest to find a product which smooths out my curly, frizzy hair. If you didn't know, I've been slowly transitioning to only using Lush products on my hair (apart from straightening balms) and in all honesty, I can really see a difference in how my hair has been since doing so. Immediately after I'd picked up my first bar of Godiva and Jungle, I merrily went away clutching my bag of goodies, including a small sample pot of R&B.

Little did I know, I was about to find a product that will literally...and I mean, literally save my hair. 

On first impressions, this yellow tub, of what can only be described as slightly melted butter, smells quite strong. It's really hard to describe...however if it's from Lush, I'm gunna like the smell of it. It's light and melts really easily when you rub it into your hands. It doesn't feel gloopy or thick, which is quite nice as by the name it suggests it'd be quite...heavy on my hair.

From dying my hair month after month for the past 4/5 years, my hair was incredibly brittle and when straightened, still looked extremely damaged and frizzy. No amount of conditioner will smooth these ends down oh no...I need something a bit more taming for my hair. Returning home, I grabbed my pot of R&B and rubbed a small amount in my hands, then through the lengths and ends of my hair. What a difference this makes... even on the first application! It smells absolutely gorgeous and makes my hair look so much slicker and smooth without making it look greasy. Instantly being impressed with this product, I couldn't wait to really put it to the test. 

Now it's been around...4/5 months since I purchased my full size pot of R&B and I've used just under half the tub, considering I use this at least twice a day I really don't think that's too shabby! I do not get any build up in my hair, it never looks greasy and it never feels like it has a huge amount of product in it. This literally melts into the hair, leaving it feeling soft, supple and generally looking really nice. Since using this product, my hair seems a lot thicker and a lot healthier. I genuinely have less breakages and hair shedding since I've been using this, I don't know if that's psychological but I genuinely feel like my hair looks a million times better. A lot of people have said "isn't your hair in good condition considering how much you dye it?" well yes, it actually is! I really do notice a difference if I forget to put this in my hair, my hair feels much more...crispy and looks extremely dry if I don't run this amazing stuff through my hair. I've also noticed my hair colour tends to stay in a LOT longer since using this, and it makes it look a lot more vibrant too.

This is definitely going to be one of my re-purchases when I run out. I'm so impressed with this product, I've been recommending it to everyone who I hear say they have brittle or dry hair. I'm down to just above half way through this tub and it has a very generous "best before" date on it, which I definitely think is cost effective as I've been using it every single day since I bought it!  

I purchased this from my local Lush store for around £10 (or thereabouts) for the smallest pot, however I'd recommend trying a sample first if you're not too sure on what to expect. You never know...you might get addicted like I did! 

♥

About me: My piercings

This is quite possibly one of the most frequent things I get asked about...my piercings. So, I thought I'd do a blog post about my current piercings! 

Now, face on, you wouldn't actually guess that I've got 12 piercings. All you're able to see is my nose piercing! Until I wear my hair up, you don't realise I actually have 11 piercings in my ears. 

Here's some pictures of my ears: 

Helix, tragus, 2 x lobe, 6mm lobe.

Industrial, rook, conch, 2 x lobes, 6mm lobe.

Some of you may be thinking...why?

Well, I just really love the look of piercings. I love the comments I get from people when they realise I have them because you can't see them without my hair being tied up. I love the fact that most people would never think I'd be the sort of people to have piercings because I don't fit the typical stereotype of someone who has piercings. I don't believe in all of that, I like them because they add to my personality. I don't get them to fit in, I get them because... I like them.

Regarding my stretched lobes, I appreciate the fact that not everyone likes the look of stretched lobes, I've had some quite negative comments about them. Mainly "what will you do when you're older?"...well, quite frankly, I'm still going to have them. I've had them since I was 17, I'm now 21. I love them as much now as the day I started stretching, I may only go to around 8-10mm but I like the fact the size I'm at now hasn't changed the shape of my lobe. I love having a look at all the different types of jewellery I can get for my lobes, my plug collection at the moment may not be the biggest but I only buy quality items. No acrylic touches these ears...

Another question I get quite a lot is "did it hurt?" Of course it hurt, of course my ear swelled a little and yes there's normally a tiny bit of blood...but you know what, I've had most of these piercings for 5-6 years now, I can't even remember how it felt to get most of them pierced. I'd say I remember my rook being the most painful as my ears are quite small and it's an awkward place but honestly, I wouldn't be put off by other people's horror stories. Yes piercings hurt slightly but if you really want it, then you'll handle it. 

I've had my fair share of piercings that I've taken out too, I wont list them but of course piercings don't last forever. I generally heal very well when it comes to piercings but sometimes, they just aren't suited to your anatomy. I've got a scar on my bellybutton where I tried hanging onto my navel piercing but in all honesty, I really don't mind that it's there because it was the first real piercing that I had, it's a reminder of why I love getting them so much. 

I know this is quite a pointless post, but I love the fact that piercings are now becoming more accepted in general. I'd just like to point out the importance of safe piercing though...I cannot believe some of the botch jobs that are out there. If you really want a piercing, do your research into correct aftercare, decent piercings and studios. Please don't go to your local Claire's Accessories to get your piercings done, go and get them done properly with a needle in a sterile, safe environment.

♥