Reusable menstrual product reviews: Saalt cup, Love Luna pads

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How to cite: Wong M. Reusable menstrual product reviews: Saalt cup, Love Luna pads. Lab Muffin Beauty Science. September 27, 2020. Accessed March 18, 2024. https://labmuffin.com/reusable-menstrual-product-reviews-saalt-cup-love-luna-pads/

I’ve tried more reusable menstrual products since my last post reviewing menstrual cups and period underwear – one of the best reviewed cups on the market, and my first reusable pads.

All prices are in AUD unless stated otherwise.

Saalt Soft Cup

saalt soft cup

After sharing my struggles with the Lunette cup, a lot of people pointed me towards Saalt Soft Cup (RRP $29 USD). This was designed in collaboration with the cup connoisseurs at Put A Cup In It, and is recommended for people who have a history of bladder sensitivity, cramping or discomfort with firmer cups – i.e. people like me. Saalt kindly sent me a cup to try.

It has some of the features that I really liked about the Lunette, namely the grip lines on the bottom of the cup, and the ridged flexible stem. But since it looks so much like the Lunette, I was initially skeptical that it would be more comfortable for me, but to my surprise it feels entirely different!

Cup vs tampon size comparison

I can happily say that it’s by far the most comfortable cup I’ve tried. It’s quite a bit softer than the Lunette, and I didn’t have any cramping issues. The stem is also soft enough to stay unnoticeable, and didn’t irritate my sensitive urinary tract.

saalt soft menstrual cup

Unfortunately the other issues – mostly related to me having to actually learn how to use a cup – are still there. I still have issues with getting the cup in the right place, making sure it forms a seal, and taking the cup out without a lot of uncomfortable clawing and mess. I’m sure I just need to practice using it more, but most of the time it feels so much easier to use period undies instead! Work in progress.

Love Luna Reusable Pads

Love Luna makes my normal period undies which I reviewed in my last post – they offered to send me their new reusable pads pre-launch but unfortunately my body didn’t cooperate so I didn’t get to test them out before they landed.

Love Luna Reusable Pads

These come in three sizes which vary in length, thickness and absorbency:

  • Panty liner ($8): 2 mm, volume not specified (“everyday and light days”)
  • Regular pad ($11): 3 mm, 15 mL
  • Super pad ($13): 4 mm, 25 mL

As a comparison, Love Luna’s period undies absorb 10-20 mL, and are 3 mm thick.

Love Luna Reusable Pads

I was pretty skeptical when I first saw Love Luna’s reusable pads. Like many people, sticky pads with wings were my first period product, and the main cause of leaks were when they’d shift around and bunch up when I walked – Love Luna’s single snap button fastening didn’t really look up to the task of keeping the pad in place.

Love Luna Reusable Pads

But when I started using them, I realised that having the single non-adhesive strap actually worked quite well – it lets the pad move around with your body, and it doesn’t crease and chafe at your skin like disposable pads do (I’ve had quite a few pimples from pads!).

The main upside for me is how easy they are to carry around compared to underwear – they take up a lot less room, and it’s much easier to change out of them in a public bathroom. They’re also more affordable than the period underwear at $8-13 per pad (although Love Luna’s underwear is already very affordable compared to other products on the market, at $15 per pair).

Love Luna Reusable Pads

The main downside was the bulk. Even though they bunched up less than I expected, they still bunched up much more than period undies. They also start off bulkier too, with a thicker seam around the outside, while the padding in disposable pads and period underwear is a lot more blended in – I couldn’t imagine wearing the regular or super pads with any moderately tight-fitting pants.

The strap also wasn’t quite long enough to go around the gusset of my normal underwear without a bit of bunching, even though my current underwear doesn’t have a particularly wide gusset. They also feel much less leakproof than period underwear (I wasn’t game enough to try them overnight).

These products were provided without an obligation to review, however these are my honest opinions of the products as always. This post also contains affiliate links – if you decide to click through and support Lab Muffin financially (at no extra cost to you), thank you! For more information, see Disclosure Policy.


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7 thoughts on “Reusable menstrual product reviews: Saalt cup, Love Luna pads”

  1. I like to always be prepared so I use (and have been using for the past 5 years) the Intimina Lily Cup Compact that’s collapsible and easy to always have in your purse since it’s so compact.

    Reply
  2. Thanks for sharing! Have you tried menstrual discs? I prefer them to cups because there is no stem at all since I also have a sensitive urinary tract.

    Reply
  3. Hey Michelle, have you ever heard of the Taiwanese made mooncup (https://mooncup.backme.tw/shops/537)? They are designed for Asians (I’m 156cm) and I haven’t had much problem with it (I use standard size). One day I just decided I had enough of period pads and switched just like that! I never even used tampons before! I never looked back. The website seems to be only in Chinese but they also deliver to Australia with a fee. Maybe you could try if you feel like you’re up for it 🙂 it indeed feels so much more environmentally friendly to use reusable period products. Love your informative posts and enjoy reading your blog a lot!

    Reply
  4. I aerialed for years with a cup and much preferred it to tampons. I think having a softer cup makes it harder to learn proper insertion, plus the saalt has the same diameter as the lunette, which may have given you problems before.
    Initially, with all the extra trauma from clumsy insertion and making sure it’s open, I started out only wearing it at home/at nights for the later days of my period, and switching off between tampons and the cup to give my body a break from the discomfort. For me, the discomfort went away once I got better at insertion and gradually increased wear time.
    Lastly, anecdotally, I know a few polers/aerialists with tight pelvic cores. Maybe the cup issues are revealing wider, holistic issues.
    Good luck! I hope you cups work for you, or you find out why they don’t.

    Reply
  5. I use reusable pads, but not the supersize ones because I don´t bleed strongly (I have a coil, so it is just a tad more than spotting). They are a little less comfortable than the usual ones, but not that much that it bothers me.

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  6. Hi Michelle,

    Great post! I recommend checking out the different folds you can do with the cup for insertion – I think there are around seven of them. I went through a few before I found the one that worked for me. Also, when you’re trying to get the cup out, try using your kegels (or a reverse kegel in this case?!) to push the cup out then pull it sideways to break the seal. These tips really helped me in the beginning and I’ve never looked back!

    Tara

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