Lunapads

we wish all our friends and readers a very merry christmas, felice navidad, happy hanukkah, happy winter solstice and other festive greetings of the season. a tradition we started last year was to have an annual year end lunch at a fabulous hangout called rahda, not far from our office. not only is the food great, but the entire menu is vegan, which makes sandra happy. baby garret joined us, since he comes with me where ever i go. while it is hard to see, i’m wearing a fabulous new headband that madeleine sewed for each of us. (it’s kinda falling off my head, so madeleine is making adjustmens so it will fit me perfectly.)

here at lunapads, most of us are celebrating the holidays with family. i’m staying in town and my in-laws are visiting us, madeleine is island hopping around the vancouver area, marie genevieve is going to see her folks in kelowna and gonie is staying home too (having spent some time in the phillipines with her family last month.) sandra however is on a big adventure touring south america with her boyfriend. you can keep up to date on her blog here. we also want to welcome lisa, who has joined lunapads in december to help with the staffing gaps over the holidays.

where are you this holiday season and how will you be celebrating? we look forward to connecting with you more in 2007.

I’ve been using washable pads for four years, but just found out about Lunapads and Lunapanties a year and a half ago. When I first switched to washable pads, I hung on to a stash of plastic disposable pads and tampons for jogging and long-distance cycling because the washable pads I was initially using were just too bulky and mobile for really active sports.

Also, the pads I was first using had these big metal snaps that became painful after about five seconds of sitting on my bike seat. Since switching to Lunapads, I can happily use a Maxi Lunapad for cycling, even on long-distance rides. In fact, I used them on a 800-kilometer bike tour. Unfortunately, even Lunapads don’t really work really well for jogging, just as I find disposable pads don’t work because there’s just too much movement. Previously I always had to use tampons for jogging but now I use Lunapanties, which I consider to be one of the most genius inventions of the 20th century! Seriously, Lunapanties are just fantastic for jogging, and have totally resolved my discomfort at having to keep tampons on hand if I want to continue my running schedule while I have my period. I LOVE my Lunapanties. Thanks!!

My experience with Lunapads began out of frustration with off the shelf menstruation products and a desperation for something better. But I should probably start at the beginning.

I have highly sensitive skin. So much so that anytime I got my period I was in pain from the rash and soreness that store-bought pads brought. Further, I was always embarrassed by my period. I lived in pain and fear of getting my period, eventually choosing to completely suppress it rather than go though another cycle of pain, embarrassment and frustration.

Then I heard about Lunapads. I read the testimonials of other women on the site, women who had experienced similar issues to mine. I realized I was not alone. With much skepticism, I ordered my first set of Lunapads and stopped withholding my period. I held my breath, hopeful that I may finally have the key to a good period. I revisited the Lunapads website many times while I waited, nervous and anxious, rereading the testimonials. Then it happened. I finally got my period again, and my “trial” with Lunapads began. Even better – it was successful. I was surprised, elated, ecstatic! Not only did I not have to use a cream to rid myself of the rash, but also I wasn’t sore either!

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This is a very exciting opportunity to contribute to Hanne Blank’s upcoming anthology about menstruation. If you’re not already familiar with Hanne Blank’s (she is a Lunapads customer!) unique brand of hyper-progressive writing (her latest book is a history of virginity), learn more here. For those of you who are already fans, you can look forward to this…

Breakthrough Bleeding:
Essays on The Thing Women Spend A Quarter Of Their Time Doing, But No One’s Supposed To Talk About
Edited by Hanne Blank and Moira Russell
Forthcoming from She Devil Press, an imprint of Suspect Thoughts Press scheduled publication date Fall 2008.

FINALLY, a book that isn’t afraid of a little blood!
Between puberty and menopause, most women spend close to a quarter of their lives dealing with menstruation. But except for coming-of-age stories and the occasional Stephen King novel, all this spilled blood hardly creates a blip on the cultural radar. It’s as if someone has removed it all with a super-duper magic cleanser is ironic, considering what the rest of us go through to get the stains out!

Breakthrough Bleeding is here to change all that. Thoughtful, challenging, political, and maybe even sexy, this collection of essays looks at menstruation from the inside and the outside, a super-maxi size dose of heavy-thinkin¹ menstrual mojo.

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