Moon Body Oil.
The Moon Body oil is designed for all menstruators. It contains clary sage, lavender, cypress and rose essential oils, which are all known to reduce bloating and period pain by relieving muscles. The ideal oil to be added to your daily skincare routine, a luxurious treat that helps your skin rejuvenate. This oil leaves your skin soft, well moisturised and soaks in within minutes. 10% of sales from the Moon range are donated to The Homeless Period Belfast* to help fight period poverty.
Ingredients.
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil**, salvia sclarea (clary sage) oil, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower oil**, cupressus sempervirens (cypress) oil, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Oil**, Tocopherol (Vitamin E) **, Limonene* Linalool* Geraniol* *Allergens naturally occurring in essential oils **Organic
How to use.
Rub a small amount of oil into the skin in a circular motion. Due to the high quality of the ingredients used a small amount is all that is needed. Allow to dry before dressing. For external use only.
Keep out of eyes. Contains nut oils. Made in an environment that handles essential oils. Keep out of reach of children. Suitable for vegans. We do not test on animals, just consenting humans. Consult your GP for advice before use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding as there are certain essential oils which are not suitable at various stages of pregnancy.
Keep out of eyes. Contains nut oils. Made in an environment that handles essential oils. Keep out of reach of children. Suitable for vegans. We do not test on animals, just consenting humans. Consult your GP for advice before use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding as there are certain essential oils which are not suitable at various stages of pregnancy.
Packaging.
Our oils come in recyclable amber glass bottles and packaged in a cardboard box with biodegradable packing tape and protected with biodegradable/compostable and water dissolvable packing peanuts. We look after your skin and the environment too.
The Homeless Period Belfast.
Founded in 2016, The Homeless Period Belfast was initially started up to provide period packs to mainly rough sleepers and homeless people, Homeless Period Belfast learnt very quickly how prevalent period poverty was, extending to disadvantaged school girls, refugees & asylum seekers, women seeking refuge, teenagers in care, survivors of human trafficking, women who depend on foodbanks, drug & alcohol addiction groups, low income single parents and women leaving prison who are now all among the groups we support with period packs.
The taboo surrounding periods and the issue of period poverty are inextricably linked. Periods are very much still stigmatised; silenced at any mention and we are made to feel embarrassed and often ashamed. As a result, we do not talk openly about periods and therefore we do not think of period poverty being an issue for many disadvantaged and vulnerable women. Rough sleepers have felt too uncomfortable to ask passers-by to go to a shop and buy them the products, women at food banks have been too embarrassed to request tampons, young girls have missed school so they didn’t have to put pressure on their low-income parents to buy sanitary towels. The HPB work to change this by striving for a cultural shift in attitudes towards menstruation. They aim to end the taboo and reshape the conversation on periods by holding workshops, panels and meetings, while also sharing resources and information on our online social media platforms.
In the UK, 1 in 10 girls have missed school because of a lack of menstrual products and in Ireland 2019, 61% of girls reportedly missed school because of their period. Aware of these statistics and of those for various other groups, the HPB launched our #MenstruationMatters campaign in 2019 calling for all toilets in public and private buildings to provide free period products.
The founder Katrina comments: ‘It doesn’t take long for the penny to drop when you realise free essential hygiene items such as, toilet roll, soap, hand towels and sanitary waste disposal bins are already being provided and that there is absolutely no reason for period products not to be added to that list, unless of course it’s because men don’t need them? Any toilet that requires toilet roll, requires period products in exactly the same way.’
_________________________________________________________________________________
In November 2020, the HPB met with the NI Assembly Education Committee and presented a petition with over 5000 signatures, along with evidence from surveys of school students and school teachers throughout NI exposing how a lack of essential period products at school has been disrupting their teaching and education. The key findings were:
74% of school girls had left school early or missed a day entirely because of a lack of period products at school
87% said that a lack of period products has negatively impacted their attention in class and/or school attendance
91% have had to use toilet roll as a temporary measure
84% of teachers said that they have witnessed how the ongoing pandemic has exacerbated the need period products in schools.
60% of teachers have had to buy period products out of their own wages.
The Education Minister in Northern Ireland, Peter Weir, backed the campaign call and requested approval from the whole NI Executive which successfully resulted in a decision to provide all schools in NI, primary, post primary and special schools, with free period products by September 2021.
If every public toilet can provide free toilet roll, soap, and hand towels for bodily functions we have no control over, how does having a period, another bodily function we have no control over, make it any different? Any toilet that requires toilet roll, requires period products in exactly the same way!
The vision of the campaign is not only to eradicate period poverty - making the need for our initiative redundant as the aim is not to grow; it is to cease to exist – but it is also to consider the needs of all women and girls who are caught out when menstruating outside of the home unexpectedly without these essential items at reach. Being caught out and consequently having to turn to layered toilet roll as a temporary and risky replacement, leads to discomfort and worry and should never be the circumstance for anyone, especially not for those in education.
The taboo surrounding periods and the issue of period poverty are inextricably linked. Periods are very much still stigmatised; silenced at any mention and we are made to feel embarrassed and often ashamed. As a result, we do not talk openly about periods and therefore we do not think of period poverty being an issue for many disadvantaged and vulnerable women. Rough sleepers have felt too uncomfortable to ask passers-by to go to a shop and buy them the products, women at food banks have been too embarrassed to request tampons, young girls have missed school so they didn’t have to put pressure on their low-income parents to buy sanitary towels. The HPB work to change this by striving for a cultural shift in attitudes towards menstruation. They aim to end the taboo and reshape the conversation on periods by holding workshops, panels and meetings, while also sharing resources and information on our online social media platforms.
In the UK, 1 in 10 girls have missed school because of a lack of menstrual products and in Ireland 2019, 61% of girls reportedly missed school because of their period. Aware of these statistics and of those for various other groups, the HPB launched our #MenstruationMatters campaign in 2019 calling for all toilets in public and private buildings to provide free period products.
The founder Katrina comments: ‘It doesn’t take long for the penny to drop when you realise free essential hygiene items such as, toilet roll, soap, hand towels and sanitary waste disposal bins are already being provided and that there is absolutely no reason for period products not to be added to that list, unless of course it’s because men don’t need them? Any toilet that requires toilet roll, requires period products in exactly the same way.’
_________________________________________________________________________________
In November 2020, the HPB met with the NI Assembly Education Committee and presented a petition with over 5000 signatures, along with evidence from surveys of school students and school teachers throughout NI exposing how a lack of essential period products at school has been disrupting their teaching and education. The key findings were:
74% of school girls had left school early or missed a day entirely because of a lack of period products at school
87% said that a lack of period products has negatively impacted their attention in class and/or school attendance
91% have had to use toilet roll as a temporary measure
84% of teachers said that they have witnessed how the ongoing pandemic has exacerbated the need period products in schools.
60% of teachers have had to buy period products out of their own wages.
The Education Minister in Northern Ireland, Peter Weir, backed the campaign call and requested approval from the whole NI Executive which successfully resulted in a decision to provide all schools in NI, primary, post primary and special schools, with free period products by September 2021.
If every public toilet can provide free toilet roll, soap, and hand towels for bodily functions we have no control over, how does having a period, another bodily function we have no control over, make it any different? Any toilet that requires toilet roll, requires period products in exactly the same way!
The vision of the campaign is not only to eradicate period poverty - making the need for our initiative redundant as the aim is not to grow; it is to cease to exist – but it is also to consider the needs of all women and girls who are caught out when menstruating outside of the home unexpectedly without these essential items at reach. Being caught out and consequently having to turn to layered toilet roll as a temporary and risky replacement, leads to discomfort and worry and should never be the circumstance for anyone, especially not for those in education.