On average, a woman’s period lasts anywhere from three to seven days, and they menstruate from the age of 13 until age 51. Doing the math here, that means the average woman endures about 456 periods during her lifetime – which equals roughly 2,280 days of period time through her life. That’s 6.25 years in total. This also means that for 2,280 days of a woman’s life, she is using some kind of menstrual product – and that’s not just one product a day. Think about how many tampons or pads you use during your period – now times that by how many periods you’ve had already. Over 50% of the world’s population are women, and while not all of them are in their menstruation years – that’s still a heck of a lot of sanitary products being used.
There is approximately 20 BILLION sanitary napkins, tampons and applicators dumped into North American landfills every year. When wrapped in plastic bags, feminine hygiene waste can take centuries to biodegrade. The average woman uses over 11,000 tampons over her lifetime, leaving behind residue far beyond her lifespan. (The Ecological Impact of Feminine Hygiene Products).
This isn’t a blog post about how terrible sanitary products are for the environment, though I think sharing the facts are important, and I do urge you to do your own research on the impact that these products have on our planet. At the end of the day, most women will experience a period at least once in their life, which means that it becomes necessary to use a sanitary product. Here in Canada we are lucky enough to have a choice on which product to use, and I think going for the environmentally friendly (and you-friendly) one, is the way to go.
I’ve heard RAVE reviews of the menstrual cup over the past few years – though I am aware that they have been around for quite some time, it wasn’t until recently that I finally decided to give it a shot.
One day I just got really sick of having to buy another box of tampons, so I took to Amazon to see what options I had when it came to menstrual cups. After a bit of reading, I realized that the well-known “diva cup” wasn’t the only option I had, there are tons of other brands that offer the same thing as a diva cup does, without the super expensive price tag. I went with a Blossom Cup – it was top rated on Amazon and had incredible reviews from hundreds of women.
It came in a little box that contained the cup itself, a little pink bag to store it in, and an instruction manual.
I have tested this thing to the max because I wanted to be able to give you the most thorough review possible. If the cup is something you’ve been considering for a while, I hope that this review can help you make your decision!
Comfort
As far as comfort goes I’d say it was just ok the first time I used it. Having used tampons since high school and never having an issue with one (bar the first time I used one), I will say that I could feel the cup more than a tampon. I couldn’t feel it inside me, but definitely could feel the stem when I was sitting or standing in certain positions. I’m just finishing up my second period using the cup and I actually opted to snip 85% of the stem off and I have found that helped immensely – I haven’t felt the cup at all this period.
One thing I will say though as more of a word of warning is that my first round using the cup gave me holy-shit-these-are-bad cramps. I’m not usually one to suffer with anything more than one day of 5/10 pain during my period, but I was at about a 8/10 pain for the first few days of using the cup. This second round of cup use though, I haven’t had a SINGLE cramp… not even a twinge. So just keep that in mind when you use for the first time! It may be a little more uncomfortable in the cramp department than you’re used too!
Putting it in
I did my research on putting the cup in so I actually found this part relatively easy. I was so concerned with making sure I knew how to put it in because I wasn’t ready to deal with the disaster that would’ve been my underwear if I ended up leaking. The instruction pamphlet for the cup had suggestions on how to fold it to get it in – I had the easiest time with the C-fold. Granted, I didn’t try any other fold – this is what I started with and had success with so I didn’t bother exploring other options! Once it’s in, you’ll feel a “popping” kind of feeling in your insides, this is the cup opening out – that’s when you know she’s locked and loaded and ready to go. Another way to check that it’s in properly is to run your finger around the cup to make sure all the edges are expanded!
Taking it out
Now this is the thing I did not consider when I started my menstrual cup journey. I read all the info on putting the damn thing in but NOTHING about taking it out. I have to say, using the menstrual cup forces you to get real intimate with yourself… in the least sexy way possible. If you’re not comfortable with your body, I wouldn’t suggest using the cup – or be prepared to get real up close and personal with yourself real quick.
The first time I tried to take it out I ended up fishing around in my vag, 3 fingers deep for a full 5 minutes. By the time I managed to get it out, I was sweaty, frustrated, and had a very sore vagina. After this traumatic ordeal, I did some googling and thankfully I’m not the only woman that has had issue with this. The best way I’ve found to take it out is to bare down (kinda like you’re pooping) – this allows you to push the cup closer to the outside world, making it easier to pinch the bottom of the cup. Do not try pinching the stem of the cup because it will just slip right out of your hands and snap back at your cooch and it hurts. Once you’ve managed to pinch the base of the cup, gently wiggle it back and forth to break the seal, then you can slowly take it out. Be careful you don’t rag it out too quickly otherwise you’ll end up with a cup full of blood everywhere.
Leakage
Since I researched so heavily on putting the cup in, I actually didn’t have any issues with leaking – thankfully. I even TRIED to make it leak. I literally left my cup in for 14 hours one day (my heaviest day might I add) – FOURTEEN HOURS!! And not a single drop of blood leaked anywhere. I went to bed with my cup in and then when I woke up I immediately went for a run without changing my cup – no leakage. I’ve lifted weights with it in, jumped, ran, forgotten about it, and I haven’t had a single leak. So I’d say that for me personally, it passed the test.
I should mention however – as something for you to keep in mind – my period is pretty “normal”/on the lighter side, so I really don’t bleed that much throughout the day. To put it in perspective, in the past on my heavier period days days, I would still only go through 2 regular sized tampons, and then one at night.
If your period is a little heavier, I would probably not recommend wearing it for 14 hours straight (that was strictly for science), but it’s nice to know that if you forget about it up there for a few hours you’re not going to die of TSS, or discover a blood bath in your underwear.
Pooping
Maybe I should’ve put a disclaimer at the beginning of this blog post about how personal it was going to get… oh well, now you’re really getting to know me. Let’s talk about pooping.
Pooping with a tampon in I always found to be a little questionable. The vaginal canal and poop canal really are not separated by that much skin, so when pooping with a tampon in, I was always made aware that there was also something solid in my vagina canal and it always just felt a little uncomfortable. Not only that, but with a tampon there is a string hanging out of your vagina wild and free and ready to be touched by falling poop… which is kinda gross and definitely super unsanitary.
With the cup, though, I genuinely do not feel any awkward discomfort and I think that’s due to the cup being malleable, so it bends when there’s something pressing up against it. I also didn’t ever feel like I was going to push it out either, which is always a good thing.
Clean up
I would say that this is the hardest part to get used too when switching to the cup. I don’t know about you but I wasn’t ever one to inspect my tampon upon it exiting my body. With the cup, you’re kind of forced to come face to face with your literal uterine lining – flesh that your own body has chosen to shed form itself just… hanging out there in a cup. A little jarring, but also kind of cool to see how much you actually do bleed during a period (I promise, it’s actually probably far less than you think).
Once you’ve taken it out you obviously have to dump what’s inside – I just dump in in the toilet. Then I take a little wad of toilet paper to wipe it out a little bit and clean the outside up, then I wet the edges of it and pop it right back in. It’s really not complicated, it’s just a little more hands on than changing a tampon or pad. I would recommend doing it at home if you can, or in a clean environment – not a public bathroom. I have heard of some women doing it in the shower but I just feel like that’d be too slippery to get a hold of the cup properly and also I don’t feel like standing in a pool of my womb-blood…
To clean the cup once your period is over, all you have to do is throw it into some boiling water for a few minutes! I ordered the clear cup as I figured this would make clean up easier to do, but to be honest it’s super easy to clean so you could go with any colour and be fine. In fact, I would recommend that you choose any other colour than clear because the blood does leave some staining behind on the clear one!
I will be continuing to use the Blossom cup. So far it has given me all the same benefits that a tampon does, while also helping out the planet a little bit, and reducing/eliminating my chances of getting TSS! Plus I can forget about it for long periods of time and not worry about my underwear being wrecked… the lazy part of me loves this!
Alrighty there you go. We got a little personal today but that’s ok, now you just know me a little better I guess! If you have any other questions about it, leave me a comment and I’ll be happy to answer!
Until next time
xx