Are we ready to talk all things inserting a silicone funnel shaped cup into our foofoos?
Right then, lets get 'stuck in'!
What is a diva cup you ask?
The Diva Cup is a menstrual cup that is worn internally to collect menstrual blood flow.
What's it made from?
A natural un-pigmented, 100% health grade silicone. Latex, BPA, plastic, dye and chemical free.
Does it come in different sizes?
Yes. 3 in fact.
Model 0: 18 years and under. It is smaller than model 1 by 1/8th inch in diameter.
Model 1: Under 30 years with a medium flow who have never delivered vaginally or by a caesarean section.
Model 2: 30 years and over and/or those who have delivered vaginally or by caesarean section & who have a heavier flow. It is 1/8th inch bigger in diameter than model 1.
(The Diva cup is a soft silicone bell shaped cup that can with body heat, form to your body)
How long can it be worn for?
Up to 10 - 12 hours maximum.
It does however need to be emptied, washed and rinsed 2-3 times daily. It is only to be worn during menstruation and not during any other time in the month.
How long does the Diva Cup last for?
With regular inspection, it's life span can vary. A general guideline is to replace once a year. If signs of deterioration, sticky or powdery film, severe discolouration, odour then replace with a new one straight away.
Benefits:
On the Diva cup, there's a feature of measurements to enable you to keep check of how much you collect.
Model 0: Holds 17ml
Model 1&2: Holds 30ml
No odour. Odour is produced when it is exposed to the air. As it is worn inside this = no odour.
Eco-friendly, reusable and economical.
Where did i buy the Diva Cup?
I brought my Diva Cup from amazon, for £17.97. But that price can always fluctuate and be even cheaper. It was the cheapest place i found it as Superdrug sell it for £25.00!
Although, worth mentioning it is only free delivery when you spend £20.00. So worth having a mooch around for something else to tot up the total to avoid delivery charges.
It came 2 days later, so super fast shipping!
Initial Thoughts
Packaging: I thought the box was great fun. Pretty colours and well presented. It had information all around to grab your interest and quick and easy to read diagrams on the side to give you a glimpse of what's to come. It comes in such a cute little cotton drawstring bag too, to keep clean and tidy when not in use.
Information: Inside held a info booklet, in many a different languages. Although the print being small to read, it was laid out with clear instruction of what to do in all areas of the Diva Cup experience.
Product Itself: Inspecting the cup closely, i saw little tiny wholes dotted around the rim, one being block (one for the sewing kit needle to get through) quickly came apparent that they helped with the suction process.
The little spout, i first thought was open. Racking my brain as to how the cup even holds the blood was beyond me, until i look closer (admittedly have bad eye sight and ironically couldn't find my glasses doh) that it was in fact closed. ah harrr.
Ways of Folding
I then had a go at the different ways and shapes that you can go about inserting this up in your down below. Following the step by step diagram, i'm feeling quietly curious as to how on earth this going to go. When moulding the cup, it was surprising easy. Flexible, but not flingy.
Fold one
Fold two
Before Use
I assigned a mini saucepan from poundland to be my DIVA CUP SAUCEPAN which can be stored away until needed again. (well kept out the way of my husband, who might misplace it for cooking the frozen veg in lol)
Plopped the Diva cup into the pan with boiling water and gently simmered on a low heat for about 5 minutes. This then sanitised it before use. Letting it cool down before taking it out, i then placed it on some kitchen towel, air dried and then popped it back in it's carrier until my ovaries were ready for action.
1st Ever Try
Ngl, i usually dread realising i have to go and grab a sanitary towel/tampon (dependant on mood) when i come on my period. But this timeeee. I knew i could use my new ' bloody gadget ' and take it for a spin.
Already boiling it, i decided to go another step to further to clean it before use. So i just ran it under some lukewarm water and used some of my femfresh was to give it a little lather making sure to throughly wash it after to avoid irritation.
After watching Diva Cup's video on youtube with some helpful tips i decide the stand and squat would be my best bet as this usually works well when using a tampon.
Choosing my desired technique of origami fold it would seem, i decided to for the 'flatten and role' fold.
It was less messy than i anticipated, as my flow wasn't full on at this stage. My only concerns at this point was how the flip will i know, when the cup as opened and i'm good to go.
The leaflet and video, suggest to turn the cup clockwise when inserted, to release the fold and ensure the cup is suctioned onto the vaginal walls.
Did this. After a bit of a fumble round, i was able to turn it and was pleasantly surprised when i felt good to go and get on with the day.
My main concern was the little sticky out funnel section of the cup, i was worried that i would be able to feel it sticking out when i walked or sat down. The information from Diva Cup told me to insert the cup until the little 'stick part?' was even with your VAAAAAGINAL OPENINGGG. (i just had to capitalise that for less of a cringe worthy read)
Doing this, relieved me, as i didn't feel anything at all really. Yes i felt let's say, the rim? of the cup, suctioned on to my internal walls, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I was shooketh. Revolutionary, i thought.
After around 6 hours, i thought, better see how it's doing and give it a swill out. (purely out of curiosity and impatience to see it in all it's unabsorbed glory)
To give you un-pictured but graphic example, i collected around 7ml? About at the way point. This was only after, the spillage of all spillage occurred. I was not prepared for the very uncomfortable feeling and view i was putting my body through. Inserting fingers, you have to press against the cup, to loosen suction, else when the cup passes through below deck, the feeling of a 'pop' like sensation down there, would be rather painful.
Tucking in on the cup, i then began to pull it out. Not aware of the angle my body was positioned in crouched over the loo, the cup then spilt on to my bathroom floor and resulted in what only looked like a vampires paradise.
Emptying my cup into the loo was rather mesmerising. I then cleaned up my mess to prevent sharks swimming up my loo smelling the scent of fresh blood, i then hobbled into the bathroom (separate bathroom to toilet you see) to then swill the Diva Cup out. Cleaned out quick and easy, i decided to opt for the second 'squish and hold' fold. This was so much easier to insert as well as it releasing on it's own and made the whole, turning clockwise technique a lot easier.
Later that evening, i repeated this and inserted the cup into my blooming flower for the foreseeable night to come. Waking up, it had been around 9 hours, that my cup had been in. Aware to be slow and careful, i managed to arrange the cup in a way as it came out, to not spill evvvvvverywhere. BE WARNED. It's a good job i woke up when i did, because the cup was ready to OVERFLOW!!
Were talking the whole 30ml here.
After cleaning, getting on with day, i did notice sometimes, that when taking the Diva cup out, the rim of it would almost scrape against the walls of my vagina to be blunt and cause me GREAT discomfort. But with taking it slow and to make sure i've got a good bend in the cup before taking it out of my body, made it easier.
I didn't need to take it out, empty and clean whilst being outside of the house this time of the month, but i do worry at little at how i'm going to get on with mess and faff when in a public confined cubicle, but we shall wait and see for that one.
TOP TIP
Take your Diva Cup out in the shower.
Yes, it does look like you are tipping a jar of beetroot juice down your plug whole, but trust me, it's not much less faffffffff. You can spread out, open and free and release your collection without being concerned about drip dropping all of the place in your loo.
Avoid leaving it for 12 hours.
The longer you leave it until you empty the cup means more probability that it may over flow. When this happens, it's just like when you leak with a pad or tampon. It doesn't gush out don't worry.
But esp when your in mid week on your period/at your heaviest is best to empty every 2-3 hours. This will then mean, taking it out will be easier due to less blood being collected.
When, my period, for this month was done and dusted, i then swilled my Diva Cup as i usually would after each time i emptied it, with femfresh and water. I then used the same method with my saucepan and boiling water, ready for mother nature the following month.
Would i recommend the diva cup?
ABBBBBBSOLUTLY.
yes. It can be a faff. But i think the more times your use it the comfortable it is to insert and take out. I personally didn't experience much discomfort only the times that i mentioned and maybe towards the end of my period when quite frankly my fandango had just had enough at this point and wanted to be left alone with a nice pair of granny pants to console with.
It is sooo much cleaner than wearing sanitary towels. That was my biggest baine, was how messy i felt when i wore them. With tampons, my biggest concern was TSS (toxic shock syndrome) which always worried me. I always felt some discomfort to during the week with inserting and taking out. Also with tampons, i didn't want to wear them over night, as it would exceeded the maximum time to keep them in, which then resulted in sani pads, which can sometimes leak onto bed sheets.
So it's swings and roundabouts really. The faff of insertion definitely gets easier, the taking out part not so much but again, doing that in the shower if possible is so much better.
It does give me peace of mind knowing that i can if need be, leave it in for the maximum 10-12 hours and i am so happy my body has accepted it and doesn't cause me personally too much discomfort.
Thank you so much for reading. I know how it was long winded read and rather frank and uncouth and some points but i hope you found this somewhat helpful. In the future, i'll do little catch ups with my Diva Cup, of how i get on with exercising and when out in public. So stay tuned.
Thanks so so much for reading and i shall chat soon...
Emilie xx
KEY POINTS
Eco-nomical
BPA, latex, dyes, plastic and chemical free
Comes in 3 sizes
Pretty handy travel pouch
Easy to clean
Comfortable
Can be worn for a maximum of 10-12 hours
Uses less waste than pads and tampons
Saves money over time
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