This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
At first glance, I was in love. I was looking into purchasing a Diva Cup for a long time to offset some of my tampon and pad costs, so when Nationals sent us Model 1 in our Survival Kit, I was sold. With my period only one week away, Her Campus couldn’t have timed their delivery better.
The Diva Cup is a menstrual cup designed to make periods hassle-free and more sanitary for vagina-owners. The company was founded in 2001 by mother-daughter team Francine and Carinne Chambers, who wanted to give people inexpensive menstrual cups that can be cleaned and reused without needing to be disposed of due to poorly manufactured materials. Together, they’ve worked to create an environmentally-friendly company and product that works with its consumers and partners to make periods better for everyone.
Source: http://divacup.com/assets/M1-M2-BOXES-WEB05202015.png
To get a better sense of how effective the Diva Cup would be, I decided to do a three-day unofficial experiment to test the difference between just a pad, a tampon and a panty liner, and then the Diva Cup with a panty liner.
On the first day of my period my flow is usually pretty light, so I didn’t feel too uncomfortable wearing just a pad. The half-diaper did its job as advertised, and I felt nostalgic to my first few months of getting my period, where I excitedly changed pads every three hours and felt like a grownup.
On the second day I had to get real, so I paired my usual brand of tampons with a panty liner and went about my day. Similarly, it functioned well, with miniscule leakage due to me accidentally not changing my tampon for six hours (do NOT do this at home, kids).
On the third day, I tested my Diva Cup. I opened the box for the first time and found the cup neatly nestled in a cardboard cubby and accompanied by a set of instructions and a stylish pink carrying case to put my cup in when I’m not using it. I hadn’t considered needing a carrying case before, since I’ve never reused a period product before, so I really appreciated them providing a case for me.
Source: http://i0.wp.com/alittleadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/diva-cup2….
My first concern with the Diva Cup arose when I tried to actually use it. Thankfully, the instructions showed two ways of folding the Diva Cup so that it would fit into your vagina better, but the cup isn’t lined with the same kind of slippery plastic that tampon covers are, so it was harder to put into my body. It also doesn’t have an applicator, so I had to change the angle that I inserted it, which also led to a few moments of discomfort. However, once it was in, it fit snugly and didn’t shift around, which tampons have definitely done before.
I’m not entirely sure how to describe the feeling of the Diva Cup. I didn’t especially notice it when I was walking or sitting, but it was definitely a constant presence. It kind of felt like I was incubating an egg inside my vagina—not the most comfortable feeling, but also not terrible. After a couple of hours, I removed the Diva Cup to check out its effectiveness. I had no leakage on my panty liner, which was a huge plus. It was tough to grasp the little plastic nubbin at the end of the cup to pull it out, and I forgot that it had molded itself to the inside of my vagina and that it would expand a bit as I pulled it out, which my labia didn’t love. But it held all of my period blood from the last two hours, and I was able to clean it with just some hand soap and water! I decided to give my vagina a break after that and replaced it with a spare tampon in my bag.
Overall, I didn’t have the best impression of the Diva Cup. I’m a fairly small person, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the cup was actually just too big for my body. However, I think the Diva Cup is an excellent choice for people who can’t afford to keep spending money on period products.
Source: http://jezebel.com/5890058/this-is-how-much-it-costs-to-own-a-vagina-an-…
The Diva Cup retails for $30.00 and claims to be good for at least a year, according to their website. I’ll definitely keep it in my backpack for emergencies, but I don’t think it’ll be my first choice, since it doesn’t fit as well as I’d like it to. However, I definitely recommend this product to anyone who doesn’t want to spend thousands of dollars sopping up period blood throughout their lifetimes. It’s convenient, easy to transport, fairly straightforward to use, and best of all, economical. If you’re interested in learning more about the Diva Cup, go to www.divacup.com.