I first heard about the Diva Cup from a YouTube video. The girl in the video raved about much easier it made her period and how she felt like she was making a positive impact on the world by using it. The video peaked my interest but it took me a while to finally make the switch. Since seeing that video, I’d been interested in menstruation cups. Were they actually effective? Was it worth the price? How do they work? Could that big ass cup fit up my vagina?!
Finally, I decided I wanted to get the Diva Cup. But before then, I had to finish up my humongous box of tampons my dad bought me from Costco (thx dad for getting me the biggest box on the market!) While I used up the last of my tampons, I did my research.
Figuring out exactly how to insert the cup can be a little daunting. You really need to get comfortable with yourself before trying out this bad boy. Once you find the right folding technique and angle to push it up your vag it’s really not that different from a tampon. There is, however, a learning curve. Give yourself 10 minutes when you first open your cup to practice taking it in and out.
Once it’s up there, it’s really not bad! You’re body will kind of position the cup itself in a way that makes it feel like there’s nothing up there at all. It feels so natural that I seriously forgot that I was wearing anything at all. Which isn’t even a big deal because you can wear menstruation cups for 12 hours! The days of changing your tampon every two hours for fear of getting Toxic Shock Syndrome are finally over.
Taking it out for the first time after wearing it for an entire day was a little scary, I won’t lie. Because your vagina ends up re-positioning it, the cup will kind of disappear up inside you. Don’t be afraid though, it’s physically impossible for anything to actually get lost inside your vagina. After I had a mini panic attack, the search for the “missing” Diva Cup began. Thankfully, there’s a little nub at the bottom of the cup that makes finding it pretty easy. Unlike tampons, you’ll need to work a little bit to remove the Diva Cup. Help yourself out by pushing it out with your vagina muscles while pulling at the same time.
A lot of people worry about making a mess when they go to dump their cup. How are you supposed to casually dump a cup of period blood in a public bathroom sink? Unless you’re super ballsy and feel comfortable doing that, I’ve found that changing your cup in the shower to be the most effective. That way the blood goes right down the drain and it’s an easy cleanup.
Another great thing about menstruation cups are that they show you exactly how much you’re bleeding. I always thought I was practically bleeding out during my period when I used tampons because they looked so saturated whenever I took them out. With the Diva Cup, you get to see how much blood you’re actually losing, which isn’t even that much. It makes the whole period experience feel a lot less gruesome.
Finally, the best part of the Diva Cup is that you never have to buy a stupid box of tampons ever again! Not only is that amazing for the environment, but it also saves you a crap-ton of cash. You never have to go all the way to the closest Target, go to that stupid aisle labeled “feminine hygiene” and gaze confused at all the options of over-priced tampons. You never have to awkwardly go up to the teenage boy working the register and avoid making eye contact like you’re some kind of freak. It’s perfect because Diva Cups are sold online and you don’t have to have any human contact in order to get your hands on one!
Switching to the Diva Cup has easily been the best thing I’ve ever done for myself when it comes to my period. It made my last period the most manageable period I’ve ever had. I didn’t leak on my underwear, I didn’t go through a million tampons over the week, heck I didn’t even remember I was on my period most of the time! Seriously, every woman needs this – it’s only like $20 and it’ll last you a long time. What are you waiting for??