A menstrual cup flat out sounds gross. I’ve heard of them in the past and thought, “Thanks, but absolutely no thanks.” Two kids later, getting my period again for the first time in a while after pregnancies and nursing, the idea of a tampon made me cringe.
And Hi, Nice to meet you – after all of that – tampons hurt too.
This post is going to be a whole lot of TMI for some people.
Putting a cotton swab in my body after being so worried about that area for 4 years, and having humans grow in there, made me question it all. It felt different too. Tampons would dry me out and get downright painful after a few days of usage. I really wanted another option.
I decided to post about “period cups” on Instastories and the feedback was shocking. 99% of people (these are real rough figures) who had used a cup wrote me animated messages about how they LOVE theirs and are NEVER looking back. The other 1% used the Diva Cup.
The Diva Cup got a lot of slack in my DMs. Apparently, even though it was the first to market, it is by no means the best option. In fact, down to a person, everyone hated it and called it uncomfortable. If you have used a Diva Cup and were not a fan, keep reading…
I was nervous, and plagued with questions, mainly about blood, and those in my DMs that hadn’t used a cup had all the same questions that they were afraid to ask someone.
So here we are. I’m sharing it all.
This is MY personal Saalt Cup review. And for the record, it’s the only period cup I have tried.
After my Instastories, my friend Jazzi, turned me on to a company called Put A Cup In It. If you are even vaguely interested in ordering a cup head to their site right now. I would have been lost in this process without their videos. Those women are heroes, and they are saving the world, one woman, at a time.
View My Highlight of ALL the Instastories HERE!
But for real, educating women about options is this weird secret society and they are breaking barriers. Gone should be the days of “ew gross” because news flash, it’s super normal and WE HAVE QUESTIONS.
At 33, and two kids in, I should not have SO many questions about that part of my body. But I do…
FOCUS, CANDACE. FOCUS. The Cup.
After taking the quiz on Put A Cup In It, I ordered the Saalt Cup in Regular off of Amazon, directly from Saalt.
When it arrived…
I thought, oh hell no! That thing is not going to fit inside of me, and it definitely won’t be comfortable. It was harder and larger than I thought (save the ‘that’s what she said’ jokes or this post is going to be even longer than it already is. haha) Sure they made it pink, that’s cute… but they can’t possibly be serious.
I boiled it for the recommended 4 minutes (not over 7 minutes!) and put it in a whisk to keep it from touching the pot and melting. I put it in its cotton breathable bag in my makeup drawer, prayed my kids wouldn’t steal it, and waited…
When I got my period…
Naturally both kids were climbing all over me while I peed, and I needed to divert them and lock the bathroom door to try the cup. Rookie move. Try a “dry run” before this is your life.
Inserting…
I did the C-fold because it was the only one I could remember at the moment. I folded it up and wiggled the cup in, and then straight panicked.
My body felt like it had sucked the cup up. I thought, that’s it, I have to go to the ER.
For some reason, I was expecting the stem to stick out of me since others trim the stem completely off. Nope. Nothing is detectable in any way. It’s UP there.
I headed back to @PutACupInIt and watched their insertion and removal videos while panicking and running from my kids. They assured me that this was the correct placement and that I wouldn’t die, and I would be able to remove it.
I crossed my fingers and heading to my daughters gymnastics class.
No leaks!
Insertion Video || Removal Video
Removing it…
3 hours later, in the shower, I removed the cup.
I’m going to be real honest with y’all, I have never had to put my fingers all up in me like that before and I was prepared for a horror film. It wasn’t messy at all, and there is WAY less blood than you think there is.
What I have learned is that tampons suck up ALL of your fluids, hence the dryness. And that is why they get so heavy. Cups only collect what is naturally dropping.
I rinsed the cup in the shower and put it back in. FOR 12 HOURS.
I went to sleep, woke up without any leaks, removed, dumped, rinsed and reinserted the cup for the day.
Things to Note…
- Everyone likes a different “fold”. I tried the punch down fold in the morning and couldn’t get the cup in. C-fold is going to be my go-to for now.
- To make sure it opens up, I used the stem to gently rotate it a little and then used my muscles to see if it moved around. This will become second nature quickly.
- I wouldn’t do it in a public restroom YET, but I don’t know why you would have to if you can wear it for so many hours. If I HAD to, I would dump it in the toilet, and then use a wipe like these Lunette Cup wipes, reinsert and then wipe my hands off and head directly to the sink.
- You will need to wash your hands if you do it on the toilet. Fact of life: this process includes blood and that is pretty unavoidable. But it’s not the blood bath you imagine.
- When you go to remove it, you’ll need to use your muscles to push it out enough to give you room to grip. That sounds crazy, but when you go to do it and think that thought – your body just does it.
- I don’t feel it at all. In fact, you could probably easily forget it’s in you. haha. The Saalt Cup is incredibly comfortable for me.
- Remember that your body is made to push a 6-9 pound human out of that area, so the cup is cake.
- I’m buying a back up ONLY because my kids steal things daily. You couldn’t really lose it without tiny people stealing it, because it’s always in you. But in between periods just keep it somewhere safe. I might keep one in my car.
- A cup feels like the easiest thing when traveling. Not having to pack a box of tampons is amazing.
- You’re going to get REAL familiar with yourself. And that’s OK!!!!!
All in all, I’m never going back. I’m thrilled that I’ll be skilled in this by the time my girls get their periods, and hoping that it will be more common place to talk about. This makes sense. It’s better for your body, you pocket, and the world.
If you have been curious, take the quiz, and order one.
BTW this was in NO WAY sponsored. @PutACupInIt just saved me and I’m loving my Saalt Cup. This post was original posted in January of 2019 but has been updated and recirculated.
