Hello everyone!
May is almost over and I think a lot of people just cannot wait to get out of the house, but hang in there! I know some of you have been waiting a while for my review on the Hello Cup so here it is! If you want to know more about why I decided to make the swap and my experience shopping for the products, you can read my blogpost here.
In this post I will be talking more about my experience with the Hello Cup, and how it has pretty much made my life a whole lot easier. I'd say it's one of those things you can invest in because it does save you a fair bit of money on pads/tampons. As unbelievable as it may sound, it's a whole lot more comfortable as well. No more odours and no more feeling like you've leaked out of your pad/tampon and all that.
Before you think I'm just hard selling these; I'm not sponsored or anything. I just enjoy the fact that I finally made the swap and it has changed my life (BYE CRAMPS). I just happened to decide on getting the Hello Cup and I've really enjoyed using it.
These are the cups that I got! These were actually a set, so you get the S/M cup and the XS cup. I've not really used the smaller one just yet, but it's ok to use for lighter days. I've been liking the Hello Cup so far, I've only experienced leakage once or twice, but that's because I wasn't exactly doing it right. But it really does take a bit of practice to find out the best way to use it because everyone's body is made different.
I've realised that this cup is on the stiffer end of the spectrum when it comes to menstrual cups, but I have personally not had any difficulty in terms of it not popping up or difficulty using it. I am looking into getting a more flexible cup just to give some variation, but I'm not going to rush into that, so if I do get another one, you can expect another blogpost!
I'd say it was daunting to actually change out. For some of us, if your cervix is deep, the cup may 'disappear', but that doesn't really mean you need to reach up all the way. For those of you who are worried, it's quite impossible for your cup to get lost in your cervix, so never fear! Haha. I found that a good ol' push really does help to get it out. I've had friends say that pinching the bottom of the cup helps to release the vacuum, but because my cup is stiffer and more cone-shaped than bulb-shaped, I realised the pinching method doesn't really work, but pushing it out seemed to work very well for me.
During my first cycle with a period cup, I learnt a lot about my own body and it also helped me to adjust how I used the cup; like which way to angle the cup and when is a good time to empty the cup etc. I have friends who prefer to change out their cups in the shower, but I personally never seemed to have much success with it. It is easier to put in but I realised I couldn't get the angle right so the leakage was nothing short of a blood bath, so I found that just sitting and leaning back helps a lot.
I also found that the best way to know that I've placed it properly is that I don't feel that it's there, and usually that results in no leaks. Just remember: you shouldn't actually feel any pain or discomfort when you use your cup!
So, cleansing your cup!
Normal soap degrades the silicones, apparently, so I highly recommend getting the cleansing solution. Hello Cup has their own cleanser in the form of a spray, but I did get mine from The Period Co. and the one they carried was from Lunette, which I think works just fine too. Plus the wipes really will come in handy on the go as well.
Although they say you only need to change it out every 12 hours (which is really the most amazing thing ever), I like to change it every 8-10 hours. So usually, when I wake up, sometime in the middle of the day and right before I go to bed. I also sterilise my cup after every use with boiling water, I don't think you need to go this every month but I do it anyway.
I've yet to try using this while I'm on set because I had the 2-month circuit breaker to practice using it. Then again, I think this would really change the way I work because it has miraculously helped with my cramps. Previously, my cramps would still hurt despite taking painkillers, but I realised using the cup has really eased the cramps and on bad days the pain will be completely gone after I take a painkiller. I don't really know the science behind it, but all my friends who use period cups also realised that it has eased period pains a lot so if you have really bad cramps, do consider making the swap!
If you're thinking about getting a period cup, research is key!
I highly recommend doing your research on various brands that you are considering on getting because what works for me might not always work for you! There are loads of information on various sites as well. Hello Cup has a lot of articles on their site about how to use their product and The Period Co. also has a lot of general information about using period cups. I do personally recommend that you read information about the cup of your choice from the specific brand because the folding techniques for the various brands also differ etc.
For me, I took a lot of starter information from The Period Co.'s website and also watched a lot of youtube videos on how the cups work, I understand it does feel odd watching videos about putting something up your cervix but it's really worth it because having all this information will make the experience less daunting! I also hope this blogpost does give you a little more confidence too, I may have taken a long time to actually make the swap but I don't ever want to go back to pads/tampons.
Whether you want to make the swap just because you want to save some money on disposable period products or because you're on a mission to save the earth, I say just go for it! I hope you guys found this blogpost informative! I'll see you in my next one!
xx
Shayne
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