Simply Fresh Living

****WARNING*** Do not read if you are uninterested, repulsed, and/or completely turned off by the details of us women’s joyful time of the month

When I started trying to transition my lifestyle to be more “green” I first began by buying more “eco friendly” products: compostable trash bags, recycled toilet paper, cut back on the paper towels, etc. but one of the things that seemed the most wasteful of all was all of the tampons I would go through in a given month, not to mention each of their individual wrapping.

Before this thought crossed my mind though an even more important one was always nagging me, if there are so many harmful chemicals, etc. in beauty products I really wondered exactly what that tampon had been exposed to before I used it. Not to mention all of the lies, claims, corruption, etc. that certain major manufacturer’s equally participate in.

Here is an excerpt from a blog post Whole Foods wrote about the dangers of tampons:

“Tampons are typically made from a variety of materials including conventional cotton, rayon or a blend of both fibers. Conventional cotton is one of the “dirtiest” crops in the modern world. According to the USDA, in 2003 U.S. cotton farmers applied an eye-popping 55 million pounds of pesticides to their fields. And global cotton production also uses high levels of pesticides.

Many of these agricultural toxins are classified as “extremely or highly hazardous” by the World Health Organization. In addition to polluting groundwater and soil, seven of the 15 most commonly-used cotton pesticides have been identified as possible human carcinogens by the EPA. (Others are known to damage the nervous system and are suspected of disrupting the body’s hormonal system.)”

Yikes!!!! So with the possibility of putting something harmful into my body for hours every month along with their extremely high waste factor I set out on some research. There are chlorine-free, organic tampons out there which are obviously safer than the run of the mill brands but just by chance I ran across, The Diva Cup!

You can read up on the specifics of the Diva Cup yourself, but the jist is that its a small REUSABLE silicone cup that you wear in place of a tampon. So you put it in, take it out, wash it out, and put it back in. And when your flow isn’t around you store it in the cute little draw string back it comes with.

After reading all about how it works, visiting the site, reading other blogger’s reviews and testimonials I was definitely sold. I picked one up at Whole Foods, it was not cheap, about 40$ if I remember correctly. But then I thought about a box of tampons, they run about 15$ depending on the variety you purchase and a whole box may not even last the entire week. A Diva Cup purchase adds up to a savings of about 140$ a year.

I needed(!) mine immediately so online purchase wasn’t an option but after searching around, iHerb, seems to have the best price at $24.70.

When I first opened it I was definitely intimidated, it seemed large, hard, and intuitively not comfortable at all. I read the instructions carefully (fold, pinch, insert, & give a little twist) it took me two tries to get it right but once it worked, I was totally fine. It was not uncomfortable at all and if anything felt weird it was just me THINKING it was weird, all in my head for sure.

Mine has never leaked, and although I would say I have a fairly moderate flow every month it has never come close to overflowing the capacity of the cup. It can be worn longer than a tampon too, so no worries about only sleeping 8 hours, being out and about and forgetting a tampon. Obviously if you have a heavier flow the wear time is going to be shorter, but from my personal experience I have worn it up to 10-11 hours with no problems. Another major plus is the “going to the bathroom” factor. Although I am sure everybody has experienced it is POSSIBLE to go to the bathroom wearing a tampon it is not ideal, not very sanitary at all (in my opinion), and something I avoid at all costs. Seeing as this has no string and sits a tad farther up and much more snug than a tampon, going to the bathroom is not only possible but completely unaffected by wearing the DivaCup.

One of the downside’s is being out and about or in the office all day, etc. Taking it out, washing, and putting back in is not really conducive to a public restroom. I have the ability to wear mine all day without this being a problem but again, if you have a heavier flow this may not be the case and it will be harder to change in a public restroom type setting. Its completely possible, but nobody really wants to be spotted carrying a cup of blood to the sink and then washing it down the drain (very very sorry for the visual but that is exactly what you have to do) This may present another downside for some people, if you are completely disgusted by what is happening within your body and want as little as possible with it’s “waste” this may not be ideal for you. Yes you are going to see it, yes you are going to have to rinse it out down the sink, and yes at first it is weird, but it’s natural, and I would take weird and natural over pesticides and chemicals on my most sensitive skin any day!

Another very TINY downside is the size of the stem. Sometimes I do find it a little hard to grab onto to take out, its a tad wide and not very long at all so it does take a couple of tries to get a good grip.

I just recently discovered the LadyCup though. It seems like the exact same thing as DivaCup but for those unapologetically obsessive girly girls like myself it not only comes with different cute patterned storage bags but there is a variety of COLORS to choose from (The Diva Cup is just a plain off white natural color) This could be good & bad though, natural color=natural substance, I would have to do more research into exactly HOW the LadyCup’s came to be the color they are because more than likely it involves some chemicals, additives, etc. The LadyCup does seem to have a longer, slimmer, stem though which would solve downside #2 I just mentioned.

So what does everyone think? Weird? Gross? No way? Or are you willing to give it a try!? Seriously the convenience factor alone is enough for me to never buy another tampon again not to mention the health implications and waste implications that accompany tampon use.