Product Review: The Diva Cup

I was always a pad-and-tampon kinda girl until a few years ago. In 2015 my husband and I decided to do part of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, which meant we were going to be walking for 5 days, carrying everything we brought with us on our backs.

Of course, you know the timing of the trip lined up with when I expected my period. Of course.

The last thing I wanted was to pack a box of tampons just-in-case and take up precious space and weight. Especially considering the fact that my bleed was still pretty unpredictable at that time, so it stood the chance that I wouldn’t need it at all.

These were the circumstances that led me to finally try a menstrual cup. Back then (ok it wasn’t that long ago) the Diva Cup was the only product on the market—but if you search “menstrual cup” today you’ll find all sorts of makes and models!

I bought it a few months early so that I wasn’t testing it out on the road, and gave it a couple cycle’s practice. Here’s my review, including things I learned and how it best serves me now:

Pros:

• Reusable/less waste

• You can wear it up to 12 hours on a light day

•  More comfortable than tampons, especially on a light day

Cons:

• Murder factor is high when removing it

• Makes my cramps worse

• Challenging to get in and out, especially if it pops open when you’re not ready for it...

• Leaks on heavy days

• The stem can be poky*

Overall, it has become something I would wear if I wanted to go for a swim or take a bath, or if it was a light day and I didn’t want to worry about changing pads. Though I always wear a pad for backup, because it usually leaks on me when it gets full.

Couple things to note:

• Flip it inside out if the tip bothers you (this was a game changer for me!)

• Make sure it seals around your cervix by squeezing the air out of it

• Bear down gently if you have a high cervix and have a hard time getting it out

• Check out the videos here for help with insertion!

In summary, this isn’t my fave right now, but it served me well for a few years. It might be good for you if you have light flow and a higher cervix, and aren’t afraid of getting all up in there!