DivaCup Brand Reusable Menstrual Cups
What is a Menstrual Cup? What is a DivaCup?
The DivaCup® is a brand of reusable menstrual cup, which is a bell-shaped cup for periods that is folded and then inserted into the vagina. Rather than absorbing menstrual flow like a traditional feminine pad or reusable tampon would, menstrual cups collect it.
When using a reusable menstrual cup, you remove it when it’s full, wash it, and then reinsert it. How often you need to take it out and empty it depends on each woman’s flow, but they can be worn without removal for twice as long as tampons.
They can even be left in during urination or a bowel movement. They can stay in for up to 12 hours straight before washing. After the woman’s cycle, she just needs to give it a good cleaning and then stores it away until the next menstrual cycle.
How do women like reusable menstrual cups?
In this randomized trial in PubMed Canada comparing cups for periods to menstrual cups, the overall satisfaction score was higher for the menstrual cup group, and “91% of women in the menstrual cup group said they would continue to use the cup and recommend it to others.”
The conclusion of the study?
“Menstrual cups are a satisfactory alternative to tampons and have the potential to be a sustainable solution to menstrual management, with moderate cost savings and much-reduced environmental effects compared with tampons.”
There are many brands of menstrual cups on the market today, coming in a variety of sizes, colors, shapes, and offering different features, and each user may want to test to see which works for them as the best menstrual cup.
There are many websites available today by female menstrual cup advocates that test many brands and give side by side comparisons and charts of the differences between the various brands. Here are a few:
- Extensive Blog: http://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/
- How-to for cups for periods: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Menstrual-Cup
Menstrual Cups vs Other Menstruation Solutions:
Menstrual cups offer a sustainable solution to the way women’s monthly flow had most commonly been handled, which was either by using disposable tampons or disposable pads. With the common and repetitive use of disposables, countless disposable tampons, pads, and their packaging are flushed and put into landfills. Most people don’t think about it and advertisers of the products even boast an “out of sight and out of mind” mentality. But the reality is these products are far from “out of sight”. They can be seen everywhere – in our landfills, washing up in our coast lines, our bathroom garbage cans, and traces of it may even be on or in your body! Not only that, but did you know menstrual cups and reusable tampons and pads:
- Are free of the additives in most disposable tampons & pads which can be harmful to the body.
- Don’t contain the polyethylene plastic in disposable pads, production of which is a pollutant.
- Are free of the by-product of the tampon bleaching process which contains a known carcinogen.
- Don’t use synthetic fiber rayon which may leave a residue on women that can lead to infection.
- Unlike disposables, reusables don’t contribute to pollution leaching into groundwater, streams, & lakes.
Reusable menstrual cups, like DivaCup offer an alternative! Since the recommendation for replacing a reusable menstrual cup is measured in years(anywhere from 1-10 depending on the brand) rather than at every use, one can see how much savings these devices offer on the environment and on the pocketbook!
Wondering how you can get a hold of these tampon alternatives?Although they aren’t quite as common as tampons and pads yet, they are an over the counter item found in drugstores. The DivaCup brand has been spotted at places like Whole Foods. They are also available to purchase from many online retailers.
DivaCup History
Though reusable menstrual cups have existed since the 1930s (when women were searching for an alternative to the choices of the time), this tampon alternatives’ breakthrough into the feminine hygiene industry is much more recent. According to http://divacup.com/about-us/
When Francine was a teenager, she searched for a more sustainable feminine hygiene product. She was delighted to find she wasn’t alone in a passion for cups for periods. When she discovered these tampon alternatives, she began pioneering the menstrual cup industry, hoping to create the best menstrual cup possible.
After years of design experiments, Carinne and Francine created the DivaCup, a reusable menstrual cup to encourage a more positive, healthy, sustainable tampon alternative.
DivaCup reusable menstrual cups boasts that they are perfect for any activity, from running to skydiving to jet skiing. They are easy to use and can stay in for 12 hours straight without leaks.
DivaCup as an Ethosolution:
DivaCup is a brand that is an Ethosolution especially because they state a commitment to “Excellence in”:
- Production: They state women’s health is their number one priority, all products are chemical-free, follow national standards in Canada, the United States, Australia and other countries, with no animal testing.
- Sustainability: They state they invest their knowledge, time and resources in community and International organizations that offer health care, empowerment and education to women and children around the world.
- Menstrual care: Committed to empowering women to use a sustainable, easy-to-use, cost-effective and eco-friendly feminine hygiene product rather than conventional options.
We would like to thank DivaCup for this healthier, sustainable feminine care Ethosolution! Check out http://divacup.com/about-us/
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