Green Your Life ~ One Period at a Time!! LadyCup Menstrual Cup

My next menstrual cup review is of the LadyCup!  Iveta was the sweet lady who I spoke with and she kindly sent me one of each size to review for you all!

Website: www.ladycup.eu
Made by:  Jaguara, s.r.o.
Country of origin: they have locations in the US, Deutschland and Czech republic
Lifespan: up to 15 years
Composition:  Medical Grade Silicone
Sizes:  small and large
Dimensions:  Small: 40mm x 46mm, Large: 46mm x 53mm
Stem:  Small: 19mm, Large: 13mm
Capacity: Small: 21.2 mL, Large: 34.3 mL
Measuring Lines:  None
Cost (USD): $29.70 usd
Guarantee: “For the material is 2 years.  The lifetime of the product is up to 15 years, given its regular and proper maintenance.  In case you choose the wrong size, we will replace your LadyCup free of charge.”
Other: “The recommended sterilization tablets will sterilize your LadyCup in 15 minutes.  Moreover, there is no resk of LadyCup deteriorating through boiling.  MILTON disinfection has already been used in hospitals for 30 years and its antibacterial efficiency against germs has been clinically proven.  Additionally, MILTON sterilization tablets are more efficient than boiling, a process in which not all germs are destroyed.”
Company: FAQs

WHAT I RECEIVED

I received two usable LadyCups, marked “Only Sample”, and a handful of brochures.  I would have like to see the quality of their bags, but I guess they don’t send those out for reviewers.  However, Iveta assured me that when you purchase your own LadyCup you will receive a coordinating bag.  They also sell them separately here, and there’s even a 100% organic cotton bag here.

ANATOMY OF LADYCUP

It’s equipped with vent holes just as all the others have been.

For easy removal it’s made with little bumps all around the base and on the stem…

COMPARISONS

Here’s the line-up of all the cups I’ve reviewed so far.

This is the small LadyCup next to the small BellaCup (for comparison)

The LadyCup isn’t quite as soft as the Bella, but it didn’t affect comfort in any way.

And now a comparison of the large BellaCup and large LadyCup

It’s also not quite as slick as the BellaCup, but it’s still very smooth so that inserting the LadyCup is not uncomfortable at all!

MY EXPERIENCE

I actually had the most luck with the large LadyCup than with any other cup so far.  The small one, though I love the purple color, wouldn’t stay put….just too small for me.  But I was able to use the large one with no leaks even on my heaviest day.  It stayed in place after every insertion.  I think it being a tad firmer than any of the others helped with this.

I really love the color choices the LadyCup comes in.  No more boring white/clear.  You could even get adventurous and get a few different colors to coordinate with your outfits!  HAHA – I kid!  But seriously, you could if you wanted to.  😉

I’m really not sure what else to say.  I love the LadyCup!  It’s the first one I’ve had 100% success using.  I even had to not wear it for part of my cycle so I could give the cloth pads a fair review!

Have any of you tried the LadyCup?  I’m curious how your experiences have been!

P.S.  Have you signed up for my Occasional Newsletter yet!

Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this review and my opinions are my own. When reviewing a product I will let you know if I purchased the item or was provided a sample from the company for review purposes. My opinion of the products I review is for information purposes only.

Green Your Life – One Period at a Time!! Bella Menstrual Cup

I apologize that I’ve gotten a little behind on these reviews, I’ve just had a lot going on.

I was given the opportunity to review the Bella Cup.  I received one of each size for review purposes.

It comes with a color brochure in English…

Bella Cup Facts

Website: www.bellacup.co.kr
Made by:  TS International
Country of origin: Korea
Lifespan: website just states “Lasts for years”
Composition:  Medical Grade Silicone
Sizes:  small and large
Dimensions:  Small: 41mm x 23.8mm, Large: 45.5mm x 53.1mm
Stem:  20.3mm
Capacity: Small: 20 mL, Large: 30 mL
Measuring Lines:  None
Cost (USD): $29.70 usd
Guarantee: None that I can find.
Other: Comes with a sturdy velvet pouch
Company: FAQs

ANATOMY OF BELLA CUP

I really like the smooth texture of the Bella Cup, and I think it’s rather pretty too as far as a menstrual product goes.

The design of the stem really makes it easy to grab hold of for removal, as does the slightly textured stripes around the base of the cup.

The logo is on the inside just under the rim.  There are a total of four vent holes to help release the suction.

To show you the difference in the two sizes.

Sorry for the blurry shot, but this one is to show you how soft the Bella Cup is compared to the Ruby Cup – Bella squished down slightly more.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of all the cups I’ve reviewed so far:

MY EXPERIENCE

Well, the small one was definitely too small for me!  It literally wouldn’t stay in when I stood up.  I did have slight problems with the large one, but managed to get some small successes before it would slip.

I really like the design and the smooth texture helped with ease of inserting it.

The velvet bags are very well made and the draw strings hold well.

I tried two different folds with this one (above and below) and found the one below to be the easiest to work with.  (Hint: it’s the fold I’ve been most successful with when using every cup so far, your results may vary.)

 

Over-all my experience with the Bella Cup was hit or miss.  Sometimes it would stay in place, then sometimes it seemed super slippery and would just slide out.  I think the mixture of it being super smooth and pretty soft was causing my slippage problems.  I think strengthening my pelvic floor will help with this.

 

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Green Your Life – One Period at a Time!! FemmyCycle Menstrual Cup Review

This month….well ok this post is a little late, I was supposed to get it posted a little over a week ago.  We’ve had gardening chores and other things get in the way, so I’m doing some catch up today.  So anyway, this month I’m introducing you to a menstrual cup of a completely different style than any of the others I’ve seen.  It’s called the FemmyCycle.

FemmyCycle Facts:

Website:  www.femmycycle.com
Made by:  FemCap, Inc.
Country of origin: USA
Lifespan: 1 year
Composition:  Medical Grade Silicone
Sizes:  one size
Dimensions:  51 mm diameter x 38 mm length
Stem:  It’s more of a handle and they give no dimensions for it
Capacity: up to 1 ounce
Measuring Lines:  none
Cost (USD): $39.95 for a twp pack
Guarantee: Their website states: “The FemmyCycle is easy to use. If you can use tampon you should be able to use the FemmyCycle. This is an intimate device and thus our return policy prohibits returns.”
Other: Received the Why Didn’t I Think of That? Award, in 2012, at the Medical Device and Diagnostics Expo.
Company FAQs

ANATOMY OF FEMMYCYCLE

The unique spill-proof design is quite intriguing.  When you are using the cup the top is folded into itself (as shown on the right side of the below photo)

FemmyCycle is designed to not open fully when inserted, like all other menstrual cups are designed to do, which makes it a tad awkward to get used to.  And if you have a very low cervix (2” or less from your vaginal opening) then you will have problems using it.

It has a ring instead of a stem, which makes it very easy to remove.

It comes with a full page of color instructions on hard card stock paper.  The pouch snaps closed, it feels like the same material that the reusable grocery store bags are made of and it is large enough to hold two cups.

The material is shiny and smooth with no markings on it at all.  It’s a lot thinner than the other cups I have, which I think is part of why it is recommended to replace them yearly.

MY EXPERIENCE

To be honest I struggled with this one.  I think it might just be my crazy positioned cervix, but I didn’t like that it doesn’t fully open.  I had problems with leakage nearly the whole time using it because it just wouldn’t sit around my cervix quite right.  The website says it should be good for 12 hours without tending to…I was not able to go one 12-hour stretch.

The above photo was the easiest fold for me to insert the FemmyCycle.  If I tried any others it just wouldn’t go in right at all.  And like I already said, it never fully opens.   But there was a few short spans of time, maybe an hour or two at a time, that I was able to go without any leaks at all.  Thank goodness for the cloth menstrual pads I am also reviewing (next post)!

It was also a tad too long for me.  I kept having to re-adjust it.

Having said all that ~ I think it’s a really cool design.  A lot of women really like it and are able to use these cups successfully.  While I’m not giving up on it completely, I will try this cup a few more times before deciding setting them aside, at this point I’m just not sure if this is the cup for me.

I don’t feel it’s quite as economical as the other menstrual cups since it doesn’t last near as long.  For about the same price you can get a cup that will last you 10 years or more.  I’m all about saving as much money as possible, if you can’t tell.  That’s part of my point in going to reusables.  That, to me, is part of being environmentally friendly.

Next month’s menstrual cup review will be on the BellaCup!  But don’t miss my next few posts on the rest of this month’s reviews.  I’m working on writing the posts for sea sponge tampons and two cloth pad brands.  Those will go up over the next couple of days.

Until next time, take care my friends!

 

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Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #88

Green Your Life ~ One Period at a Time!! RubyCup Review

It’s finally time for my very first menstrual cup review post!  This month I’m introducing you to the RubyCup and here are the lovely ladies who founded the company!

 

RubyCup is a sustainable menstrual hygiene product that is reusable for 10 years.  It’s a hygienic and eco-friendly alternative to pads and tampons.

“RubyCup has a very special mission of supporting girls in developing countries who don’t have anything to use during their periods.  Every time you buy a RubyCup, they give a cup to a schoolgirl in Kenya.

Menstruation is a main cause of school dropout for girls in poverty.  Pads and tampons are too expensive or unavailable, and girls are forced to use alternatives such as mud, bark, rags, cloth or pieces of newspaper.  As well as being undignified and unhygienic, these alternatives are not safe, and girls stay home.  This amounts to 20% of their school time.”

You can read their full 2013 press release here.

 

 

 

 

 

RubyCup facts:

Website:  www.ruby-cup.com
Made by:  Makit
Country of origin: Denmark
Lifespan: 10 years
Composition:  Medical Grade Silicone
Sizes:  one size
Dimensions:  45 mm diameter x 51 mm length
Stem: 17 mm
Capacity: 34 mL
Measuring Lines: yes, .5 mL, 1 mL, 1.5 mL
Cost (USD): $37.29
Guarantee: Ruby Cup can be returned within 30 days with the packaging intact with a full return. If there should be any problem with the product, please do not hesitate to contact us. So far that has never happened, but just in case.
Been around since:  2005
Other: ‘Ruby Cup’ is the winner of The Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2012 (US), Venture Cup 2012 (DK), a selected Sustainia 100 Solution, Finalist in Ben & Jerry’s Join Our Core 2012 (EU), Awarded Future Impact Award 2^nd prize 2012 (CH)

MY EXPERIENCE

You may feel that these posts are a bit TMI ~ but I want to give a full honest review and share how using a menstrual cup works.  I feel like if we have to live with having a period every month we may as well stop being shy about talking about it.  Don’tcha think?

To insert the RubyCup  I used what’s called the seven fold, where you basically squeeze the rim flat and fold one side down as shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inserting the cup was pretty easy I thought.  The firmness of this cup helps it pop back open once inserted.  The only problem that I had during the first day was really my own fault, I missed my cervix completely.  Instead of figuring out where my cervix was sitting at that point, very low and towards the front, I just assumed it knew it was pretty far back in and I positioned the cup accordingly.  This caused leakage and some extra cramping that I don’t normally get for a while the first day, so make sure you know your own body!

Once I got everything situated correctly I had no problems for the remainder of my period.  The RubyCup is comfortable and stays in place.  Removal is pretty simple, just grasp the stem and move it down enough to get hold of the base of the cup, give it a little squeeze to release the suction and tilt it out.  Empty, rinse and reinsert.  Depending on how heavy my flow was on different days I was able to go a minimum of a couple of hours to several hours before needing to empty it.

The Cup Itself

Around the cup just under the rim you will see four air holes.  This helps the cup to fully open once inserted, but it also indicates the highest point you can fill the cup up to.  a few weeks ago, I read somewhere, that the average woman only bleeds a total of about an ounce to an ounce and a half through their whole cycle.  That would really only be enough to fill the RubyCup once and make you believe that you wouldn’t have to empty it until your period is over.  Well…..from what I’ve been reading that is not the norm and I filled it up every couple of hours on my heaviest day.  I say that to warn you to just be careful and check it kind of often until you get to know how your cycle flows.  Believe me, all these years you’ve been using tampons or pads has not allowed you to be familiar with your flow.

 
The stem has seven rows of raised dots surrounding it to help you get a grip on it when removing the RubyCup.

 
You may even find that you need to remove part or all of the stem, as I did.  If you have a low cervix and the cup sits too low then it might be uncomfortable or even stick out a little.

 
As you can vaguely see below there are measuring lines and the RubyCup logo imprinted on the inside of the cup.  At times it can be helpful to measuring the amount of flow you experience throughout your cycle.  If not for whatever medical reasons this might be needed, perhaps you just want to understand your body a bit better.

 

And it comes with a cute little bag with the logo on it to store it in between your periods or for travel.

I have to say that I really like the RubyCup!  It was a good feeling to have a positive period experience with an alternative product to disposables.  I would definitely recommend the RubyCup and I love their mission to help girls in Kenya!

 

You can read RubyCup’s Terms and Conditions here.

Disclaimer: As with anything new there is a learning curve.  Your experience may be much simpler than mine or can be difficult at first.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions, menstrual cup companies are more than happy to assist you if you have any problems.  We all want you to have a positive experience.