Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Sckoon Cup = Love, Love, Love (A post about how you can come to enjoy your period)

The title probably has your eyebrows raised, (and if you are a male, I suggest leaving now before I mentally scar you for life) how can one enjoy your period? Am I insane? Probably. But if you hear me out and give a menstrual cup a try.. you will be proud to call yourself insane.  I promise.

So what is a Sckoon cup you may ask? A sckoon cup is a menstrual cup, made of medical grade silicone. Next question you are probably asking is what the heck is a menstrual cup? A menstrual cup is a cup (usually made of silicone, but you can get some of latex/rubber..but why? Just why?) that collects your blood flow, rather than absorbing it. Why is this better than pads or tampons? A multitude of reasons!

Pads vs. A Menstrual Cup:
1. You have to buy them every single month (and for some women, one package isn’t enough) and at anywhere from $4-7 a package, multiply that by 12 and see whatcha get. Ouch.

2. Pads gave me rashes. Didn’t matter which brand, I broke out into a horrid rash.

3. You sit in your own blood with a pad. Eww. Nasty.

4. Pads smell, because your bloodflow comes in contact with the air.

5. Noisy packaging that is in no way, shape, or form “discreet”. So everyone and their mother and brother know you are on your period.

Tampons vs. A Menstrual Cup:
1. Tampons may allow you freedom from rashes and smell, but can cause more cramps

2. Risk of TSS (toxic shock syndrome)

3. Rayon fibers left behind in your hoo hah.

4. Absorbs everything. Including your own natural lubrication, which can leave you feeling itchy and more suspectible to infections. (didn’t know that previously? Yeah manufacturers don’t advertise that on tv!)

5. No more wandering string! Ladies, you know exactly what I’m talking about. That damn string wanders. When I had to start fishing it in my behind, I was done. Not to mention it getting wrapped up in my lady bits made my lady bits unhappy! (I’m super sensitive..)

6. Noisy packaging, plus waste from the applicators.

7. Risk of ruining your septic system.

8. You may need different sizes during your cycle, which means different boxes.. which means more money spent to end up, literally in the trash or down the drain.

So the Pros to a menstrual cup:
1. No noisy packaging. Most menstrual cups come in a silent pouch made of cloth (and sckoons is organic. Win Win!)
2. Sckoon cup is made out of medical grade silicone, which has no absorption to it, so your natural lubrication is left right where it belongs. It’s also FDA approved.
3. No smells to alert the world you are on your period, no pad lines, and no need to sit in your own blood. *gag*
4. No wandering string!
5. Its reusable! So, within 6 months (at say $6 for a box of tampons) the cup has already paid for itself, and you no longer have to worry about “do I have enough tampons to last me through today?” “do I have enough pads to make it through my vacation without buying more?” Yeah.. that question no longer exsists! You have your cup, your pouch and you are good to go! Talk about….
6. Space Savers! No more huge bulky boxes and packages under the sink!
7. No more embarrassing “Oh no, did my so and so see my tampons in there?” panic moment.
8. You are going Green with a menstrual cup.
9. Menstrual cups last for years. Again “MONEY SAVER”.
10. Menstrual cups are comfortable and do not cause cramps. In some cases, they have helped relieve cramps and shorten periods because your flow is allowed to “flow”. Its not being absorbed and you aren’t dealing with chemicals in pads or tampons, which can attribute to cramps as well.

So, whats the cons to a menstrual cup, you may ask? The cons would be short. Its hard to find a fault with a menstrual cup that can’t be overcome.
1. Some women experience a learning curve and have leakage the first couple of months. Don’t give up!
2. The “EWW” factor. Yes, a cup collects your blood, so you have to empty the cup.This also is a learning curve and disappears over time. (If I could..you can!)
3. You do have to know your anatomy a little bit ;)

I hate blood, I hate the sight of blood..any blood. I get woozy and lightheaded. I was really hestitant to try a menstrual cup because of how it collects the blood and then you have to dump the contents down the toilet, and rinse it out. The thought of that (what I call the “eww factor”) deterred me for awhile. After I had Layla, I had a Mirena IUD placed at my 6 week checkup. I ended up bleeding for the next 8 months (along with constant infections) before I finally just called my doctor and told them what was going on and that I couldn’t take it anymore. But during that 8 months, I was constantly plugged up with a tampon and I was always irritated because of it. I couldn’t wear pads or pantyliners because they made me break out into a huge rash. Cloth pads were an option, except my whole blood phobia and I hate the idea of sitting in my own mess. Eww. So, I stumbled upon menstrual cups. I found a free sample of “Instead Softcups”, and tried them. There is a learning curve to them as well, but I was determined to make it work. I had no more irritation and no wandering string. Awesome! I used those for about 6 months as I found out I had an abnormal pap, that went from normal to CIN3 (which is considered stage 0 cervical cancer) in a matter of months, caused by none other than that damn Mirena IUD. I had a leep procedure done in December, and then I began researching which menstrual cup I wanted. I did a lot of research and narrowed it down to two. The ladycup and Sckoon cup. I ended up choosing the Sckoon cup because 1. They are made in the USA. (Keepin it patriotic here), 2. It is smooth..no ridges, rims or other random parts to irritate my already super sensitive lady parts. 3. Medical grade, FDA approved, silicone. (I’m allergic to latex). 4. They deal with mostly organic stuff. 5. Its listed as the “softest” cup available.

In March, I finally took the plunge and bought my Sckoon Cup (Ecopak!). I was in love. I did have some issues when I did a dry run, which were I had trouble telling if it had opened up completely while inside me. However, I had to be doing it right because when good old Aunt Flo showed up, I experienced not a single leak.  It was super comfortable, and by my second month of using it, I feel like a pro. I shudder to think how often I used disposables, when these were so easy and I was helping the planet by not creating so much waste (or clogging septic systems ;) ) I am going to purchase a size 1 here soon, because I do feel the size 2 is a little too big for me, as I have a super light period thanks to Lo loestrin fe and I guess my lady parts are a little smaller. I asked Sckoon cup, via their Instagram page, if this would be advisable, or if I should just stick with the size 2. Their response was that if I was “fit”, I could probably get away with a size 1, especially if I had a light flow. I will do an update of the size 1 when the time comes (within the next month or so). My cramps I haven’t noticed that big of a difference in, as they aren’t too bad after having Layla (previous endometriosis sufferer) and being on BCP.

How long can you wear your cup? You can wear your menstrual cup for up to 12 hours! Yes ladies, 12 hours! Imagine being able to leave your house in the morning, and not having to worry about your period all day long! Can we say “confidence booster”?! However, if you are on your first day or so and you have a heavy flow, you may need to empty yours sooner than 12 hours. It will take you a few cycles using your cup to learn when you need to empty it and how long it takes you to fill it. Its also going to take a few cycles to learn to get used to and how to use your cup properly so you don’t have leaks anyway. Don’t get discouraged if you do experience leaks. It takes 2-3 cycles to perfect the ‘art’ of using a cup. I feel like using the instead softcups for those few months prior to making the switch to Sckoon Cup really helped me get a feel (literally! Lol) for where my cup should go, and that’s why I didn’t have any leak issues with my cup. It was a little weird for me at first to sit and have to push things inside me and reach inside me to pull it out. With a tampon, you just push it in. With a softcup, you have to push it down and back (almost like you are pushing it to your bottom instead of up inside you..) . I used this method when I got my Sckooncup and this really seemed to help me with insertion as well. Inserting your Sckoon cup should not hurt! I repeat, it should NOT hurt. If it is hurting, you need to stop, reread your directions, and perhaps get you some water based lube or some cold water, begin breathing and try again. For lube, I use Luvena prebiotic. It’s a prebiotic water based lube (glycerin free) that my doctor recommended when I was having all my issues when I had the IUD in. For insertion you fold your Sckoon cup in one method that is recommended with your instructions, I found the first two recommended folds to be the best. I usually use the C-fold method, but the punchdown fold works just as well for me. Once you find the "fold" that works for you, you then can use your water or your water based lubricant (Luvena, in my case), and push down and back. I know the "down and back" seems to make no sense, like you are pushing it towards your rear end, but this is actually the correct way! You'll get used to it. Whatever you do, do not push it up like you would a tampon. I had mine pop open part way and somehow hit my external lady bits and yeah.. NOT fun! It does make for a good giggle now though. I've found the down and back method has left me with no questions of "is it in right?" and definitely left me leak free.

Pictures online make menstrual cups seem huge! This intimidated me so much when I began to research cups. I thought "how is that HUGE thing supposed to fit in here?!" However, when I ordered my size 2 sckoon and it arrived, I was shocked at how TINY it was! I thought they shipped me a size 1 by mistake!! My size 2 sckoon cup (without measuring the stem) is not even as long as my thumb..which is all of 3 inches. Ladies, please, our men are longer than 2 1/2 inches, so don't let pictures fool you!! I tried to take some to show its actual size, but I couldn't get it to look any less bigger on camera either. So please, don't let the pictures intimidate you and influence your decision! Sckoon cups are also the smallest out of each menstrual cup brand. *thumbs up*



To clean your cup, you simply boil it for 5 minutes or clean it with a menstrual cup wash. Sckoon does not make a wash of their own yet, but both Divacup and Lunette cups webpages do. You could also wash with some soap you have at home, but go for unscented. Scented items going into your hoo hah are never a good idea.

All in all, I would not trade my Sckoon Cup in for the world! I am so happy I purchased my cup, and that I made the switch to a reusable menstrual product that wont hurt me, leave fibers or chemicals inside me, and has health benefits for me and the envoirnment! I tell everyone who will listen about it! One small change can help in big ways, and I hope that I’ve helped some of you ladies make a small change. I wasn’t given a free cup to review, I purchased the cup and am writing the review because I believe in putting the word out there for great products and helping women empower themselves and make informed decisions when it comes to researching menstrual cups. I believe in the product so much, I signed up to become a Sckoon Cup Green Ambassador! THAT’S how impressed I am with the company  The only other company I’ve done reviews for (again, I bought and paid for these products, fell in love, and wrote a review about it) was ErgoBaby.


If you have any questions about Sckoon cups or anything else in general about this post, feel free to leave a comment.
If by chance, you have decided to purchase a Sckoon Cup, go to their website at www.sckooncup.com and please feel free to use my associate code (being a green ambassador benefit) to save yourself 10% off your order: My code is WUEZOB .


And please, tell a friend! Lets help get Sckoon cups mainstream!! 


Sizes: Size 1: under 25 and have not given birth
Size 2: 25 or older or have given birth.

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