That cup does…what?

Tampons, pads, companies are always trying to make a woman feel comfortable during her menstrual cycle. How comfortable would you feel knowing you can insert a cup into your vagina instead of a tampon or pad? Oh, and get this–you can have sex while on your period with this cup in.

Well, that doesn’t seem too appealing. The cup is called a Softcup. It is a flexible cup that is worn internally while on your menstrual cycle and hooks around your cervix. It has been approved by the FDA and has been on the market for about 10 years.

The Instead Softcup is recommended for women to wear up to 12 hours. You can wear it during intercourse, or if you’re someone who doesn’t like changing their tampons or pads a lot. Therefore, you have to be very relaxed and comfortable with your body if you choose to wear one.

Often, athletes and travelers have found the cup to be more useful because they can keep it in for longer periods of time. Other features of the Instead cup is that it blocks odor because it is worn internally and the odor will not being exposed to the air.

You may be wondering how this cup works and what it looks like. Imagine an upside down baby bottle top. The top of the bottle would be how the plastic in the Softcup holds the blood. When you insert the cup, you squeeze the flexible rim and it is tilted downwards and hooked around your cervix and left there. You squeeze the top of the cup and stick it up your vagina and the cup settles into the shape of your body.

The rim fits behind your pubic bone. It is recommended that you practice using the cup before wearing it for the day. When you remove the cup, you hook your finger under the rim of the cup and pull out slowly. If not, it can lead to spillage, and that is not a good thing. The cup cannot get lost or caught in your body.

While women on the go or athletes may prefer this method, sticking to tampons and pads seems more logical. It’s not a nice sight when there is a possibility of blood spilling if you do not know how to take the cup out correctly.

Even if you are a first time user, it can be very messy and annoying to learn how to use it and adapt to it. The whole idea of a possibility that the blood may spill out the cup while being taken out is gross. After reading reviews on Epinions.com, many women said the cup is very messy, hard to remove, and can cause leakage problems. What female wants to deal with that?

You want a product that could provide no leakage or mess whatsoever. That should be the the least of your problems, especially on busy days. As a consumer, you want a product that you know you will give you the maximum amount of protection needed at all times. Anything iffy should be out the door.