Looking for natural menstruation solutions besides using organic tampons? Here's a comprehensive review on SckoonCup from one of our contributors.

A VERY Open Talk About Natural Menstruation Solutions

This post was created as part of the SckoonCup Review Campaign in which I am a financially compensated blogger. The opinions are my own and based on my own experience.

Looking for natural menstruation solutions besides using organic tampons? Here's a comprehensive review on SckoonCup from one of our contributors.
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In my 20’s I liked to ponder the question, What is man’s greatest invention?

The answer was not sliced bread or the wheel. It was not the spaceship that first took man to the moon. My answer, sorry, was tampons.

I thought, Man, these things make my life easy! Those poor women squatting on rags really had a rough time of it. When I first got my period I was on the swim team at school. I never missed a practice. Life just kept on going; and I never missed a beat.

10 years later~ Enter the epiphany of what tampons are made from: bleached cotton.

This sustainably-minded girl switched to organic tampons; and all was right with the world once more.

Epiphany #2: Waste.

Can you imagine how many landfills are gorged with all the pads and tampons of American women? We consume.

Rags were starting to look pretty good. And then I found sea sponges. These are genuinely a great option.

But I never get used to having my period. Do you?

Menstruation is just an intense and gory business. I’m as hippie-meets-hunter as they come but all that blood never ceases to surprise me. (Have I lost all my male readers yet?) So when I heard about SckoonCup I was game to try one more natural menstruation solution. We can’t make the monthly drama go away; but can we reduce the drama?

I have used the cup for two cycles now and have some conclusions I’d like to share.

Firstly, I will continue to use both sea sponges and the SckoonCup. They compliment each other, each having their own strengths.

Here are the points where sea sponges fall short and SckoonCup is preferable:

  • Sea sponges must be rinsed out and squeezed dry every time they fill up. What does this look like if you’re out and about? In a public restroom? It looks complicated and inconvenient. Even in public restrooms where you have a private room with a sink, the city water is chlorinated. The last thing our vaginas need is the elimination of good gut flora due to chlorine killing off the beautiful natural balance. The cup eliminates this problem. If it fills up, even in a public stall, it can be poured directly into the toilet and then replaced.
  • When having a bowel movement (any men still with me here?) it is easy to push a sea sponge right out, or a tampon for that matter. The cup is suctioned in place and may bulge forward a bit; but it will not pop out.
  • The cup is less likely to leak when it is full. You will know the cup is full because it weighs down and lowers inside your vagina. But it will not leak unless completely neglected. So you have a warning that gives you time to empty and replace it. Sea sponges and tampons just leak or overflow when they are full, sometimes suddenly.
  • It is safe to keep the cup inside you for 12 full hours, or overnight. There is reduced risk of toxic shock syndrome because the blood is gathering in a receptacle.
  • If you ever struggle with yeast infections the cup will keep you drier. Added moisture, even blood, can be a haven for invasive pathogens.
  • The sponge, or a tampon, can get wet during urination, even when you think it’s positioned up high by your cervix. With the SckoonCup this will never be an issue: it is not made of absorbent material.
  • It is fascinating to see how much blood our bodies actually produce. With tampons and sponges you never fully realize how many tablespoons of uterine lining your body is shedding. I like with the cup that I can actually quantify this process.

Are there any drawbacks to the SckoonCup and why continue using the sea sponges as well?

  • During the heaviest part of my cycle the cup fills up quickly. When the cup gets weighed down with blood, it can lower inside you and becomes less comfortable. For this reason, I prefer using the sponges during the 1-2 heaviest days of menstruation and the cup the rest of the time. This may not be an issue for everyone. I have no way of knowing how much blood I produce compared to someone else. I can say, for myself, that I have very heavy bleeding for 1-2 out of 7 days.
  • During the follicular stage of one’s period, from the onset of bleeding until ovulation, there are 1-2 days for most women when the cervix is in its lowest position. The cup is not as comfortable during this time, because it can’t placed up as high. The lower position of the cervix usually coincides with the heaviest flow. So it is the same 1 or 2 days of my cycle mentioned above when I choose to use the sea sponge instead.

The rest of SckoonCup’s features can also be read about on their website. They are made from medical grade silicone and spent 3 years in design based on feedback from hundreds of women. They are easy to insert and remove, with an excellent pictorial instruction manual included.

Plus, they are made in two sizes for women who have or haven’t given birth; and they are made in the USA.

Each SckoonCup lasts for two years which really helps reduce waste and saves you money!

To learn even more about SckoonCup, and get your own, click here.

 

Comments 23

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  1. They really only last two years? I’ve been using my MoonCup for the last 9 years and it’s still going strong. I’m now menopausal and (all things being equal) won’t need to use anything again, but I found the cup ideal. I have been using this, and only this, since the birth of my last child, with no problems.

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      That’s great that you found this option so long ago, way ahead of me! Two years is what the company says. I agree, not sure what can happen to it during that time. But maybe they recommend that to be conservative, as a minimum.

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  2. What a great post! Definitely helps put things in perspective and helps me decide which is the best way to go for me. Thanks for putting this together! <3

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  3. Hi, I’ve never heard about sea sponges, could you please tell us a bit more about them and how they are used?

    Thank you,
    Stella

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      Hi Stella, yes! One thing I LOVE about sea sponges is that they are 100% natural, straight from the sea, not man-made at all. Some people speculate that they have been used for thousands of years among certain people groups as a menstruation solution. They work just like a tampon without an applicator, except that you reuse them. You rinse them out after each use. And after each cycle you soak them briefly in water mixed with a drop or 2 of tea tree essential oil, to sterilize, then air dry until the next month. They come in different sizes for different flows. About the size of an oblong apricot, that smashes down really easily to be put inside. They never leak unless full, same as a tampon. They can not remain in during intercourse, as they can be pushed up too high and be pokey/uncomfortable for the male partner. For female use they are quite soft and gentle. Hope that helps! 🙂

  4. Since I was the age of 17 I was put on birth control, and one of the few perks besides not being able to conceive a child, was the fact that my periods were totally and completely eliminated….Weird right? Well according to my doctor this was very common and nothing to be concerned with. Um, ok? After working on an organic farm run by all women, and having many days of pulling weeds and talking about girl things, the period talk came up and of course I had to talk about me not having one for years. The girls I worked with became very concerned for me and the fact that I did not have a period for years. It just is not normal, nor natural, even though not having to worry about that time of the month was total awesome. So after giving it much thought, research, and consulting with my boyfriend, I decided to cleanse myself of the elusive pill. Knowing that I am not huge advocate of prescription drugs and supplements I decided this would be the final thing to stand by my belief of doing things the ole natural way. After talking more with the girls on the farm, and kind of scared for what was about to come for me when I finally had mother nature bless me with my monthly gift, they told me to look into a “Diva cup,” which is essentially the same thing as the “Sckooncup.” Not only is it more environmentally conscience and sustainable, but it is so easy and to me seems so much cleaner than anything else. It is so easy to use, and as weird as this sounds I feel like my periods are much easier to handle than I remember them being. I feel so much healthier with my body being rid of the extra hormones, a better conscience knowing I’m doing something for the good, and so much less freaked out about periods in general!
    Hope this was helpful to get the awesome word out about “Sckooncup” & also similar products like the Divacup!

  5. Thanks for the great article, I’ve been using the sponges now for almost eight months, and they are great, and when my period is heavy, I wear two of them, and that helps prevent leaks. As long as you place them high enough you cannot feel them and there is no discomfort. The most challenging part is using them while in public, as most restrooms do not have a sink nearby…but, a small inconvenience to help save the planet!

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      I agree, Donia. Yes, the public restroom issue is really the only drawback to using sponges. And that’s what’s great about the cup, for me, at least, is out and about errands on my heavier days. Thanks for your comments!

  6. I support you efforts to encourage women to use alternatives to tampons but I have to give a fairly negative review of using a cup. I tried using one (for about 6 months) but it not only got a more than unsettling “funk” rather quickly, but it also didn’t fit well. I talked about it with my naturopath and she said the causes were two fold.

    One, I have a shorter than average vaginal canal that the cup doesn’t accommodate for. I could most definitely push it out while having a bowl movement, and the handle (piece you see at the small end of the cup) rubbed, even after being cut down significantly.

    As for the funk, my body apparently doesn’t appreciate silicone being inside me for hours on end, and was reacting badly to it.

    I might give sea sponges a try, but for someone who spends a significant amount of time in the woods with no bacteria free water source and in the presence of bears, I’ll stick to tampons when out in nature and as a back-up in general.

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      I appreciate your input! Your experience is important to add to the discussion, for sure! One size does not fit all. Glad you know what works for you!! Yes, when you’re not near bears, lol, I highly recommend trying sea sponges. 🙂

  7. I’ve been plagued with awful periods for years, each time made worse after childbirth (3) The doctors always pushed BC but I’ve always declined. Last year I read a post about sea sponges and bought them that day! I can’t believe what a HUGE difference they have made in my life. The length of bleeding has gone down from about 8 days to 5-6. The awful cramping is non – existent. Also the amount of heavy days (used to be around 4- unbearably heavy) and its around 2 now. I did try a cup..I didn’t have the best time with it – it still leaked and it also made the inside of me ache..like when you take your hair down from a pony tail and your head aches? It was like my insides needed a break from it. I will still use it when necessary (when public bathrooms are the only option). But all in all, I’m so thankful to have found alternative options!

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