Comments on: Sea Pearls (menstrual sponges): a review

By: Menstrual Cup Mania!!! « The Earthling's Handbook

Menstrual Cup Mania!!! « The Earthling's Handbook — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:47:38 +0000

[...] What about sea sponge tampons? Dude, sea sponges are animals. From the open sea. I am not sticking a dead animal in my vagina. Especially not one that spent its life sogging in unknown ocean pollutants. (If you are interested, check out Arwyn’s detailed review of sea sponge tampons.) [...]

By: Making the Switch to Reusable Menstrual Products | Natural Parents Network

Making the Switch to Reusable Menstrual Products | Natural Parents Network — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:01:56 +0000

[...] have never used sea sponges, so I direct you to my favorite review of them at Raising My Boychick, a thorough recounting of her experience therewith, and the article I’m basing most of this [...]

By: Aislen

Aislen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:58:46 +0000

P.s. Great review. I really do think more people would use sponges if only they knew about them. Great that people are spreading the word. x

By: Aislen

Aislen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:56:19 +0000

I’m from the uk and cant get sea pearl so I use a brand of sponges called ‘jam sponge’ but I think they work in pretty much the same way (though are a little larger in size) and I LOVE THEM!!! Even more than my mooncup (and I waxed lyrical about that for 2 years after I got it so that’s saying something). If you’re ok about the squeamish bits I really cant recommend them enough!

By: 'Becca

'Becca — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 02:42:40 +0000

Thanks, I’m glad you liked it! I just opened it to comments. It had been closed to avoid any “Hubba hubba, tell me all about your vagina” weirdos, but I’ll give it a chance and maybe I won’t get that this time…. I was going to put in a link to this article, too, but I just got an iPad and can’t figure out how to scroll down in my article editing window using it, so I’ll have to do that later!

By: Quitty

Quitty — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:37:30 +0000

Hi Karla :).. do the leaks with your cup(s) usually happen at a specific moment of your period (=on the heaviest day), or absolutely not :s ?
Thinking about one thing.. if your blood is thick, it may be blocking the holes very early, after you have inserted the cool Lunette. I know a woman who made the holes bigger (thanks to small punches from a scrapbooking kit), now are about 4mm big on her small Lunette, and it solved her leaking issue :). But soley with this cup, she felt more dampness, after then. She did the same with her large Diva, same good results, except no damp feeling ;o). (She actually commented here on this page^).. Maybe this could help eff, if that’s the problem..

By: Karla

Karla — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:58:49 +0000

‘Becca I really enjoyed your post! I noticed the comments were closed since it’s from a couple years ago. Anyhoo… I’ve tried a whole bunch of these products (cups, disposable cups, sea sponges), and I almost always revert back to tampons at some point because they do the best job at preventing leaks (esp. if I’m going out somewhere). *sigh* I didn’t like the Diva Cup I bought a number of yeras back, but tried again with a Lunette this year – it’s super-comfy, easy to insert and remove, but it leaks even on low-flow days. Some times it doesn’t leak at all, and I just can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong/differently. I’m surprised you can go so long w/o leaks! Every time my period comes around I get anxious because it means I’m stuck at home for a few days. You’d think in this day and age this wouldn’t be an issue. :P

By: Quitty

Quitty — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:43:18 +0000

Wow, ‘Becca, what a nice brilliant review you made for cups!!
I’ve been using them for 6 years (only ;p lol), but you know them since 1997 yoohoo!
The title itself is cool, yeah mania mood….
I don’t use cloth pads, but indeed, the TLC pads you linked in your bulletin look convenient, must be easier to wash-& quicker to dry ;o).. Cheers to you :D!

By: 'Becca

'Becca — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:04:59 +0000

I just found this. I appreciate your very thorough review! I wrote a similarly thorough article on menstrual cups in which I casually dismiss the idea of sea sponges: "I am not sticking a dead animal into my vagina." That idea, and the unknown pollutants from the ocean, really bother me. But I'm glad you've found something that works for you! I'm impressed that you haven't had leaks. A couple of women who tried sponges told me they had extreme leaks if they sneezed or bent over suddenly.

By: Karla

Karla — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:39:30 +0000

Aside from disposable pads and tampons, I’ve also tried Instead cups and the Diva Cup, neither of which I was thrilled about. I was going to order some reusable cotton tampons from Etsy when I heard about sea sponge tampons. I actually got excited about the idea of using them! I give them points for being easy to insert and remove and being comfortable, but I finally gave up on them. :(

I found that I couldn’t wash away the gooey bits on the sponges, and it was a pain trying to get them clean. I had a few in rotation, but all the soaking seemed to disintegrate them and I wasn’t able to reuse them for as long as I had hoped. Also, I have some pretty heavy days – especially at night, I found when I would get up the excess would just drip onto the floor. *sigh* I have to say, the idea of using a sponge AND a cup sounds pretty neat…

I also noticed – and I think someone else mentioned – the sponge would start to come out as I was going to the bathroom. I would just push it on up, but felt like I was constantly on a sea sponge vigil.

Some of the commenters noted being wary of a having to change the sponge while out and about. While using them, I carried a ziploc baggy and extras so I didn’t have to wash and reuse the same one.

I had been wanting to revisit the idea of menstrual cups since I hate buying disposable products, and did some research on the different brands out there. I finally settled on a Lunette menstrual cup, which so far is way more comfortable than the Diva was for me. Now I just have to reacquaint myself with the best, most effective way of putting it in.