Every woman knows that period are inconvenient and messy. They’re also expensive. Even store brand tampons and pads are expensive. In some states, they’re even taxed!
Over the 30 to 40 years that you menstruate, you can expect to spend thousands of dollars on sanitary supplies.
In recent years, menstrual cups have been gaining attention as a safe, affordable, and environmentally friendly alternative to pads and tampons. One such cup is the SAALT cup, which bills itself as “the premium menstrual cup.” It was recently voted the Best New Cup of 2018 by the Put a Cup In It community, but does the product live up to the hype?
In this review, we’ll explain what the SAALT Cup is, how it works, and what makes it different from the other menstrual cups on the market. We’ll also see what customers who have tried the SAALT Cup have to say about it, tell you how much it costs, and review the pros and cons as we see them before making a final recommendation about the product.
What is the SAALT Cup?
The SAALT Cup is a menstrual cup that you can use in lieu of pads and tampons. It’s made of FDA compliant, medical-grade, chemical-free silicone. It is also completely free of the common allergens latex and BPA, which means that it’s naturally hypoallergenic.
The SAALT Cup can hold up to 4 times as much as a tampon and the company says it’s safer to use than a tampon. We’ll check out those claims later.
How Does the SAALT Cup Work?
As we mentioned, the SAALT Cup is made of soft, flexible silicone. It works by using suction to stay in place inside the vagina. When properly placed, it catches and contains your menstrual flow, keeping it from leaking out until you’re ready to change it.
When the time comes to change it, you’ll simply pinch the cup lightly to release the suction, remove the cup, clean it, and replace it.
It’s important to note that there is a learning curve involved in using a menstrual cup like the SAALT Cup. It takes some practice and it may be a bit messy at first. However, once they get the hang of it, women who use it say that it’s unquestionably better than pads or tampons. Here’s what one customer wrote about her experience with the SAALT Cup:
This cup is seriously amazing! I’ve been using it for about 3 months now, and I’ll never go back to pads! Once it’s in, I don’t feel it at all. There have been times when I’ve forgotten that it’s that time of the month! I haven’t leaked even on my heaviest days. And I love that I only have to mess with it every 12 hours. This cup is life changing. I’m so glad that I finally decided to give it a try!
Used properly, the SAALT Cup can save you time, discomfort, and – most importantly – money.
Who Can Use the SAALT Cup?
The SAALT Cup is designed to be used by menstruating women of all ages. The cup comes in two sizes: regular and light. That means that even teenagers who have just begun to menstruate can use the light cup even if the regular one is too large to be comfortable.
The SAALT Cup can be used during the day, while you’re working out, or at night while you sleep. The special seal ensures that it will stay in place no matter how active you are. You’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that you won’t leak and ruin your favorite underwear while you’re wearing the SAALT Cup.
The one group of women who might not be able to comfortably use the SAALT Cup are women who have extremely heavy flow due to endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS.) While the cup can hold quite a bit of blood, an extremely heavy flow might prove to be too much for it.
What Makes the SAALT Cup Different Than Other Menstrual Cups?
There are several features and qualities that make the SAALT Cup unique. For example:
- The SAALT Cup has a double leak-proof design that virtually ensures the cup won’t leak, even if you’re running and jumping around or tossing in your sleep.
- The SAALT Cup is FDA-compliant and hypoallergenic, so it should be safe even for people with allergies and sensitive skin to use.
- A single SAALT Cup can last up to ten years, potentially saving you thousands of dollars on tampons, pads, and ruined underwear.
- For every cup you buy, SAALT donates money to HER and Period.org to help women and girls in need get the period and gynecological care they need.
These things make the SAALT Cup, in a crowded field of menstrual cups, really stand out.
What Do You Get When You Order the SAALT Cup?
The SAALT Cup is a simple product. When you order, you’ll get the number of cups you requested plus instructions for using them. You have several options when ordering. You can order:
- A single, regular cup
- A Duopack set that includes a regular cup and a light cup
- Two or three Duopacks at a discounted price
We’ll talk more about the prices later, but there is clear incentive for mothers and daughters to order cups at the same time, or for friends to do the same thing to save a few dollars. We like that there’s an opportunity for women to support one another when they order the SAALT Cup.
Is There Evidence to Support the Claims About the SAALT Cup?
There are several key claims about the SAALT Cup that are worth looking at. As a reminder, the key claims are:
- A SAALT Cup can hold up to 4 times as much as a tampon, and thus can prevent waste from piling up in landfills and help preserve the planet.
- A SAALT Cup can last for up to 10 years and save you thousands of dollars that you would have otherwise spent on pads and tampons.
- The SAALT Cup is safer to use than tampons because it carries no risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome.
Let’s look at each of these claims.
The first is that the SAALT Cup holds more blood than the average tampon and can prevent waste from piling up in landfills. This is an easy claim to check. The average woman sheds between 35 and 50 milliliters of blood during her period. Here’s how the numbers break down:
- The average tampon holds between 5 and 7 milliliters of blood
- The regular SAALT Cup holds 30 milliliters of blood
- The light SAALT Cup holds 25 milliliters of blood
In other words, the regular cup holds more than 4 times as much as a regular tampon, even at the high end of the range. The multiple will be less for super tampons, but even a super tampon will likely hold only about 10 milliliters before it leaks.
The next claims is that using the SAALT Cup can save you money. According to the Huffington Post, the average woman uses 20 tampons per menstrual cycle and has 456 periods in her lifetime. That adds up to 9,120 tampons in her lifetime, or about 250 tampons per year. If the SAALT Cup lasts up to ten years, it means that you can save about 2,500 tampons by buying just one cup.
Other Claims
The article also says that as of 2015, the average price of a box of 36 tampons was $7. Obviously, some brands are more expensive and many women buy both tampons and pads. But even sticking with just tampons, you could expect to pay $490 just for tampons in that time. That’s not including the cost of pads, panty liners, and replacements for the underwear that got ruined in that time.
The final claim is that the SAALT Cup is safer to use than tampons. The primary health risk associated with tampon use is Toxic Shock Syndrome. You’re probably familiar with it because there’s a warning in the insert of every package of tampons sold.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 5,296 cases of TSS reported from 1979 to 1996. Awareness of the risk has gradually decreased the risks of getting TSS, but there is still a risk associated with wearing tampons.
Using a menstrual cup like the SAALT Cup does not completely eliminate the risk of TSS, but it does greatly reduce it. We found one confirmed case of TSS associated with the use of a menstrual cup, but it was from 2015 – before the SAALT Cup went on the market.
On a related note, there’s evidence that women who use menstrual cups report greater satisfaction than women who use pads or tampons. One study in Canada found that, after the initial learning curve was complete, women were measurably happier when they used the cup in lieu of tampons.
The takeaway here is that the SAALT Cup is more efficient and more environmentally friendly than tampons, it costs less than tampons do, and it’s safer to use than tampons.
What Are the Pros and Cons of the SAALT Cup?
Every product has pros and cons. Here are the pros of the SAALT Cup as we see them:
- The SAALT Cup is safe to use, hypoallergenic, and FDA-compliant.
- The regular SAALT Cup holds more than 4 times as much as a regular tampon. Even the light cup holds 3 times as much.
- While a single SAALT Cup is expensive when compared to a box of tampons, it lasts for up to 10 years and can save you a lot of money on menstrual supplies.
- The SAALT Cup can be worn for long periods and will stay in place even when you’re exercising or sleeping.
There are a few potential downsides to consider as well:
- There is a definite learning curve associated with using the SAALT Cup and it may take you a few tries to get used to putting it in, taking it out, and cleaning it.
- Using the SAALT Cup in a public restroom is not as comfortable or convenient as using it at home. (You’ll need access to the sink to clean it out before you reinsert it.)
- The SAALT Cup may not be as ideal for women with very heavy menstrual flow as it is for women with light to normal flow.
Our belief is that for most women, the pros of the SAALT Cup far outweigh the cons. This is an affordable product that can potentially save you thousands of dollars and make your period less inconvenient and uncomfortable than it would be if you stuck with tampons and pads.
How Much Does the SAALT Cup Cost?
By now, you’re probably wondering how much the SAALT Cup costs. The good news is that you’ll pay less for a single cup as you would for a year’s worth of tampons, and you can use the cup for 10 years. Here’s how the pricing breaks down:
- One regular SAALT Cup costs $27
- One Duopack, including a regular and a light cup, costs $40.50 (that’s buy one, get one for 50% off)
- Two Duopacks cost $81 (that’s buy three cups, get one free)
- Three Duopacks cost $108 (that’s buy four cups, get two free)
Shipping and handling is free in the United States if you buy two or more Duopacks. It’s also worth noting that every SAALT Cup comes with a 90-day, money-back guarantee. You can try your SAALT Cup for two or even three cycles, and then return it if you’re not completely satisfied.
Our Final Recommendation
Our final recommendation is that the SAALT Cup is a product that is worth trying. It’s less expensive than some of the other menstrual cups on the market, and it’s been voted the best new menstrual cup of 2018.
To get your SAALT Cup, just click here
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