Switching Cups?

Menstrual cups have been on the market for awhile now and many customers are coming to this site to consider a different model to achieve a better fit than what they get with the cup they have.
Since Diva is a fairly affordable cup, is widely available and has been around forever I am including the Diva cups in our chart - even though we don't carry Diva and I don't feel it's a cup that's a great fit for most people.

But Diva often ends up being a woman's first cup so it's helpful to include it to give you an idea how our brands compare with what you are used to.

Why may people want to try a different cup?

Quite often the cup you have does not stay sealed well enough.
This could be due to either the diameter being too small (solution: consider a cup with a larger diameter) or the material not being rigid enough so the cup gets dislodged during vigorous activity (solution: consider a firmer cup like the MeLuna Sport).
Of course the seal will also open if the cup has filled past capacity (solution: empty cup more frequently of consider a higher volume cup)

The cup you have is uncomfortable
Discomfort at the entrance of the vagina:
Especially after child birth the internal anatomy may change enough to require a shorter cup to avoid having the cup sit too low and be noticeable at the entrance of the vagina (solution: consider a cup with a shorter cup length. Alternatively you may also consider a cup with a very wide rim so that you can wear the cup higher up).
You will notice here that the Diva has a really long cup length so if your Diva feels too long, please know that there are plenty of cups in shorter lengths available.
Another reason for discomfort can be the stem. Again I really dislike the Diva here with its rigid round stem. (solution: consider a cup with a different stem or remove the stem of the cup you have)
If you like long stems then the flat, flexible stem of the Lunette is a much more comfortable choice. The MeLuna comes in a multitude of stems but we currently carry it only in the round 'ball' stem (it's actually more like a flattened ball) because this stem type seems to work well for the majority of people. It is round and short, meaning it doesn't add much to cup length and is less prone to irritating you.
Speaking of irritating:
Some people suggested you turn cups like the Diva, that have very uncomfortable stems, inside out. We do NOT recommend this. Depending on the shape and location of your cervix you can have that stem now irritating and pointing right at it (in the inside out position). It is probably safer to simply trim an uncomfortable stem off.
I would also consider the stem more of a guide as far as where the cup is located than a handle to pull the cup out by. If the cup's seal has not yet released (due to filling to capacity) it will be much more comfortable to grasp the cup's bottom and break the seal first, rather than try and removing it by pulling on the stem.

Discomfort further up:
One of the most important things to keep in mind when placing your cup is that your vagina slants to the back - it does not go straight up. So when you insert the cup point it towards your back. (solution: Think 'back' rather than 'up' when inserting).
If you have it in the right place but it is still uncomfortable it could be due to the cup being too large for you -specifically the diameter could be too big. This can cause for the cup to not open completely -at that point is is uncomfortable AND it leaks! If it is too big but does open fully,  it can still give you an uncomfortable feeling of pressure. (solution: consider a cup with a smaller diameter)
Another possibility is that the cup is the right size but doesn't unfold completely. (solution: Be sure to turn the cup a few times -especially if you have a cup made from very soft material- to ensure it pops open. Also consider trying different folds.)
The manufacturers provide some guidance on different folding techniques but you can also find videos on youtube.

IMPORTANT: Do not continue to wear a cup that causes you discomfort. Cups that fit well and are positioned well will not be very noticeable to you while you wear them. If it hurts, it's an indication that either fit or position are wrong. Please listen to your body!

Let's have a look at the cup dimensions:

Cups highlighted in blue are cups that we will carry in our webstore starting Fall of 2013.
In fact we already have the Lunette cups in stock. The MeLuna cups have been on the market in Europe for several years, where they have passed stringed testing and the European certification process. They are undergoing now a similar certification process in the US and will ship to us as soon as FDA clearance is completed.

I highlighted the cup length column purple since cup length can be such an important factor for fit for women after childbirth.

As always: if you have any questions or concerns about your specific cup, the cup's manufacturer is your best resource. Both MeLuna and Lunette have wonderful customer service and are happy to assist you in trouble shooting.
This web post is intended to give you some ideas of things to consider when shopping for a new cup. It does not replace medical advice or supercede the manufacturers' recommendations for their cup use and selection.
If you have any medical concerns, please address them with your medical care provider.

MeLuna and Lunette Cups at Domino Pads

More than you ever wanted to know about how I arrived at the decision to add a another brand to our selection and an in depth discussion of the firmness and size differences in the Lunettes and MeLunas.

Disinfecting Menstrual Cups

Swiffer Reusables Revisited

A long, long time ago I wrote a blog post about making your own Swiffer Pad refills (because I happen to love the convenience of swiffers).
Here is the old blog post on that.

My friend Amy went nuts with that idea and started a company called MicroMops.
Because a person can only take so much microfiber fuzz in their lifetime, she eventually handed over MicroMops to Heather of http://heathersgreenhomegoods.com/. Heather also makes our fabulous wetbags for us by the way!
So if you are not into making your own reusable pads, you can get some snazzy ones from Heather at her website (I think she even has a 25% off coupon code on there right now).

But the trickiest part always remained: How to refill that silly wetjet bottle. Those things just don't come open!!! And then I found the instructions on youtube. How easy and brilliant!
Check it out:

So there.. you are all set with Swiffer Goodness. ;) Enjoy

Retail Packaging Now Available

For those wanting to give Domino Pads as a gift or for our Domino Pads Retailers we now offer the option of having the pads shipped in retail packaging. 

The packaging includes a header card (with UPC code if you wish) and an informative brochure on the inside of the package. The pad is safely contained inside a clear bag to allow customers to easily see the beautiful color variations of each one-of-a-kind pad.

The packaging is of course entirely optional. We still are happy to ship the pads 'naked', if you prefer.

It's a Remnant Holiday

If you are like me you will over time accumulate all kinds of craft remnants from previous projects.
For example pieces of felted wool sweaters like those left over from the Katwise coats I made for my kids:

Or little pieces of felt from other projects like the felt leaves from one of my dolls:

So we have: small pieces of wool felt and little cut outs of a felt blend material... obviously that just screams to go together, right!?

Time for a quick and easy felting project! No, not the messy kind with soap and water -needle felting.
Felted wool has such a nice tight, yet elastic texture. It seems perfect for any kind of cover: phone, tablet, e-reader, etc.

And if you know somebody who just tosses their phone in their purse along with keys and other potentially hazardous objects a phone cover may make a nice little gift!

So let's combine:
small pieces of felted wool (a sweater you ruined or leftovers from bigger projects; you can also find wool sweaters for very cheap at thrift stores), small pieces of felt and a needle felting tool (this Clover tool runs about $10)

I cut the sweater pieces with pinking shears -because I want to. Once the sweater is felted you really don't have to worry too much about finishing the edges or unraveling though.

You use a foam mat or a brush to lay your wool piece on and then place your cut out on top. After that you just use the tool to stab the needles through the materials. The barbed needles in the tool pull the fibers through and interlock the cut out with the main piece. Here's the great part: wool on wool is great but as long as one of the pieces is wool it should work.
You will soon see the fibers coming through on the underside. Flip your project and stab the piece from the other side until your ornament (including small parts like the stems or tips of leaves) as sufficiently fused.

Then sew your cover together and voila! you have a super easy small gift. No stitches in front of your touch screen so your item is well protected.

You can get elaborate on this and add a closure to the top if you wish. I like to make my covers fairly tight and then leave them open for easy access.

The Hunt is On!

Time for our Summer Scavenger Hunt!
Here's how it works:
I have hidden 4 beach-related items on our website. You can find these items in the shop or on the info pages so be sure to look everywhere.
Once you are sure you have found all 4 beach icons please email me the four items.
All correct answers will be entered in our drawing on August 1st.
You have plenty of time, so don't get frustrated if you don't find all of them right away!
Prizes will be gift certificates in the amounts of $30, $20 and $10 (for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place)
All participants -even if your name is not drawn as a winner- will get a special 10% off coupon code!

We made the switch

If you've been ordering Domino Pads in the last couple of months you may have already noticed that we were in the process of switching the end-tab material from WindPro Fleece to super thin lingerie tricot.
This transition has now been completed in all pad styles.
The purpose of the end-tab cover is to completely cover the edges of the label so none of it ever touches your skin. We found that the lingerie tricot serves this purpose well while at the same time creating an even, thinner/trimmer pad.
We hope you approve. :)

So Sorry For The Inconvenience!

Domino Pads suffered a server problem and the log in did not work. That means while you were able to view the info pages and browse the sales pages, nobody was able to check out.

The site is now back to being fully functional and to make up for the inconvenience we are putting out a 10% coupon code: oops.

The code will expire Tuesday morning. Enjoy!

What's In A Name?

Domino Pads is kind of an odd name for a reusable menstrual pad, isn't it?
Why not choose a name that is more closely related to what the product is or does?
If this question has been keeping you up at night, here's your answer.

When I started making Domino Pads my main concern was creating a breathable, yet leak resistant pad. From cloth diapering my son I already knew I loved WindPro for that purpose.
However when I started ordering WindPro samples I quickly noticed that most were completely unsuitable for making pads. Sherpa pads anyone? Too thick, too fluffy, too textured.

I finally found the right weight and surface finish but the only color consistently produced in that version is BLACK. So all my pads would be lined with black WindPro.
Sure more colors would have been nice but in the end the wearer would be more likely to feel the pad than see it. Ultimately function won out over form.

Now I had to think of a simple way to distinguish my pads from other brands, find an easy to spell name and possibly a still available web domain that wasn't a mile long.

There were of course the obvious choices:
a name related in some way to womanhood, something catchy related to menstruation or perhaps be a little more direct and name it after bodyparts?

The thing is: I wanted everybody that could get use out of my pads to be able to enjoy them without feeling like the product was made for somebody else. Many of our customers use the pads for things other than menstruation (slight incontinence, discharge, etc.).
Because of this I purposefully avoided calling them Mama pads or anything similar. If somebody got good use out of my pads then it really didn't matter what age or sex they were: I wanted people to have a pad that made them feel like it was made for them.

Just around that time I also switched from metal snaps to plastic and noticed I could be much more specific about prong length in white snaps than any other color.

White snaps on black liners... kind of an odd combo. Some of you may be guessing by now where we are going with this:
The white, round dots on black background reminded me of Domino game pieces. The name was easy to remember, easy to spell and a domain in that name was still available.

I still every once in awhile get a request to disguise the return shipping address so that the mail carrier, delivering a package, wouldn't guess what's in a package from Domino Pads but overall, aren't you glad I didn't call them HappyHooHoo?

Domino Pads on Keeper Of The Home Blog

Domino Pads have been reviewed (unsolicited -we did not know about the review or provide free pads, etc.) on the Keeper Of The Home Blog. Check it out!

Domino Pads For Sale Forum

Did you purchase some Domino Pads in a size or color that doesn't suit you? Unfortunately due to the personal nature of our products we can not accept returns. But we do want our Domino Pads to be loved and used by somebody. Because of that we created this new section in our forum
If your Domino Pads are unused you may offer them for sale here.
Please note: due to hygiene and liability reasons we can not endorse the sale of used Domino Pads.
All transactions are between seller and buyer and do not involve Domino Pads, the company, in any way.
Check out our new 'Domino Pads for Sale By Customers' Forum!