How to Use
Period
Cups
7 Easy Steps
01
Wash
Thoroughly wash your hands and clean your Franki cup with the Franki wash or gentle soap. No fragrances or alcohols.
02
Fold
Fold your cup using the punch down fold, c-fold or 7 fold. Watch our handy videos below. Keep it folded in one hand.
03
insert
Get comfortable in a sitting, standing or squatting position. Relax (this bit is key). Keeping your cup folded, separate your labia and insert your folded cup into your vagina aiming towards your tailbone.
04
Remove
Locate the stem of your cup to get to the ridges. Give the base of the cup a gentle squeeze to break the suction and guide your cup out in an upright position.
05
empty
You can empty your cup in the toilet. Some of our Frankettes find emptying their cup in the shower an easy empty, clean and reinsert solution.
06
Clean
Rinse your cup with cold water first, followed by hot water. You may want to use our Franki Wash between uses to keep it in tip-top condition. At the start and end of your period sanitise your cup thoroughly using the boiling method, our Franki Pop Up Sanitiser Cup or the Franki Steamer.
07
on the go
If you do not have any running water it is safe to simply give your cup a wipe with toilet paper or our Franki On the Go Wipes and reinsert.
Franki Cup Folds
Get to know your vagina
First things first. It’s time to get acquainted with your cervix and where it is positioned so you know how high or low your cervix is. Your cervix moves during your cycle so make sure to check it daily on your cycle. Simply insert your clean index finger in your vagina and see how far your finger goes up. Your cervix is located right at the top of your vagina and feels like the tip of your nose. It is round and has a little dimple in the middle. Its good to know where your cervix sits so you know where your cup is sitting. You may find your cervix sits quite low on some days so we recommend getting two cups so you can trim the stem off one and keep the other one with the stem on for your higher cervix days. It will make it more comfortable not to have a stem sitting close to your vagina opening on your low cervix days and easier to locate your cup if you still have the stem on your high cervix days.
Low cervix
Medium cervix
High Cervix
Like all new things a menstrual cup can feel daunting at first and you may feel uncomfortable with the whole process. We promise with some time and practise you will become a cup pro in no time. You may want to practise when you are off your cycle a few times to get the hang of it and find a good position for your Franki Cup. Remember your cervix will change by the time you get to cycle. If you are practising on a ‘dry run’ you may want to use some Franki lubricant to make the process easier. Everyone has different positions that makes inserting more comfortable. You can either sit on the toilet, prop your leg up, squat or even insert in the shower standing.
It is important to relax to avoid your vaginal muscles to tighten making the whole process uncomfortable and most likely impossible.
Your cup need to be aimed towards your tailbone or back not straight up. You want to make sure your cup has fully opened once inserted and doesn’t have a fold in it. You can check by swiping your finger around your cup. If you find a fold it just rotate the cup around using the stem. You want to also check that it has suctioned itself on your vaginal wall. Just give the stem a light tug. If you feel pressure your cup is inserted properly.
Another reason to get acquainted with your cervix is so that you know your cup is sitting in the right place. Your cervix should be dipping down towards your cup. If you have a lower cervix it can get caught on the outside of the cup which will result in leaks.
Removing your cup doesn’t have to be tricky!
You will want to remove your cup when you are sitting on a toilet. Some people also find it convenient to remove their cup in the shower, which makes cleaning up easy.
Make sure you are relaxed and locate the stem of your cup. You do not want to pull on the stem, it is designed to locate your cup especially if you have a high cervix. Pulling on the stem will just make the suction stronger, resulting in a painful experience.
Once you have located the stem you will want to give the ridges at the base of the cup a gentle squeeze and give it a wriggle from side to side to release the suction. Once the suction has been released slowly pull your cup down and keep in an upright position so that you don’t spill blood everywhere. Simply rinse and reinsert.
Don’t panic if you think your cup is stuck or you can’t find it. We promise you it isn’t lost or stuck. Make sure you relax and bare down your pelvic muscles like you would if you were going for bowel movements. This should move your cup down your vaginal canal so you can grasp the stem to remove it.
Squeaky clean cup all the time!
It is absolutely essential to sterilise your cup before it goes anywhere near your vagina. You want to make sure that is free from any bacteria. Firstly wash your cup with mild soap or our Franki Wash. You will want to fill a large pot with water and bring the water to boil. Once boiling simply pop your cup in the pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. You want to make sure your cup does not touch the bottom. A little trick is to pop your cup inside a wire whisk.
If you do not want to use this method you can use our Franki Pop Up Steriliser Cup. Simply pop open, place you period cup in it and fill to completely submerge your cup. Place in microwave on high for 4 minutes. Makes sure to let it cool down.
Our Franki Steamer is another great way to sterilise your cup and also means you can keep it in your bathroom and away from your kitchen.
You will need to sterilise your cup at the end and start of your cycle.
When you have emptied your blood out simply rinse your cup in cold water first (this will prevent staining) and then hot water. We recommend you also us a mild soap or our Franki Wash specially formulated to remove bacteria and keep your vagina pH balanced.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on the suction holes. From time to time they can become clogged which will mean your cup will not be able to suction properly resulting in leaks. You can clean the holes with a sterilised pin or toothpick or fill the cup with water up to the rim, place your hand on the rim and press the cup. The water will squeeze out through the holes and clean them.
If you don’t have access to running water you can simply give your cup a wipe with some toilet paper or our Franki On the Go Wipes. They are formulated using all natural ingredients and perfectly pH balanced. Keep some in your bag so you don’t ever get caught out.
Help my cup is leaking!
You cup should not leak. If it is leaking it will be one or more of these reasons…
The holes are there for a reason: When the cup fills up with blood, the air-pressure inside the cup increases and is released through the holes. If the holes are clogged, the pressure cannot be released and the blood finds another way to flow: around the cup.
It is possible you have chosen the wrong cup size. If your cup is not unfolding when in the vagina even after giving it a tweak and trying out several folds you will want to go down a size, the cup you have chosen is too large. If you are finding it isn’t suctioning onto the vaginal wall and sliding down, your chosen size may be too small and you will want to go up a size. If you are new to period cups we strongly recommend you buy a duo bundle and select two sizes. You can start with your smaller size if this works you can keep your larger size for later on after you have given birth or when your pelvic floor muscles weaken.
The cup does sit lower down than tampons, but It’s possible that your cup is sitting too low in your vaginal canal, which is affecting its ability to properly suction. To place it a bit higher. Make sure you insert your cup towards your tailbone and that the cup has fully opened. You want to wriggle the stem and move your cup up towards the top of the vagina.
If you are one to practise regular kegel exercises regularly you may find that these muscles are squeezing the outside of your cup resulting in leaks. If this is the case its a good idea to arm yourself with some back up options such as our liners or period underwear.
If your cup is full you might be experiencing a fake leak. This is due to the pressure from your bowel movements. You may have experienced a tampon coming out when having bowel movements! A cup shouldn’t do that as it has suctioned itself onto the vaginal wall. Normally it is only a few drops so nothing to worry about. If you are worried just take your cup out and reinsert it.
