When it comes to menstrual health, we’re still working uphill. We don diapers after giving birth, advocate relentlessly to be heard at the doctor’s office, and are told that pain, discomfort, and periods go hand-in-hand. Access to healthcare is pernicious for many and to top it all off, menstruating folks have on average 450 periods in their lifetime. That’s around six years—six years of your wild and precious life!—bleeding while navigating systems that aren’t always designed with you in mind.
That’s why when Francine Chambers and Carinne Chamber-Saini launched DIVA™ over 20 years ago, it wasn’t just about making a better period product. It was about improving access to healthcare, breaking taboos—and alongside that, came the start of a movement.
Insert Diva (literally).
When she started menstruating, Francine knew quickly that there had to be a better way. “I would cry every time I had my period,” she recounts. “As a woman, I felt like we were being punished.”
She didn’t know it at the time, but the product she dreamed of inventing was already out there—a cup that you could insert to collect your flow, empty, wash, and reuse month after month. Something that would not only make her period more bearable, but empowering. Something that would give her the freedom and confidence she desired when bleeding.
“I read in a magazine that menstrual cups were invented in the 1930s and I go, really?! That was my ‘aha’ moment!”
Carinne, CEO and co-founder, who is also Francine’s daughter, was equally inspired: “I always love telling the story of my mom as a teenager, really dreaming of this concept. She gave me the confidence. She was like, We’ve got to try it. This is what I’ve been dreaming of my whole life.”
The moment that led to a movement.
Carrine and Francine launched the DIVA™ Cup from the basement of their family home in Kitchener, Ontario, almost 25 years ago, and it’s since become synonymous not only with conscious, sustainable period care, but with breaking taboos and destigmatizing menstruation through the brand’s social impact programs.
“DIVA™ isn’t just a brand, it’s a movement,” says Carrine, “one that challenges shame, elevates education, and champions body literacy as a fundamental right.”
The brand might have started with an ‘aha’ moment, but its impact is shaped by the thousands of people who have found confidence, support, and freedom during their own periods while using DIVA™ Cup. Recently, we got together a group of DIVA™ Cup users to hear their stories—unfiltered, unscripted, and full of the honesty that’s always been at the heart of our brand.
Here’s what they had to say.
Comfort reigns supreme.
We’ll take comfort all day, every day—and when something’s going inside our vagina, that’s going to be a non-negotiable.
For Cindy, that was the game changer.
“When I tried Diva Cup I honestly couldn’t even feel it. Sometimes I even forgot I had it in.” A year later and it’s become a seamless part of her cycle.
Radha – a DIVA™ Cup user for the last nine years – agrees. What she appreciates most is that it lets her move through her day without interruption. Whether she’s at work, working out, or on the go, she doesn’t have to think twice about her period.
No weird stuff here.
Again—we’re talking about your vagina here, folks! The DIVA™ Cup is made from 100% medical-grade silicone and that’s it.
Anna started using the DIVA™ Cup 16 years ago after she found that traditional period products didn’t meet her needs, while Jahleen found that she often had a really bad reaction to pads or tampons.
“They’re made from weird materials that you’re not really sure what they’re made of,” explains Summer, who’s been using her DIVA™ Cup for the last decade.
“And [the DIVA™ Cup] is not icky! It’s way more clean and it’s not breaking down, putting toxins in your body.”
Top tips from the pros.
If you’ve used pads or tampons for a long time, switching to a cup might feel overwhelming, but don’t let that hold you back. We tapped our seasoned pros to share their best tips, tricks, and “omg, this is life changing” wisdom with you.
On first time nerves…”the very first time I tried it, I didn’t know what I was doing—and I didn’t rush myself,” says Ishi who has been using her DIVA™ Cup for three years.
There’s a learning curve to every new discovery, so if you’re cup-curious or trying one out for the first time, we encourage you to breathe deeply and meet yourself where you’re at. Being curious about your body and intentional about what you put in it is body literacy, and knowledge is power.
“The first time is not going to be the easiest, but once you get past the second time, I would say there’s no going back,” Karissa told us encouragingly.
On their inserting technique…
Everyone has their own ritual when using their DIVA™ Cup, but it always goes something like this: fold, insert, get comfy.
The “crumple method”, “taco fold”, or “squish” as Radha calls it, folds the cup in on itself to create a C-shape, making it easier to insert. Once you’ve got that shape – Karissa recommends rolling it tight to make it as compact as possible – you can gently insert the cup and let it pop open inside you.
“It’s kind of like you’re 13 and learning to use a tampon. It’s a process in that sense, but I was so lucky to have had friends who had used it before and explained it to me,” says Cindy.
Whether it’s your first try or your hundredth cycle, there’s something empowering about knowing you’re not doing it alone. That’s where our community comes in—to share wisdom, encouragement, and most of all support each other along the way, making each period your most empowered yet.
Want to hear more from our founders and community? Watch the video below!
