After 10, blissful period-free years while taking the progesterone-only contraceptive pill (PoP), I decided to stop taking hormonal contraception last year and have since come back down to earth with a bump.
In short, there is much I hate about having periods again. But, unlike 10 years ago, there is far more technology available that can help ease some of the nasty symptoms.
oovi is one such device. It caught our eye in the studio and we ordered a couple right away to add to our “comfort cupboard” – which stays stocked with period products, painkillers, and hot water bottles.
First impressions
Branding shouldn’t really come into it – this is a review of how oovi works. But I work in marketing, so it matters to me!
The box is beautiful. It feels weighty, well produced. I like the tones of pink and the typefaces. It’s far more aligned with the iPhone than it is Tena Lady, and I like that. I appreciate that period brands are choosing to be stylish and bold rather than a bit apologetic and discreet in their design – as if we should still be whispering about periods in 2022.
The device itself feels fairly light and simplistic, like something you can just pop on and crack on with your day without too much fuss.
Also inside the box are a couple of branded drawstring travel pouches, an instruction manual with a cover asking me to “Say hello to your new best friend”, a charging cable for the device, and of course a couple of gel pads to secure the oovi to your skin.
Putting it to the test
So far, so easy. I charged the device up, secured it onto a gel pad using two metal poppers, and peeled off the backing so that it was ready to stick on.
I wasn’t sure exactly how far down to stick it, but the instruction manual had some helpful illustrations to help me get it right.
I switched it on and…was surprised. My immediate thought was that it feels intense. Tiny electric shocks that feel like spasms. For the first 10 minutes or so the sensation was not very pleasant at all, and it felt like I was simply swapping one source of pain for a different source of pain.
However, as my body acclimatised to the pulsating, I found that I could start to tune it out. Especially when I got up from my office chair and was moving about the room. Speaking of moving around, though the device felt a little heavy, the adhesive felt very secure and I wasn’t worried that it would fall off.
So how about period cramps? Well, as promised, I couldn’t feel any of those while the oovi was switched on.
In conclusion
It was a more intense sensation than I expected, and one that will take a bit of getting used to. It also is only really suitable for wearing under looser clothing if you don’t want it on show. But then again, period days aren’t exactly ones in which I am reaching for the body-con, anyway.
Does the oovi do what it says on the tin? For me, yes!
But there is more to the story than simply ‘does it technically work’.
I’m well aware that the price tag (£120 rrp) is absolutely not accessible for many people.
Aside from this, it feels a bit bulky and inconvenient, especially as I like to sit in hunched over positions or draw my knees up. The oovi felt very present and sometimes a bit in the way.
And if I’m honest, I think a couple of ibuprofen or mefenamic acid (if you’re lucky/unlucky enough to have been prescribed) might well block the pain just as well. Having said that, being drug-free is healthier, and doesn’t give the same nausea that using ibuprofen for a couple of days does.
All in all, I did like it, and I do think it works. But it feels a little impractical, and a lot expensive, and so I wouldn’t say it a must-have.
