Review: BeYOU Period Cramp Patches

Hey! It's been a while since I last blogged and it feels weird to be typing again - but in a good way. I can't wait to get back publishing blog posts frequently and this one was top of my list: A review on the BeYou Period Cramp Relief Patches that I've been using throughout 2019!

I get asked a lot about these when I mention them on my Instagram stories so I thought the best thing to do would be to gather all the information I have into one blog post, while reviewing the products! (This post is not sponsored - I am in no way affiliated with BeYou, I just really want to shed some light on their amazing product in hopes that other girls like me will try them and love them as much as I do!) So let's get to it.

What are they? How do they differ from other pain relief patches?

The BeYou patches are 100% natural-formula patches which relax the uterine/abdominal muscle area during (or before/after) your period. The key ingredients are Menthol and Eucalyptus Oil, so these offer a cooling, tingling sensation when you apply the patch, which basically counteracts the cramping. This is why the patches are very different from others - a lot of people think these are heat patches, and that's quite the opposite! The feeling they give is very unique and until you try the patches you don't really understand how they feel. Let me tell you, a cooling sensation soothes MUCH better than a hot water bottle does, trust me. These patches can be worn for up to 12 hours so you can head to work, travel all day, or do whatever and they'll still work perfectly! They do smell of menthol but it's such a refreshing smell to me, and nobody has ever noticed it from me, even when I've felt it was obvious.

How I apply the patches

• Although you can layer two for extra relief (I've seen some people do this) I apply one at a time as recommended, because the pack only includes 5 and I try to use just that 5 per period.

• You can apply the patches before your period starts, and this can reduce the pain when it does come! Personally I've found that applying them on the first day of pain (I used to get slight pains for 2-3 days before my period) really makes a huge difference to my pain for the week, and on a few occasions I've noticed my period actually came within an hour of applying the patch when I wasn't expecting it to actually start for another day or two! (This could've been a coincidence but I felt the ingredients in the patch may have prompted my system to start my period, so it's great for someone like me who has an irregular cycle to be able to see it becoming regular from applying the patch!).

• Application is super easy, because they're just like giant plasters/bandaids. Just make sure the skin is clean and dry before sticking them on slowly in the area your pain is strongest (this can even be your lower back!), then rub the patch for a few seconds to ensure it's stuck evenly and to help get the ball rolling on that pain relief!

• It can take up to 20 minutes for the sensation to start, but usually I notice it kick in after 5-10. When removing the patches, the stickiness has usually worn down enough for it to be painfree when peeling it from the skin. If you have hair in the area it can hurt to peel the patch there, but a little warm water helps with this.

My overall experience

1. A little background: Anyone who's gone to school, college or work with me knows how much my periods affect me and prevent me from leaving my house. I've never been on the pill or any other hormonal contraceptive to ease my pains so since I began getting periods I've suffered with excruciating pains almost every month. My pains generally would be around 8/10, sometimes 6-7, but a few times per day they would come like contractions where the pain reaches 10/10 and I often find myself struggling to breathe or find any comfortable sitting/standing/lying down position when they get to that point,, because I'm also sweating and shaking! The first time this happened I genuinely thought I was dying, and even today it still scares me that way if it happens! On top of this, my pains would cause me to vomit every month, generally somewhere between the first to third day of my period. Because of the vomiting I've never been able to take any painkillers for period cramps! I've been at my wits end during each period wishing I could find something to help me.

2. Earlier in 2019 I came across BeYou through an endometriosis sufferer and I decided to order some, because I knew if they could help endo pains, they could surely help me too. All I wanted was something that could ease my pain by a few notches - maybe down to a 5/10 and I'd be happy, because pain at that level doesn't cause vomiting for me and that would mean I could go about my daily life whilst on my period - basically a new concept for me haha. The day the patches came, I had to collect them from my post office and it was a BAD period - vomiting all morning, contraction-like pains and unable to move, let alone walk 10 minutes to the post office. Thankfully I eventually managed to go collect them and the difference they made to me as soon as the cooling ingredients kicked in was crazy, I felt much better! I was fully converted to these patches and set up a subscription that very day.

3. Ever since then I've used them for every period and they've worked. I'm not going to say they've made my period pains miraculously vanish, but they've CERTAINLY managed to decrease the level of pain I get. Now I get pains at a level of maybe 4-6 out of 10. I rarely get contraction-like pains, and if I do the episodes are much shorter thanks to having used the patches in the days leading up to it. I don't think I've vomited once since using BeYou, so that's a major thing for me, my pain has decreased enough to not induce that horrible nausea. The pains are fully bearable so I can go to work and get through the day. I'd call my pains more of a dull pain but of course they can worsen slightly on some days. The great thing is, if I feel I need more pain relief like paracetamol or codeine, I now have that option because the vomiting has stopped and I can keep the tablets down! I can not recommend BeYou patches enough to anyone who suffers with painful periods, like I said they won't cure it completely but they absolutely will make a significant difference.

Any negatives?

I can only think of one negative from using these patches, and maybe others won't experience it. I have quite sensitive skin and I've noticed each month after my period that my skin on my lower tummy can be irritated after wearing patches for 3-5 days and not letting the skin breathe much. My skin even peels sometimes, but really all of this is a tinyyyyy factor - I just thought I should include it in my review!

How to get BeYou patches

You can find the patches on BeYou's website here. You can choose to order one pack of 5 for £6.99 + international shipping of £2.65 (in total less than €11, but you can add more £6.99 packs to your order if you want to stock up). There's also the monthly subscription option (where a pack costs only £4.99) and you can tailor the subscription dates as often as you want to ensure your patches arrive according to your cycle. However, as BeYou are a UK company, to set up a subscription you'll need an address in the UK. I use AddressPal from An Post here in Ireland which allows me to get parcels sent within the UK to the address An Post give me, and then An Post bring it over to Ireland and I pay them for that service. I do this every 2 months now (initially one pack every month but I've changed my subscription dates because AddressPal fees are expensive). So every 2 months BeYou charge me for 2 packs of patches and AddressPal charge me €6.49 to get them delivered to my house. It's so easy to set up and be confident in knowing my patches will arrive in time for my next period!

So that's everything I have to say I think! I really hope if you try these patches that you'll love them as much as I do. I've even seen girls using them on their leg muscles to ease pain there too - so maybe if you suffer from pains other than period cramps you could give these patches a go for that!

BeYou have more recently started a line of CBD products for pain relief too. I haven't tried them yet but I plan to and will update when I do! They also just this week began stocking menstrual cups and I'm really interested in giving trying that out sometime because of how much better they are for the environment than tampons.

If you still have questions comment down below or contact me and I'll try to answer them. Thanks for reading!

Love,

Aisling x