Guide to Replens and RepHresh (Part 1)
Complete guide to Replens and RepHresh
Guide to Replens and RepHresh (Part 1)
Ok, after reading 6 million (conflicting) posts on Replens and RepHresh, I finally feel qualified to write this LOL.
Replens and RePhresh are both vaginal moisturizers that are low in pH. They're made by the same company and are available in the US and Europe at drugstores and worldwide via the Internet..
Most swaying websites advise Replens for swaying. It has a superlow pH, according to the company it is 3-3.5, according to IG the pH is 2.8. Sounds fab right??
However, Replens was recalled this last fall. In light of this, I started looking more at RepHresh (some of you may remember the situation with Aci-Jel, where it was recalled and then simply never came back onto the market, so I wondered if the same thing might happen with Replens). I found out that RepHresh may actually be BETTER for swaying than Replens is. I'll lay out the details for both and then everyone can make up their own minds about which is better for them.
Replens does have a very low pH, so if you use Replens and then immediately take your pH afterwards, it's gonna look great. Very low. But according to the company that makes it, Replens contains pH buffers of 4-5. pH buffers are chemicals that react with low pH (whether it's the low pH of the Replens, or the low pH of your vagina, or both) to actually RAISE the pH to 4-5. The normal pH of the vagina is 4.5 and so that's what the company designs ALL its products to emulate. The company is not designing their products to sway, so NONE of their products are meant to lower your pH any more than what our vaginas are most of the time anyway. If you're looking for pH lower than 4.5, you're going to have to douche.
Still, 4.5, that's not too shabby. Replens is also a sticky gel and hangs around your vagina for awhile, unlike douches which wash away, leaving behind CM and semen to take their place. Replens may mix somewhat with CM and semen, rendering them lower in pH than they would be otherwise, but the pH will be an average between the two, not the 4-5 of the Replens alone. Anyone who likes Replens, it's a good option for swaying, especially with O+12. It does lower pH, no doubt about it.
The recall on Replens is over with and if your drugstore is still not stocking it, you can fill out this form, find out when it will be back at your local store, and get a $5 coupon. http://www.replens.com/outofstock/
Now - RepHresh. People used to use RepHresh for swaying back a few years ago in the same manner that Replens is used by some people now. It was abandoned when some enterprising people armed with pH sticks, realized that the initial pH of RepHresh is slightly higher than the initial pH of Replens (the pH of RepHresh is somewhere between 3.5-5, depending on who you talk to), not understanding that Replens contains the pH buffers that react chemically to produce pH of 4-5 anyway.
The difference between Replens and RepHresh is, that RepHresh is designed to BALANCE vaginal pH at that magic 4.5 number. If your pH is higher, it lowers it to 4.5. If your pH is lower, it will raise it to 4.5. That has scared some people off RepHresh because they think, OMG, I just douched with my lime douche that had pH of 2 and now the RepHresh will RAISE my pH back up again!
But go back and reread that first part. If your pH is higher, it lowers it to 4.5. You know what that means? It means that when the more alkaline EWCM arrives on the scene, which it will, because your entire reproductive tract is ALWAYS churning out more CM especially around ovulation, RepHresh will lower its pH to 4.5. It means when your husband's semen arrives on scene, RepHresh will lower its pH to 4.5. It will be a 4.5 party going on. WHO cares if the initial pH of RepHresh is slightly higher than the initial pH of Replens? Both of them end up between 4-5 anyway because the company designed them to.
The difference is, RepHresh KEEPS working, reacting with everything it touches to reach 4.5, while Replens gets diluted by CM and semen. The company even advises using RepHresh immediately after sex to restore that normal vaginal pH of 4.5, because some women who are prone to yeast infections or bacterial vaginosis, get a flare up EVERY time they have sex because their pH goes up from the semen. RepHresh is designed to prevent this jump in pH from happening by lowering the pH of everything it touches to the magic 4.5. Including semen.
Plus, because it's a sticky gel, RepHresh lasts for THREE DAYS. Perfect for a cutoff. Replens also lasts three days too, but remember it gets diluted by CM and semen and its pH WILL rise. RepHresh also contains acetic acid which may help sway pink (same as in the vinegar douche). Replens does not contain acetic acid. So for a cutoff, I think RepHresh is best. However, since we don't know how long it will take RepHresh to work, if you're going for O+12, it may be best to use Replens or Acijel to lower pH immediately, because the sperm will not be waiting around in the cervical crypts for the egg like they do with a cut-off.