Smartballs Teneo uno - vaginal balls discontinued by Fun Factory - review by Alicia

If you've tried other types of vaginal ball exercisers then you already know the idea behind the Teneo Uno. The only difference with this one is that there is a single ball rather than the more traditional two balls. If you haven't used a vaginal exerciser at all, let me explain. These type of exercisers are meant to be inserted and you can then do kegel exercises and squeeze around the ball. It makes your kegels a little more effective since you can feel it squeeze around the ball. It also reminds me to do mine. I admit it slips my mind. When I am busy working, running errands or taking care of my kids it's easy for me to forget to do my kegels. The Teneo Uno is just an easy way to remember those muscles and give them a work out. Your muscles are always engaged when wearing a vaginal ball since they're working to keep the ball in place.

The Teneo Uno is made from silicone and ABS plastic. The dark magenta color is the plastic and then the light almost bubble-gum pink is the silicone. The silicone is textured, I wish I could say why exactly it was textured, but I can't. I'm not sure if it's just decorative or if maybe the texture allows for a better grip. Even the retrieval cord is silicone which I love since I can sanitize the cord easier. At first I was worried that the silicone loop might be uncomfortable, since it's thicker than the nylon cords, but once I had it in place I would completely forget about it. There's also a little indent on the bottom of the ball which you can put your finger on to insert it. This is absolutely genius since it allows for much easier insertion and I don't feel as if I am working against my body to get it to pop in. If you do have trouble getting it to insert try a bit of water based lubricant. What I find works out well for me is to rinse off my Teneo Uno right before I put it in. Then the water left on the ball helps to give the little moisture I need for it.

The beauty of a single ball is that it's not quite as much length (the Uno is only 1 3/4 inch long!) or weight that is being placed inside of you. This can make it a lot more comfortable for some people and can even be a good option for those that maybe thought they weren't able to use vaginal balls before! I also have the Luna Beads from Lelo and I love them but sometimes they do feel like they're a bit much. They're just a bit too present when I wear them and so I don't always like wearing them out. The Teneo Uno is more discreet for me, I can wear it and almost forget I'm wearing it. It's extremely comfortable in, and the weight is not too much. If I'm going to be wearing something out I want to be sure it's not something that my muscles will tire from quickly.

Some vaginal exercisers also give a bit of pleasure while you're wearing them. The weighted ball that's inside the exercisers rumble a little and can cause some gentle vibration. With the Teneo Uno I did not experience that at all. I do notice that when I wear my Luna Beads though, so I have a feeling it's just something about how the Teneo Uno is made. So, if you're looking for vibration or pleasure from your vaginal exerciser, this might not be the one for you. For me though I liked that I didn't feel it rumbling around inside of me. I was still able to effectively do kegels when wearing my Teneo Uno and when I would take the Teneo Uno out I noticed that it was wet with a lot more lubrication than I normally have, so that lets me know that it is doing something for me, even if I can't always feel it.

The Teneo Uno is easy to clean. Just some soap and warm water works well. It doesn't have any motor so it's waterproof and you can just let it soak in the sink for a bit if you want to ensure it comes clean. You can also use a toy cleaner if you want but I would make sure to rinse it well since it does sit in your vagina for long periods of time.

I've found that the Teneo Uno is great for daily use. When I want a bit more exercise for my muscles I do go back to my Luna Beads because their added weight and the ability to customize them with even more weight is really nice for training those PC muscles. But the Teneo Uno is a great choice for most days. The days that I don't really want to actively think about my kegels and I want to just have a little something to squeeze against to make sure that when I do them they are effective ones. Because let's face it, we don't always want to do our kegel exercises but we should. They're important exercises and the Teneo Uno is just a little reminder so that you don't forget about those muscles during the day!

There are only a few things I don't like about the Teneo Uno, but neither of them are enough to make me not recommend this exerciser. One is that it doesn't come with its own storage pouch. This is kind of a bummer for me, since sometimes I do want to remove it while I'm out of the house and it would be nice if it had a pouch to be put into. I use another pouch I had for something else, but if you don't have one you could also use a plastic baggy. I think a pouch makes it more discreet in my purse though.

The second thing that I don't especially like is the way that the retrieval cord stretches. It stretches so much that it seems like it's going to snap sometimes. My muscles really like the Teneo Uno and they like to hold onto it. When I go to remove it sometimes I'll feel the cord lengthen with a stretch and then POP finally out comes the Teneo Uno with a lot of force. If the cord wasn't so stretchy I think it'd be more apt to come out easily with a tug, I know the Luna Beads do and they have a nylon cord. Anyway, to work around this I have found that if I use my muscles themselves to push down on the Teneo Uno and use the retrieval cord as a guide and not actually pull on it, it works fine. So, it's just about finding what works best for you!