Review: Konjacu Sponge (Charcoal/Body)

So I have been using these sponges for about a week now, so I am finally ready to review them.

They come in a little cellophane package, along with a small piece of paper that contains a description and instructions on how to use it. Nothing too fancy.

When completely dry, the diameter is about the length of my middle finger. When soaked, it only expands about 1-2 cm more. One side is flat, and the other side is round. When it is completely dry, it is really hard like a rock... like pumice, and it takes a bit of time to soften it in warm water. But once it is softened and wet, it takes a long time to completely harden up again, so if you're using it twice a day like I do, or even just once a day, it will never get the chance to harden up completely.

In the description, it says that "it has a very soft texture like butter". I would have to say that this isn't true. Well it could be, if it didn't have little air pockets in it and it was completely smooth, but then it wouldn't be exfoliating. It is nice and soft, but I wouldn't say its like butter. It is a very nice and gentle exfoliant, which works great on my skin. I no longer have any dry flakes of skin at all, and my skin feels very smooth after using it.

It's supposed to be deep cleansing, remove blackheads, dirt and oil, and kill acne-causing bacteria. I'm not too sure about this though, because I have had a few blackheads start to pop up on my nose about a month before I started using this, and they're still there, I haven't really noticed them diminishing or anything. Also I've still been using my SkinID cleanser along with the sponge, so I don't know if it really kills acne-causing bacteria or not.

Also one thing I really don't understand is how it claims to naturally balance the pH of your skin. I just don't understand how that works, but I'm tempted to somehow test the pH....

In the instructions, it says specifically how to clean it, and says "Do not twist or squeeze too hard, it may damage the sponge." And also, "Discard once sponge starts falling apart." This makes me so conscious about when I am using it, I'm so scared that I'm going to squeeze too hard and it's going to start falling apart. And it actually makes sense, because there's so many little holes in it, and it feels kind of fragile to me.

Also, "Try keeping the sponge in a container/bag and in the refrigerator. It lengthens the usage life of sponge while keeping it extra fresh, clean & mold-free." So apparently these things will mold.... The thought of using something moldy on my skin isn't very appealing. But it says to "Store or hang the sponge in a cool & ventilated area to air dry." So how would that work? I can't hang it up to air dry and have it in a container or bag in the refrigerator at the same time, and it won't work to let it dry first then put it in the refrigerator since it literally takes forever to dry. So that doesn't really make sense to me.

So now onto the difference with the bamboo charcoal sponge, and the moisturizing body wash sponge. They're practically the same to me, except ones white and one's black, and ones round and the other is rectangular. Maybe the white one feels a little bit smoother and has smaller air bubbles in it? Even though the black one is supposed to be for oily skin, and the white one is supposed to be moisturizing, I really haven't noticed any difference in them.

Overall, I do like using this product. It is much better than using towels. And I do like using it more than the silicon scrubbers I had been using prior to this, so it is probably something that I will stick to using, until I can afford to try one of those Clarisonic Skincare Brushes.

Konjacu Sponge Update

Well, I finally got the sponges in the mail today, and like a little kid with a new toy, I couldn't help but to open the package right away and play with it and try it out.

I got four charcoal ones, and one of the body wash ones. I don't even know why I had to get so many at once if I was just testing them out.... They do have a buy three get two free promotion though, and shipping is free. Well I'm not sure if its a promotion or if its permanent...

But anyway, when they are dry, they are hard and feel like pumice. Especially for the black ones, they even look like pumice. They do soften up and feel very spongy once they're wet though. But they don't feel like normal sponges. It's kind of hard to describe how they feel....

When I first opened the package and saw them, I was kind of disappointed in how small they are. Well, the face sponges looked to be an okay size, but the body one was exactly the same size, except in a rectangular shape instead of round. So I really don't know what the difference is with it being for body or face. But I really did expect the body sponge to be bigger. Once wet though, they do expand a little... not quite twice the size, but almost there. And it soaks up SO much water.

I only tried it once so far since I just got the mail about 20 minutes ago and excitedly thought I should do an update on it. I just wet the sponge, and used it on my entire face in a circular motion. I didn't use any cleanser or anything with it. Just water. I did have BB cream on my face from earlier, but no other makeup. It did clean off all of the BB cream, and it even kind of lathered a bit... I don't know if that's the BB cream or what though. After I just dried my skin with a towel, and my skin felt SO soft and it didn't feel dry or tight afterwards like it usually does after I wash my face.

I'm going to continue using this and update about it again in a few weeks or so about how it's working, and about the body sponge as well.

Konjacu- The Original Japanese Konjac Sponge from INOSH

I came across this today, and decided that I definitely need to try it out.

What it is, is a sponge made from a vegetable fibre extracted from the plant Amorphophallus konjac. It has no preservatives, colouring or additives, and it's eco-friendly. I haven't felt or tried these yet, but the description kind of reminds me of loofahs, only they don't look quite the same as loofahs.

They come in three different types. A white one, charcoal one and one for body. The white one is for dry/sensitive skin, while the charcoal one is for oily/acne prone skin.

These claim to neutralize substances on the skin. I don't know how that works, but I'm interested to find out. It's supposed to be exfoliating, deep cleansing, get rid of blackheads, kill acne-causing bacteria, balance out the pH of your skin, and moisturize, enhancing skin tone and texture.

All this information is from the website by the way, which you can find by clicking here.

I personally have not tried this yet, but even if it doesn't do everything that it claims to, I'm sure it'll be a good exfoliant, and more preferable to the normal towels I use to wash my face.

I will do a review on it when I receive them in the mail and when I've tried them for at least a week.