Trying out the Konjac Sponge!

Way back in the day, facial cleansing was a finger-only business. Then came the muslin cloths and the face brushes (machine operated or not), but now, the latest trend goes by the name of "Konjac Sponge".


"Whoa, wait up there! What is this konjac thing exactly?"

Well, Konjac is the name of a plant native to eastern Asia, that was up until recently only known as a low calorie vegetable, rich in fibers and proteins (you may have heard this before as a recommended ingredient in the Dukan Diet). Naturally, the beauty industry picked up on this, and decided to make sponges out of the fibers from the plant's roots, thus giving birth to the konjac sponge.

Apparently, konjac sponges have existed for cleansing purposes for a good two decades now, but it wasn't until late last year that they became a skincare trend in the beauty community. There are a couple of brands out there that make konjac sponges (Boscia being the most popular), but today, I'll be reviewing the one from The Konjac Sponge Company.

The Konjac Facial Puff Sponge with French Pink Clay, the one I went for, is aimed at the most sensitive skin types and it's supposed to be the gentlest one of the bunch (there's also a French Red Clay version for dry/damaged/mature skin, a French Green Clay one for oily/combination skin, a Bamboo Charcoal one for acne prone skin, and a 100% Pure Konjac one, without added clays for all skin types). Same as any version, this claims to provide a deep cleansing action and a gentle exfoliation, while stimulating blood flow and skin cell renewal. The added pink clay kicks it up a notch, and aids to its purifying abilities, without causing irritations or reactions.

Now, I've only been using this for about a week, but even at this early stage, I'm quite impressed: this little thing works heaps better than my (manual) face brush: the toner-soaked cotton pad I use after cleansing comes off completely clean, something that didn't use to happen before! This is also the gentlest, softest thing I've used on my skin ever, making muslin cloths and face brushes feel scratchy in comparison. Another plus is that it's pH balanced, meaning it's just alkaline enough to remove dirt and excess oil, without being too drying.

My preferable method of using this: I run it under water so that it's all soft and squishy and add the tiniest amount of cleanser (way less than the amount you'd use if you were using your fingers alone) before I massage my face with its flat side. You can use it sans cleanser too (that way it lasts even longer). Once I'm done, I press it between my hands under running water until it's clean (you're not supposed to twist or wring it as this will break down the fibers quicker) and hang it to dry. Word of warning: this takes ages to dry completely, and it needs to be hung completely away from any surface, so that the air can hit it from all sides.

All in all, a handy little cleansing tool, that I'll definitely keep on using! I should, however, admit, that I'm not 100% sold on the Pink Clay just yet: my t-zone seems oilier than usual these days, and it could be either down to this or my heavy-duty skincare routine that needs some tweaking as the weather has gotten warmer. To air on the side of safety, I think I might go for the clay-free version next time (about 2-3 months from now).

*Purchased through kosmetik4less.de.

Have you tried a konjac sponge?
What are your favorite cleansing tools for your skintype?

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