I've seen Konjac sponges in other places beside Sephora, but none of the other places offered returns in case I didn't like it. So when I finally saw it on the Sephora site, I thought I would go ahead and give it a go...
**All items purchased by me. Affiliate links included.**
Boscia Konjac Cleansing Sponge, $18 @ Sephora
Included in the package is a sample of the Boscia Purifying cleansing gel.
This is how the sponge looks when damp. I found it plumped up more quickly when run under warm water. Cold is fine - it just takes a tad longer and I liked how the warm sponge felt vs. a cold one ha ha! There is also a looped string attached to the sponge, which makes it easier to hold onto. Size wise this fits comfortably into the palm of my hand.
This sponge is super pillowy soft. Seriously so soft that you won't believe it until you try it. The package said it is gentle enough to use around the eye area, and I was quite skeptical until I tried it. Yep...tis true...it's that soft :-)
Here are a couple of pictures to show the size when saturated with water.
How does this thing work?? You fully saturate and rinse the sponge thoroughly, put a small amount of cleanser on it, and then move it around your face in small, circular motions - including the eye area if your cleanser can be used there. Oh, and you don't need much cleanser at all...I tried 3 different ones and it took very little.
From the Sephora site:
The Konjac Cleansing Sponge is 100 percent Konjac Root, an Asian-cultivated, root-based vegetable that the Japanese have traditionally used as a detoxifying dietary staple, and as a calming, naturally exfoliating sponge for delicate skin. Gentle enough for the most sensitive skin types, this naturally deep-cleansing, pH balanced sponge can be used throughout the face, neck, and even the very delicate undereye area.
What did I think? This does provide very mild and delicate exfoliation, and I felt it did as good a job as the Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powders in terms of gentle exfoliation. I preferred the Konjac sponge though because it combines 2 steps into one - cleansing and exfoliation. And since I didn't perform the 2 steps, essentially washing my face twice...I felt this was easier on my skin.
My face felt very soft after each use, and I really appreciated that I could use it around the eye area. I sometimes feel like my area could use some exfoliation too, and truth be told I occasionally use a baby wash cloth and lightly press to get some exfoliation done. Gasp. Sorry. But I really feel I need it sometimes!! LOL! It also helped soften a couple of rough patches I was having trouble with.
So I really, really liked this and really, really wanted to keep using it but one thing did it in. It didn't dry out overnight!!! It claims to dry out overnight when kept in a well ventilated area and squeezed out. I tried squeezing out and letting air dry and it was still damp in the morning. I tried squishing between two towels and letting air dry by a fan and it was still not dry in the morning. I tried putting it between two towels and stepping on it repeatedly and letting it dry by a fan and it still didn't dry out by morning. In fact, it usually took over 24 hours to completely harden!!
It is absolutely usable when it's not fully dry, but I have a hard time believing that bacteria and such won't start growing with repeated cycles of not being dried out. Plus that's not good for traveling because...well...I just don't want to stick a damp sponge into a suitcase because then it'll never get dry and who knows what will grow in it??
Perhaps I'm paranoid. I don't know.
IF you can get this to dry out, I think it's a wonderful product worth exploring :-) Or have you tried it already??