My face was licked by a devil's tongue

Today I received a sponge in the mail. Now before you get all silly and Seinfeld on me let me  clarify. I'm talking about a sponge to wash my face with. 

You've probably been hearing a lot about the konjac sponge. It has been blowing up as the most recent beauty "must have." I read about it before in a magazine but didn't exactly understand the draw so I decided to try it myself. 

The sponge comes in a hard form much like a kitchen sponge or natural sponge would be before the first time you use it. It was really rough and I was worried it would be too harsh for my skin but after I soaked it in the sink like the directions suggested it became really soft. The resulting texture reminded me of after I bake my gluten free bread and I have a bit of xanthan gum powder on my hands when I wash them:  that smooth, almost slimey feeling, but it doesn't linger on your hands like the hitchhiking xanthan gum tends to. 

Washing my face with the sponge felt refreshing. It wasn't harsh on my skin, just a mild exfoliation, the type mild enough to do daily. As The Ogre knows, I love me some exfoliation.

Curious what "konjac" is? I was too, so I looked it up. Konjac, also known as "Devil's Tongue" is a tuberous vegetable common in Japanese cooking. Interestingly, is is also used as a gelatin substitute which explains the gummy gelatinous (xanthan gummish) feeling it created on my hands. According to an Allure article I read the sponge will only last a month. It isn't really antibacterial and so will need to be tossed. I'm not sure that I believe that. I want to figure out a way to clean it. Elsewhere on the web I saw statements to replace after 2-3 months, refridgeration suggested to extend life expectancy of the sponge, and boiling  (or microwaving) for a deep sterilization. Best yet,when the sponge ultimately does bite the dust (all good things must come to an end) it is fine to throw in with  your compost.

How about you, have you ever used to konjac sponge? Did you figure out a way to clean it?

One other note although I did purchase the sponge on Amazon I noticed that it is 25% cheaper on abesmarket . I love Abe's Market, especially their try me for $2 selections that change everyday (seriously you need to sign up for the daily alerts for these. Often full sized organic/often allergen free for just two bucks! No shipping)

Disclosures: I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review. Please use my link on Abe's as I may receive a small commission from this honestly great website.