The Face Shop - Charcoal & Konjac Cleansing Puff/Sponge

The charcoal & konjac cleansing puff (or sponge as I think of it), is one of the beauty tools you can find at The Face Shop, a very popular Korean beauty products company.  With at least nine locations in the GTA now, the first I believe at Pacific Mall in Markham, they seem to be expanding at a ferocious pace!  Check out the facebook page for locations.

I don't do beauty reviews since I rarely experiment with new products, but I recently had to pick up another puff/sponge from The Face Shop and thought, "it's a product I like so why not"?!

This is what the sponge looks like.

When wet it has a bit of a jelly-like texture.  If you hang dry it, it will become hard and you'll need to soak it in warm water before your next use.

The purpose of the sponge is to "improve skin waste-removing effect" or I think of it as "eliminate excess oil/sebum from the skin to ensure clearer skin".  Konjac is a root vegetable consumed in Asia sometimes for it's purported detoxifying abilities, but often as a diet food; here's the wiki.  Or to many, it is the little konjac jelly cups (lychee flavour being the first) from Asia that were so popular many years back.  The bamboo charcoal component is supposed to help with oily skin.

Since using the sponge (often with a foam cleanser though), my skin has been clearer and my pores a little less noticeable, except my nose which I have accepted will forever have large pores.  But, I digress. I really like the sponge as it's very gentle (great for my sensitive skin) and I feel it does remove dry skin.  If I do have acne, it goes away a lot quicker when using the sponge in my experience.

Unfortunately, I can't speak to any scientific backing for the product but it's been working for me and at $5 it's worth a try!  (The brand Boscia has a similar product.)  In fact, their beauty tools section is quite good and well priced.  I also picked up a round brush for blow drying for $4 and have purchased their cotton cleansing pads and cotton swabs as well.

But last time I checked, not all the stores carry the puff, I've picked up mine at Fairview Mall and Pacific Mall. The location at Eaton Centre did not carry the product when I was there in the winter.

In terms of the store itself, the service is always very friendly at the locations I've been to and they provide samples of other products when you purchase something.