Sometimes people must hate therapists like me when we bang on about how you must body brush and exfoliate every day. Especially when I confess how I go through phases of enthusiastic almost daily brushing followed by a long hiatus of nothing, nada, absolutely rien. So what do I do when I feel guilty about not following what I preach? I reach for my Japanese exfoliating wash cloth of course.
In one brief sentence, the Japanese love their rituals on bathing and invented this wonderful exfoliating wash cloth which is now taking over the world (worldwide web that is).
There are several reasons why it’s good.
1) It serves as a wash cloth come sponge come exfoliator all in one.
2) You only need a little soap and it lathers up beautifully.
3) If you’re one of those people who can over-do the scrubbing, this invention is self-limiting.
4) Can’t reach your back? No problem. With your Japanese wash cloth you can stretch it out like a towel to go over your back, back of legs, etc.
5) Hygienic. It rinses easily and dries ever so quickly.
Result:
You feel clean, scrubbed and wondering why you didn’t find this earlier.
What are they made of?
Some are 100% nylon, others a mixture of polyester and nylon. Very lightweight.
Why else would you use them?
1 - If you’re prone to ingrown hairs and your therapist tells you to exfoliate in between waxing treatments, use this.
2 - You love your Buff Puff but darn it, you just can’t reach your back!
3 – Your fake tan is fading and you want to get rid of the last remnants. Or your fake tan went a little more orange than anticipated. Warning, don’t go too harsh on the skin and maybe even use this with a tan eraser product.
4 – You’re about to apply fake tan. Smoother skin = better tan.
5 – You’re going camping and you need something that will dry really quickly.
Can you go harder?
Yes, Salux and Cure do a Super Hard version or chou katame. The weave in the material is stronger and coarser, so more exfoliating on the skin. Cure’s Super Hard comes in blue, Salux’s comes in denim blue. If you spend a lot of time in the great outdoors and find the normal weave of cloth is too soft for you, the super hard may do the job. Not recommended if your skin is sensitive or thin, definitely not for children or elderly. If you’re happy with the normal weave cloth, stick with that. I’m not fond of overdoing the exfoliation.
Can you use the Exfoliating cloth on your face?
I wouldn’t. There are tons of muslin cloths out there waiting to be used as facial exfoliators, use those instead.